Greg Farshtey's Status

[CaT in Rogue]

I personally am plain relieved that Greg will continue story updates. Bionicle is saved until further notice!

[Taipu1]

All I want for Christmas is a BIONICLE update... [/singing soprano]Yeah, that would make for an interesting wish list. XD

Sadly, if it's down to being busy with a daughter that he doesn't have time to write serials, christmas is probably the least likely time to be getting an update. Still, we can hope...

[Raph]

Guys guys. be positive.

[Alyska]

I haven't read the whole topic, but do we know if Lego's continuing to support Bioniclestory.com next year?

[Toa Zaz]

I haven't read the whole topic, but do we know if Lego's continuing to support Bioniclestory.com next year?

Nope. They guaranteed through 2010-2011, but after that they haven't said anything, so my guess is no.

[Night Terror]

I'd like to note something guys, because I feel I have to. Been months since I last enteres BZP:If BIONICLEStory doesn't get updated... I'm not blaming anyone, really. You guys have to remember: LEGO is a business. A toy one. That means thir objective is to make money by selling toys. The BIONICLE line was replaced by Hero Factory, whatever the reason was (if I'm not mistaken, it was done because BIONICLE sales were going down, and HF was a kind of a bump try to the Action Figure department -- a bump that's worked well enough I'd say). Now that LEGO doesn't sell BIONICLE figures anymore, and that Greg has a daughter to take care of, as well as his other duties as a LEGO employee (The Magazine for example), it's not like we can really reclaim anything. I'm the first one who'd like to see BIONICLEStory updated every week. But I understand LEGO is mantaining two sites that doen't really report benefits to them, in a difficult moment for them -- plastic production is expensive and there's still a bad economical situation for almost everyone. Knwoing this, they've done us a favor really. Any other company would have shut down the project without even trying -- they didn't, after 10 years of delivering us awesome toys with a good story, they tried to mantain the spirit alive for some more time, and maybe even more than that.Now guys, take a rest. Write fanfics, make MoCs, play with your toys or even dedicate some time to other things that are surely important. If the Story gets shut down, we still have BZP. I will, in fact, I remind you of the post Greg made some time ago about how fans should never lose faith on the story, and they should continue toi take care of it, posing the example of Star Wars, if I'm not mistaken.So, as long as you guys want, BIONICLE will be alive. Maybe one day, LEGO will come and say: "Hey, we should try this out again." It's not the first time it's happenned. Just look at Doctor Who: it was cancelled for almost 20 years... And it's back and running, and allow me to say, living a golden era, really. So yeah, don't worry so much.

[Riglax]

Right now, I'm more eager to see how Greg will be able to interact with us in the future. It's been a painful hit since LEGO's new policy made him unable to talk directly to the fanbase, thus it would be nice to see some more direct interaction with him.

[Raph]

it will be not right if story will be unfinished.

[fishers64]

it will be not right if story will be unfinished.

Say that again! But seriously, guys, I really doubt that the Lego CEO, if he has an eye for efficiency, will let the site stay active for much longer than it has to be. I doubt he holds Bionicle story in the same regard as we do, and he mostly wants to save money. As Greg said:

there is still a budget associated with it.[/b] Whether they want to continue maintaining that budget probably depends on the reasons they kept the site up in the first place.1A) No idea. I have a lot of theories on why the site is up. In some, traffic would matter. In others, not so much, because the site might be up to continue using the BIONICLE trademarks publicly so they have legal protection.

[Toa of Gallifrey]

At least we always have hope and faith. I'm sure he working on a chapter, at least. I'll be here all the way for the story of BIONICLE.

