Soulmates: Lego and Minecraft

[Hapori Tohu]

By now, you've probably heard of the wildly popular online game <a href='http://www.minecraft.net/' target='offsite'><em>Minecraft</em></a>. Players build digital worlds from individual blocks, an activity that sounds rather similar to real-life activity with plastic blocks. An effort is underway to consummate the relationship between Minecraft and Lego by getting official Minecraft Lego sets made. With the help of the Lego Cuusoo program, Minecraft players are hoping to garner enough support to make the dream a reality. The full proposal, where you can pledge your support, is over on <a href='http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/4038' target='offsite'>the Cuusoo site</a>.

 

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[Makuta_of_Oz]

Why couldn't they do a news story about the Bring Back Bionicle project?

[Tenebrae Invictus]

Yay! It reached 10,000 supporters!I just hope the product isn't only released in Japan. <_<EDIT: Looks like the product has to undergo review first...

Edited December 7, 2011 by Tenebrae Invictus

[Ektris]

Yeah, I really, really hope it's not available in Japan only like the first two sets. Cuusoo was only open to them at the time, but you never know...I'd been supporting this since before Mojang became personally involved, and I'm quite glad to see it finally possibly come to fruition. And should sets be made... I'll be buying them all right. ~|ET|~

Edited December 7, 2011 by Electric Turahk

[Lyichir]

Why couldn't they do a news story about the Bring Back Bionicle project?

How many supporters does that have? The Minecraft proposal has been the most successful suggestion for some time.I was initially skeptical of a partnership of this sort, until I started thinking of it not as a theme proposal, but as an opportunity for a large, creativity-based direct-to-consumer set. A set that includes many Minecraft-inspired blocks and gives you free rein with them could be moderately successful, especially given Minecraft's status as a breakout hit.

[Bambi]

Now I think this is a good move on Lego's part.

[Vorahk1Panrahk2]

Lego making sets on something based off Lego? Huh.

[Padishah Mehmet II]

"Consummate the relationship"... I see what you did there.-Dovydas

[CHTrilogy]

I mentioned that yesterday! What coincidence!!

[Sumiki]

Why couldn't they do a news story about the Bring Back Bionicle project?

Which has 802 supporters. LEGO Minecraft has over 10,000 supporters. The BZP staff has said time and time again that their policy is to not support any sort of petition to bring BIONICLE back - the BBB Cuusoo page is little more than a thinly-disguised petition. In addition, BBB is, IMO, a misuse of Cuusoo. It's for fan ideas, not the revival of dead set lines. If it ever got near the required 10,000, maybe they would have it on the front page.Also, let's remember that the 10,000 is for the LEGO review, not for automatic set production. LEGO reviewed the Minecraft sets and thinks that they can go forward with it. LEGO has already made the decision to end the BIONICLE sets recently, and they know that over 10,000 people out there don't particularly like it. But we have to consider what's best for the company, as they do.As for LEGO Minecraft, I don't care one way or another. I don't play Minecraft, nor do I have the desire to, but this will be good for all of the LEGO/Minecraft fans.

[Larnuu]

EDIT: This comment sounds a like a rant but i was just angree they would make a theme of mincraft but if you like the idea, don't give me hate for my thoughts on it.Bad move lego, bad move... See, Minecraft doesn't go well with lego at all, all they have to do is build a bunch of micro-scale set's with standard bricks and label it Minecraft, are you kidding me? Also, Minecraft has no story and is just world you build, so HOW are there going to be LEGO SET?! And when did you start licensing video game themes?! Personally, they look the similar but in all reality, they can't go together and if this ever becomes a real theme, I am NOT buying ANY.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Larnuu

[GSR]

It's a neat concept, but I feel like part of the fun of Minecraft is how expansive and quickly-malleable it is; Minecraft sets would be comparatively small and limited.

[Ektris]

Mad move lego, bad move... See, Minecraft doesn't go well with lego at all, all they have to do is build a bunch of micro-scale set's with standard bricks and label it Minecraft, are you kidding me? Also, Minecraft has no story and is just world you build, so HOW are there going to be LEGO SET?! And when did you start licensing video game themes?! Personally, they look the similar but in all reality, they can't go together and if this ever becomes a real theme, I am NOT buying ANY.

Two subjects thare are entirely about building and using your imagination don't go well together? Right...Minecraft uses a wide array of blocks with unique textures. Sure, they can be reproduced with standard bricks, but many could be in shades and colors and with designs not seen before or very seldom seen before. And Minecraft isn't exclusively just blocks anyways. Far from it. That's just the foundation for building so much more.You do not need a story to make a set. Like you said, make themed packs - one for a desert biome, a Nether pack, a forest with home and Creeper, etc. That said, it actually does have a loose plotline to it now that it's been fully released. While you can do all this building and ignore it, the ultimate goal is to discover a stronghold, enter the End, and defeat the Enderdragon.I still don't get how you insist they "can't go together" when they do so perfectly.And good, you don't have to buy any of the sets. Fans would even prefer you didn't, because that makes it easier for us to get them.~|ET|~

[GeluNumber1]

I'm signing up to support it. And have fun, too.