I'd like to note something guys, because I feel I have to. Been months since I last enteres BZP:If BIONICLEStory doesn't get updated... I'm not blaming anyone, really. You guys have to remember: LEGO is a business. A toy one. That means thir objective is to make money by selling toys. The BIONICLE line was replaced by Hero Factory, whatever the reason was (if I'm not mistaken, it was done because BIONICLE sales were going down, and HF was a kind of a bump try to the Action Figure department -- a bump that's worked well enough I'd say). Now that LEGO doesn't sell BIONICLE figures anymore, and that Greg has a daughter to take care of, as well as his other duties as a LEGO employee (The Magazine for example), it's not like we can really reclaim anything. I'm the first one who'd like to see BIONICLEStory updated every week. But I understand LEGO is mantaining two sites that doen't really report benefits to them, in a difficult moment for them -- plastic production is expensive and there's still a bad economical situation for almost everyone. Knwoing this, they've done us a favor really. Any other company would have shut down the project without even trying -- they didn't, after 10 years of delivering us awesome toys with a good story, they tried to mantain the spirit alive for some more time, and maybe even more than that.Now guys, take a rest. Write fanfics, make MoCs, play with your toys or even dedicate some time to other things that are surely important. If the Story gets shut down, we still have BZP. I will, in fact, I remind you of the post Greg made some time ago about how fans should never lose faith on the story, and they should continue toi take care of it, posing the example of Star Wars, if I'm not mistaken.So, as long as you guys want, BIONICLE will be alive. Maybe one day, LEGO will come and say: "Hey, we should try this out again." It's not the first time it's happenned. Just look at Doctor Who: it was cancelled for almost 20 years... And it's back and running, and allow me to say, living a golden era, really. So yeah, don't worry so much.

I hear ya, it's getting better and better.

[toa kopaka4372]

So, is the story officially over? Today's the last day of 2011.

[Raph]

We'll see it soon....

[toa kopaka4372]

We'll see it soon....

You mean the story?

[Raph]

Yeah.........that. It 'll be not much right to unfinish story...

[Aanchir]

Even if the BIONICLE story bites the dust, I'd love Greg Farshtey to resume activity here on BZPower. After all, he's still a LEGO employee with a lot of insight regarding goings-on at the company. He's also got a major creative role in the Ninjago theme, which I'm a huge fan of. There's no way having friendly ties to a LEGO employee could be a bad thing for BZPower, especially now with its broader focus.

[toa kopaka4372]

I'm going to be upset if the story ends with the Toa Mahri, characters that were around since the beginning and fan favorites, still mind controlled by that fusion, the Vahi still with Voporak, Kopaka and Pohatu trapped in the red star, Mavrah's survival still a mystery, a murderer loose on Spherus Magna, the leader of the Dark Hunters whereabouts unknown, and the identity of the disguised GB a mystery.

[Solaris Magnus]

I'd like to note something guys, because I feel I have to. Been months since I last enteres BZP:If BIONICLEStory doesn't get updated... I'm not blaming anyone, really. You guys have to remember: LEGO is a business. A toy one. That means thir objective is to make money by selling toys. The BIONICLE line was replaced by Hero Factory, whatever the reason was (if I'm not mistaken, it was done because BIONICLE sales were going down, and HF was a kind of a bump try to the Action Figure department -- a bump that's worked well enough I'd say). Now that LEGO doesn't sell BIONICLE figures anymore, and that Greg has a daughter to take care of, as well as his other duties as a LEGO employee (The Magazine for example), it's not like we can really reclaim anything. I'm the first one who'd like to see BIONICLEStory updated every week. But I understand LEGO is mantaining two sites that doen't really report benefits to them, in a difficult moment for them -- plastic production is expensive and there's still a bad economical situation for almost everyone. Knwoing this, they've done us a favor really. Any other company would have shut down the project without even trying -- they didn't, after 10 years of delivering us awesome toys with a good story, they tried to mantain the spirit alive for some more time, and maybe even more than that.Now guys, take a rest. Write fanfics, make MoCs, play with your toys or even dedicate some time to other things that are surely important. If the Story gets shut down, we still have BZP. I will, in fact, I remind you of the post Greg made some time ago about how fans should never lose faith on the story, and they should continue toi take care of it, posing the example of Star Wars, if I'm not mistaken.So, as long as you guys want, BIONICLE will be alive. Maybe one day, LEGO will come and say: "Hey, we should try this out again." It's not the first time it's happenned. Just look at Doctor Who: it was cancelled for almost 20 years... And it's back and running, and allow me to say, living a golden era, really. So yeah, don't worry so much.

Voice of reason right here. Well said. Even if the story doesn't continue, we always can make our own non-canon endings. I know for a fact that BZP Members have nailed mysteries, such as the Great being down to a science. As long as we keep Bionicle in our hearts.-Star

[Just A Dot]

I'm going to be upset if the story ends with the Toa Mahri, characters that were around since the beginning and fan favorites, still mind controlled by that fusion, the Vahi still with Voporak, Kopaka and Pohatu trapped in the red star, Mavrah's survival still a mystery, a murderer loose on Spherus Magna, the leader of the Dark Hunters whereabouts unknown, and the identity of the disguised GB a mystery.

This would be the best way to ruin my childhood.

[Toa Zaz]

It's 2012, everybody! The Bionicle story is (officially, it was really over a long tome ago) over!

[TheSkeletonMan939]

It's 2012, everybody! The Bionicle story is (officially, it was really over a long tome ago) over!

And the last update was roughly six months ago.Can't say I'm surprised. Edited January 1, 2012 by TheSkeletonMan939

[Mesonak]

It's 2012, everybody! The Bionicle story is (officially, it was really over a long tome ago) over!

You're reading faaaar too much into that. Calm down, and take a chill pill. The BIONICLE story website was planned to be taken off come 2012. If that happems. it's' over. You're just being an alarmist if you think it's over come the first minute of the first day of the new year. The site's still up, isn't it?-Mesoank Edited January 1, 2012 by Mesonak

[toa kopaka4372]

It's 2012, everybody! The Bionicle story is (officially, it was really over a long tome ago) over!

You're reading faaaar too much into that. Calm down, and take a chill pill. The BIONICLE story website was planned to be taken off come 2012. If that happems. it's' over. You're just being an alarmist if you think it's over come the first minute of the first day of the new year. The site's still up, isn't it?-Mesoank

Well,just because the site's up doesn't mean the story is continuing. It's been up for the past six months and there haven't been any story updates, after all.At this point, I just want Greg Farshtey to tie up any loose ends left. If the story ends after that, fine, but I don't want it to be left incomplete as it is.

[Mesonak]

It's 2012, everybody! The Bionicle story is (officially, it was really over a long tome ago) over!

You're reading faaaar too much into that. Calm down, and take a chill pill. The BIONICLE story website was planned to be taken off come 2012. If that happems. it's' over. You're just being an alarmist if you think it's over come the first minute of the first day of the new year. The site's still up, isn't it?-Mesoank

Well,just because the site's up doesn't mean the story is continuing. It's been up for the past six months and there haven't been any story updates, after all.At this point, I just want Greg Farshtey to tie up any loose ends left. If the story ends after that, fine, but I don't want it to be left incomplete as it is.

The only reason GregF isn't updating is because Lego has employed him (as a job, not a fan service) to write for the Ninjago series, and his wife recently had a child. Perfectly understandable, and when his hectic life cools down, we'll see more updates. Simple as that. Which is why I'm not freaking out over it.-Mesonak

[toa kopaka4372]

It's 2012, everybody! The Bionicle story is (officially, it was really over a long tome ago) over!

You're reading faaaar too much into that. Calm down, and take a chill pill. The BIONICLE story website was planned to be taken off come 2012. If that happems. it's' over. You're just being an alarmist if you think it's over come the first minute of the first day of the new year. The site's still up, isn't it?-Mesoank

Well,just because the site's up doesn't mean the story is continuing. It's been up for the past six months and there haven't been any story updates, after all.At this point, I just want Greg Farshtey to tie up any loose ends left. If the story ends after that, fine, but I don't want it to be left incomplete as it is.

The only reason GregF isn't updating is because Lego has employed him (as a job, not a fan service) to write for the Ninjago series, and his wife recently had a child. Perfectly understandable, and when his hectic life cools down, we'll see more updates. Simple as that. Which is why I'm not freaking out over it.-Mesonak

You have a point. Even though I know us getting story at all is a privelage, I can't help but wonder if GregF couldn't at least update the story just once in the last six months.I'd probably feel better if we still had those fan short story canonization contests were still around. Whatever happened to S&T Contest 6? I was really looking forward to the results of that one.

[T.B.O.C]

Guys, I really don't think they're going to pull an Exo-Force on us. Just have some faith, people. Even if BIONICLEStory is taken down, there are other ways he can post the story. I mean, it would be terrible to see the site taken down, but that doesn't mean the exact end of time for BIONICLE.The ironic thing is, the last time I heard theories BIONICLE was going to end, possibly, I made this exact judgement. Two days later, the announced the end of BIONICLE. Let's hope it doesn't work out like this again.

[freestyle9012]

I just want The Yesterday Quest and The Powers That Be to be wrapped up. That would be really great.

[Toa Zaz]

Look, here's the problem. If the continuation of the story is in question (which it is) during 2011, when the Lego company at least promised it could keep going, there's absolutely no way we'll be seeing anything in 2012. Lego said absolutely nothing about BIONICLESTORY.com being up after 2011. Not only will there be no story updates, sooner or later that site is coming down.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Toa Zaz

[Mesonak]

Look, here's the problem. If the continuation of the story is in question (which it is) during 2011, when the Lego company at least promised it could keep going, there's absolutely no way we'll be seeing anything in 2012. Lego said absolutely nothing about BIONICLESTORY.com being up after 2011. Not only will there be no story updates, sooner or later that site is coming down.

Didn't you read what Greg said? He said that while yes, they only promised for it to be up until the end of 2011, he also said there are multiple reasons as to why they would have to keep it up, such as protecting the trademark. Plus, whether they would take it down or not depended on website traffic; for all we know,t hat's through the roof, with all the people constantly refreshing for new updates. -Mesonak

[ALVIS]

At least we always have hope and faith. I'm sure he working on a chapter, at least. I'll be here all the way for the story of BIONICLE.

I'd like to note something guys, because I feel I have to. Been months since I last enteres BZP:If BIONICLEStory doesn't get updated... I'm not blaming anyone, really. You guys have to remember: LEGO is a business. A toy one. That means thir objective is to make money by selling toys. The BIONICLE line was replaced by Hero Factory, whatever the reason was (if I'm not mistaken, it was done because BIONICLE sales were going down, and HF was a kind of a bump try to the Action Figure department -- a bump that's worked well enough I'd say). Now that LEGO doesn't sell BIONICLE figures anymore, and that Greg has a daughter to take care of, as well as his other duties as a LEGO employee (The Magazine for example), it's not like we can really reclaim anything. I'm the first one who'd like to see BIONICLEStory updated every week. But I understand LEGO is mantaining two sites that doen't really report benefits to them, in a difficult moment for them -- plastic production is expensive and there's still a bad economical situation for almost everyone. Knwoing this, they've done us a favor really. Any other company would have shut down the project without even trying -- they didn't, after 10 years of delivering us awesome toys with a good story, they tried to mantain the spirit alive for some more time, and maybe even more than that.Now guys, take a rest. Write fanfics, make MoCs, play with your toys or even dedicate some time to other things that are surely important. If the Story gets shut down, we still have BZP. I will, in fact, I remind you of the post Greg made some time ago about how fans should never lose faith on the story, and they should continue toi take care of it, posing the example of Star Wars, if I'm not mistaken.So, as long as you guys want, BIONICLE will be alive. Maybe one day, LEGO will come and say: "Hey, we should try this out again." It's not the first time it's happenned. Just look at Doctor Who: it was cancelled for almost 20 years... And it's back and running, and allow me to say, living a golden era, really. So yeah, don't worry so much.

I hear ya, it's getting better and better.

I don't know, I'm not a fan of every series ending with time unraveling, the characters being sent into an alternate reality, and the Doctor wrapping everything up neatly and cleanly except for 20 million unexplained plot threads. Other than that, I agree. :PBut I digress, this isn't the place for Doctor Who discussion anyway.I don't feel any doubt that BIONICLE will continue... in fanon. Once I've finished Makuta Hunt and maybe a few other stories, I'd quite like to "reboot" BIONICLE into a series of short epics set far in the future. That and other projects like it are the ones carrying the spirit of BIONICLE, not anything official.

[fishers64]

Guys, I really don't think they're going to pull an Exo-Force on us. Just have some faith, people. Even if BIONICLEStory is taken down, there are other ways he can post the story. I mean, it would be terrible to see the site taken down, but that doesn't mean the exact end of time for BIONICLE.The ironic thing is, the last time I heard theories BIONICLE was going to end, possibly, I made this exact judgement. Two days later, the announced the end of BIONICLE. Let's hope it doesn't work out like this again.

Bionicle is already concluded better than Exo-Force; however, the fact that Exo-Force happened is a pretty good indication that Lego puts story as a sideline to making money. And it's not like there is going to be much tolerance at a high level of a company wasting money on a website that is only indirectly boosting profits.

Even if the BIONICLE story bites the dust, I'd love Greg Farshtey to resume activity here on BZPower. After all, he's still a LEGO employee with a lot of insight regarding goings-on at the company. He's also got a major creative role in the Ninjago theme, which I'm a huge fan of. There's no way having friendly ties to a LEGO employee could be a bad thing for BZPower, especially now with its broader focus.

If he dares show his face around here again (probably unlikely due to Lego's new social network policies) at least half of the members will be PMing him with something to the effect of "Bionicle story, please." If you look through the old OGD, the amount of PMs impatiently inquiring "Where is update X?" were a ridiculously high amount. If I were him, I think I would hide.

[Toa Zaz]

I disagree, Fishers64. Almost this entire topic is people encouraging Greg to spend time with his family and spend as much time as he possibly needs on the web serials. Most members would probably be happy to see him come back.Greg obviously knows Erebus is over 13. Can't Erebus PM him again, or has Greg completely left the forums?

Edited January 4, 2012 by Toa Zaz

[toa kopaka4372]

I disagree, Fishers64. Almost this entire topic is people encouraging Greg to spend time with his family and spend as much time as he possibly needs on the web serials. Most members would probably be happy to see him come back.Greg obviously knows Erebus is over 13. Can't Erebus PM him again, or has Greg completely left the forums?

Greg hasn't been on since October 25th.

[fishers64]

I disagree, Fishers64. Almost this entire topic is people encouraging Greg to spend time with his family and spend as much time as he possibly needs on the web serials. Most members would probably be happy to see him come back.Greg obviously knows Erebus is over 13. Can't Erebus PM him again, or has Greg completely left the forums?

That wasn't my point. The point was that GregF doesn't want to come back, himself. It's not like anything can overcome that. Except money. :PAlso, Aanchir was saying that Greg would be good to have around for general Lego discussion. While I largely agree with that, it is unlikely to happen here because we are more likely to send him Bionicle-related questions and beg him for more story.And while everybody is being all nice and conciliatory now, it wasn't that way before the restrictions went in and this whole thing happened. Greg hasn't read this topic, because of our impatient attitude before and the fact that he isn't going to take "Are you done yet?" questions for serials he can't write. While those questions might not be asked now, the fact is that Greg likely thinks that they will be asked, and that's probably part of the reason why he's not here. That makes sense really, given what's happened in the past. Even you want an update from Greg, something. We all do. Edited January 4, 2012 by fishers64

[toa kopaka4372]

I'm getting the impression that GregF doesn't want to write BIONICLE serials anymore. I mean, maybe he's gone on for so long without writing any, he's finding hard to go back and start again. As a writer, this happens to me a lot; in fact, I haven't been writing for a while. I think the downtime is really what struck the BIONICLE story a fatal blow.Greg mainly continued the story for us BZP members, because we're the hardcore fans who haven't completely left BIONICLE and moved on to other things. Most of BIONICLE's former audience probably moved on to Hero Factory and Ninjago. So when BZP went down, Greg had no reason to write; I think this is backed up by the fact that the time between the Powers that Be and Sahmad's Tale's update were the longest at the time (3 months). Sahmad's Tale Chapter 7, which is the last update we've had so far, was uploaded back in June, during BZP's downtime. Since Greg was busy in the first place, he probably decided not to write until BZP came back.BZP came back in October, 3-4 months after the latest update. By this time Greg was probably totally out of it, especially with him writing novels for Ninjago and taking care of his family. I think Greg has lost that eagerness to write; you have a hard time writing something you don't want to. I remember, back in late 2010 and early 2011, Greg sounded like he was really enjoying what he was writing; he was going around dropping major hints on the Red Star, answering questions, and was talking about something like "the biggest plot twist yet" and so on. In fact, TPTB Chapter 3 came out a mere week after Chapter 2 of the same serial; I remember being very surprised. Even on his blog entries Greg sounded excited about it. And then with TYQ, with the whole GB contest, I could tell he was excited about the story. After that, the series of events which brought us to the low point we are at today began in quick succession, beginning with LEGO's new policy, which pretty much caused us to lose nearly all communication with Greg.Really, what Greg did with TPTB proves that if he wants to, Greg can find someway to fit writing the BIONICLE serials into his busy schedule. Even if Greg is busier now, he could probably find a way.Really, BZPower's downtime came at the worst possible time; not only did it harm the official BIONICLE story, it destroyed all contests that could have given us new storyline, or at least some interesting discussions. S&T Contest 6 is gone, as is the Lesovikk Hiatus Contest, as is Name the GB contest, all which don't seem to be coming back anytime soon.

[Kraahlix]

I'm getting the impression that GregF doesn't want to write BIONICLE serials anymore. I mean, maybe he's gone on for so long without writing any, he's finding hard to go back and start again. As a writer, this happens to me a lot; in fact, I haven't been writing for a while. I think the downtime is really what struck the BIONICLE story a fatal blow.Greg mainly continued the story for us BZP members, because we're the hardcore fans who haven't completely left BIONICLE and moved on to other things. Most of BIONICLE's former audience probably moved on to Hero Factory and Ninjago. So when BZP went down, Greg had no reason to write; I think this is backed up by the fact that the time between the Powers that Be and Sahmad's Tale's update were the longest at the time (3 months). Sahmad's Tale Chapter 7, which is the last update we've had so far, was uploaded back in June, during BZP's downtime. Since Greg was busy in the first place, he probably decided not to write until BZP came back.BZP came back in October, 3-4 months after the latest update. By this time Greg was probably totally out of it, especially with him writing novels for Ninjago and taking care of his family. I think Greg has lost that eagerness to write; you have a hard time writing something you don't want to. I remember, back in late 2010 and early 2011, Greg sounded like he was really enjoying what he was writing; he was going around dropping major hints on the Red Star, answering questions, and was talking about something like "the biggest plot twist yet" and so on. In fact, TPTB Chapter 3 came out a mere week after Chapter 2 of the same serial; I remember being very surprised. Even on his blog entries Greg sounded excited about it. And then with TYQ, with the whole GB contest, I could tell he was excited about the story. After that, the series of events which brought us to the low point we are at today began in quick succession, beginning with LEGO's new policy, which pretty much caused us to lose nearly all communication with Greg.Really, what Greg did with TPTB proves that if he wants to, Greg can find someway to fit writing the BIONICLE serials into his busy schedule. Even if Greg is busier now, he could probably find a way.Really, BZPower's downtime came at the worst possible time; not only did it harm the official BIONICLE story, it destroyed all contests that could have given us new storyline, or at least some interesting discussions. S&T Contest 6 is gone, as is the Lesovikk Hiatus Contest, as is Name the GB contest, all which don't seem to be coming back anytime soon.

Quick note: S&T Contest 6 should be able to wrap up soon. I talked with bonesiii a little bit, and helped him get the last details squared away. I am under the impression that he just needs to put the final touches and go through the process of announcing winners and making news stories out of it and stuff like that.You bring up interesting points about Greg's eagerness to write the story, as well as the downtime's effect on it. What you're saying makes a lot of sense. Although I probably agree with you, we can only speculate about the reason for Greg's absence beyond what Erebus reported in October. We know that his normal writing time has been occupied. He is likely very busy, but how his workload looks day-to-day we really don't know. The last time we knew about his schedule was like May of 2010. The only thing I can tell you is that I sent him a letter on Dec. 9th. We've met in person a couple times before, he knows who I am, and I gave him every method to get in touch with me and I haven't heard back yet. =/

[55555]

The point was that GregF doesn't want to come back, himself. It's not like anything can overcome that. Except money.

Unless this is just a poorly expressed joke, it does not do justice to Greg.Greg has spent much of his own time over the many years of Bionicle on here answering questions, and hosting contests while reicveing no monetary rewards. He has written Bionicle serials that he cannot possibly have been paid for since the end of Bionicle. The reason he does this is for enhancing the Bionicle storyline, as an end in itself.And as for your theory that he is afraid of the questions he will be asked, that doesn't seem consistent with his past actions. Even when people tried to slow down the flow of questions to save Greg trouble, he would tell them to just keep sending as many as they wanted. He has always welcomed questions.The real reasons for his absence are obvious and have been stated many times in this topic. Firstly, Lego's new rule about talking to kids + The Great Downtime cut him off completely from the fanbase. Secondly he has a baby to take care of, which has cut into his writing time. Thirdly, with the success of Ninjago, I wouldn't be surprised if he has more work than before.Subsequently he has understandably lost the habit of writing serials.---That said, I would be REALLY happy if he came back.I don't know if your read this topic Greg, but if you do, please come back and take care of your other baby, Bionicle. - 55555

[Klak]

I'd like to note something guys, because I feel I have to. Been months since I last enteres BZP:If BIONICLEStory doesn't get updated... I'm not blaming anyone, really. You guys have to remember: LEGO is a business. A toy one. That means thir objective is to make money by selling toys. The BIONICLE line was replaced by Hero Factory, whatever the reason was (if I'm not mistaken, it was done because BIONICLE sales were going down, and HF was a kind of a bump try to the Action Figure department -- a bump that's worked well enough I'd say). Now that LEGO doesn't sell BIONICLE figures anymore, and that Greg has a daughter to take care of, as well as his other duties as a LEGO employee (The Magazine for example), it's not like we can really reclaim anything. I'm the first one who'd like to see BIONICLEStory updated every week. But I understand LEGO is mantaining two sites that doen't really report benefits to them, in a difficult moment for them -- plastic production is expensive and there's still a bad economical situation for almost everyone. Knwoing this, they've done us a favor really. Any other company would have shut down the project without even trying -- they didn't, after 10 years of delivering us awesome toys with a good story, they tried to mantain the spirit alive for some more time, and maybe even more than that.Now guys, take a rest. Write fanfics, make MoCs, play with your toys or even dedicate some time to other things that are surely important. If the Story gets shut down, we still have BZP. I will, in fact, I remind you of the post Greg made some time ago about how fans should never lose faith on the story, and they should continue toi take care of it, posing the example of Star Wars, if I'm not mistaken.So, as long as you guys want, BIONICLE will be alive. Maybe one day, LEGO will come and say: "Hey, we should try this out again." It's not the first time it's happenned. Just look at Doctor Who: it was cancelled for almost 20 years... And it's back and running, and allow me to say, living a golden era, really. So yeah, don't worry so much.

The point was that GregF doesn't want to come back, himself. It's not like anything can overcome that. Except money.

Unless this is just a poorly expressed joke, it does not do justice to Greg.Greg has spent much of his own time over the many years of Bionicle on here answering questions, and hosting contests while reicveing no monetary rewards. He has written Bionicle serials that he cannot possibly have been paid for since the end of Bionicle. The reason he does this is for enhancing the Bionicle storyline, as an end in itself.And as for your theory that he is afraid of the questions he will be asked, that doesn't seem consistent with his past actions. Even when people tried to slow down the flow of questions to save Greg trouble, he would tell them to just keep sending as many as they wanted. He has always welcomed questions.The real reasons for his absence are obvious and have been stated many times in this topic. Firstly, Lego's new rule about talking to kids + The Great Downtime cut him off completely from the fanbase. Secondly he has a baby to take care of, which has cut into his writing time. Thirdly, with the success of Ninjago, I wouldn't be surprised if he has more work than before.Subsequently he has understandably lost the habit of writing serials.---That said, I would be REALLY happy if he came back.I don't know if your read this topic Greg, but if you do, please come back and take care of your other baby, Bionicle. - 55555

Both of you deserve recognition for such great and respectful posts.

[P962]

You guys do realize we can continue the bionicle storyline ourselves right? Just because ol' greg hasn't been heard from for months doesn't mean the end of the world. As Mr. Hanekoma told Neku in "The World Ends with You" the world only ends at his (Neku's) borders. We have a pretty reasonably sized fanbase here at BZPower and if any part of the creative outlet section of BZP means a thing...We can easily continue the Bionicle story ourselves with the power of our imaginations. Heck, it could something as simple as a fanfic for all I care, or it could be a huge fanmade movie that rocks the socks off of fans. So, instead of fretting over whether Greg will come back and update the story, let's move on as a community and make some fanon! (a combination of the words fan and canon) I think GF would have wanted it that way.

[Toa Zaz]

The point was that GregF doesn't want to come back, himself. It's not like anything can overcome that. Except money.

Unless this is just a poorly expressed joke, it does not do justice to Greg.Greg has spent much of his own time over the many years of Bionicle on here answering questions, and hosting contests while reicveing no monetary rewards. He has written Bionicle serials that he cannot possibly have been paid for since the end of Bionicle. The reason he does this is for enhancing the Bionicle storyline, as an end in itself.And as for your theory that he is afraid of the questions he will be asked, that doesn't seem consistent with his past actions. Even when people tried to slow down the flow of questions to save Greg trouble, he would tell them to just keep sending as many as they wanted. He has always welcomed questions.The real reasons for his absence are obvious and have been stated many times in this topic. Firstly, Lego's new rule about talking to kids + The Great Downtime cut him off completely from the fanbase. Secondly he has a baby to take care of, which has cut into his writing time. Thirdly, with the success of Ninjago, I wouldn't be surprised if he has more work than before.Subsequently he has understandably lost the habit of writing serials.---That said, I would be REALLY happy if he came back.I don't know if your read this topic Greg, but if you do, please come back and take care of your other baby, Bionicle. - 55555

It is true that he has been willing to do a lot for the fan community for free in the past, but the truth is if he had pay as an incentive the web serials would undeniably be coming out more frequently (I think this is what Fishers64 meant). I'm not blaming him; it'd be the same for anyone.P962, several fan-made Bionicle continuation projects have been started in the past, but all (with a few exceptions, Legend of Ignaqua, etc) have failed. Especially with the downtime, I don't think there's enough of a community to really put together something like that. Edited January 5, 2012 by Toa Zaz

[Master Inika]

You guys do realize we can continue the bionicle storyline ourselves right? Just because ol' greg hasn't been heard from for months doesn't mean the end of the world. As Mr. Hanekoma told Neku in "The World Ends with You" the world only ends at his (Neku's) borders. We have a pretty reasonably sized fanbase here at BZPower and if any part of the creative outlet section of BZP means a thing...We can easily continue the Bionicle story ourselves with the power of our imaginations. Heck, it could something as simple as a fanfic for all I care, or it could be a huge fanmade movie that rocks the socks off of fans. So, instead of fretting over whether Greg will come back and update the story, let's move on as a community and make some fanon! (a combination of the words fan and canon) I think GF would have wanted it that way.

A great idea in theory, but it would be, in essence, fan anarchy (or fanarchy). Without a central player (like Greg) to approve such things, it would get horribly out of hand.Plus, the Biological Chronicle carries Greg's style. That's what draws a person to a story, the author's style. Fan additions are great supplements, but a canon story made entirely by fans would carry a totally foreign feel.