[Fisch]

If they couldn't pull off actual sets, the least they could do would be some minifigs. I'd love me some creeper minifigs.

[Padishah Mehmet II]

Mad move lego, bad move... See, Minecraft doesn't go well with lego at all, all they have to do is build a bunch of micro-scale set's with standard bricks and label it Minecraft, are you kidding me? Also, Minecraft has no story and is just world you build, so HOW are there going to be LEGO SET?! And when did you start licensing video game themes?! Personally, they look the similar but in all reality, they can't go together and if this ever becomes a real theme, I am NOT buying ANY.

Your whole post has been quite effectively addressed by Electric Turahk except for the sentence in bold.Explain to me the problem here, please, because I truly and utterly do not understand.-Dovydas

[Larnuu]

Mad move lego, bad move... See, Minecraft doesn't go well with lego at all, all they have to do is build a bunch of micro-scale set's with standard bricks and label it Minecraft, are you kidding me? Also, Minecraft has no story and is just world you build, so HOW are there going to be LEGO SET?! And when did you start licensing video game themes?! Personally, they look the similar but in all reality, they can't go together and if this ever becomes a real theme, I am NOT buying ANY.

Two subjects thare are entirely about building and using your imagination don't go well together? Right...Minecraft uses a wide array of blocks with unique textures. Sure, they can be reproduced with standard bricks, but many could be in shades and colors and with designs not seen before or very seldom seen before. And Minecraft isn't exclusively just blocks anyways. Far from it. That's just the foundation for building so much more.You do not need a story to make a set. Like you said, make themed packs - one for a desert biome, a Nether pack, a forest with home and Creeper, etc. That said, it actually does have a loose plotline to it now that it's been fully released. While you can do all this building and ignore it, the ultimate goal is to discover a stronghold, enter the End, and defeat the Enderdragon.I still don't get how you insist they "can't go together" when they do so perfectly.And good, you don't have to buy any of the sets. Fans would even prefer you didn't, because that makes it easier for us to get them.~|ET|~

well i respect your thoughts and i probably wrote that letter as if i had gone mad but i haven't (well.. maybe a little). It's probly the fact that mincraft uses simply blocks is probably the number 1 reason that the set's don't look appealing (because we have see all these pieces before). thank you on clearing up the story part but i still fail to see the minecraft fell in the set's design and playability. I'm alos not a minecraft fan but i don't have a problem with other people playing it. Any way sorry if i sounded like i was hating one people who like it.

Mad move lego, bad move... See, Minecraft doesn't go well with lego at all, all they have to do is build a bunch of micro-scale set's with standard bricks and label it Minecraft, are you kidding me? Also, Minecraft has no story and is just world you build, so HOW are there going to be LEGO SET?! And when did you start licensing video game themes?! Personally, they look the similar but in all reality, they can't go together and if this ever becomes a real theme, I am NOT buying ANY.

Your whole post has been quite effectively addressed by Electric Turahk except for the sentence in bold.Explain to me the problem here, please, because I truly and utterly do not understand.-Dovydas

well, i personally don't like minecraft BUT i don't have a problem with other people playing it. I also didn't notice the part in the article about lego starting to make Video Game Franchises but out of all the temes to choose from, minecraft would be at the bottom of my list not because i on't like it but I personally don't think they go together. Edited December 8, 2011 by Larnuu

[Peach 00]

Why couldn't they do a news story about the Bring Back Bionicle project?

As Sumiki said, there aren't 10,000 supporters of it. No offense intended, but lots of people aren't intent on trying to bring back something that's been long dead. =/Still, interesting. I've never been interested in Minecraft, so I can't really say I support it.

[.:Yio:.]

Omg I am sooo happy now. I was up last night clicking refresh all the time.If they made it this would have to be Lego Bricks first prodct line based off an external comapany's game (I think). Being Minecraft, it so well known not only to players but to non-players as well. So now that little kid who couldnt buy Minecraft because his parents dont know how or want to buy over the internet can now enjoy it in real life with the safe products of LEGO.Lego, Mojang. I salute you both. (And its obvious it will pass the review stage)

[Binary Code]

You want to build Minecraft Lego, go buy a boatload of 2x2 bricks.It seems Lego's popularity contest disguised as a design competition has turned out much worse than expected. We can only hope the reviewers realize how outlandishly foolish this idea is and and go with something that will actually appeal to a wide range of people.10001010 BC 00100010

[Visaru]

I too agree that minecraft lego will not work.For one, Minecraft is very terrain driven. Rarely do you find naturally made buildings. Now, Lego rarely makes buildings; it's likely they'd make so much terrain in a lego set. Even if they did, it would just be a pile of dirt or sand or netherrack colored bricks that are connected, and the piece count would be very large. And Lego is more realistic looking than mine craft; they'd have to take a step back to make terrain and buildings less smooth and more blocky. Minecrafts bricks are much more detailed too, it would be expensive to make that many printed 2x2 bricks.What makes minecraft good is the cool mechanic of building and mining. Lego's about a different mechanic of building- the only part of mine craft Lego sets would incorporate would be the storyline and locations. Minecraft locations don't transfer well into lego, and the story is minecraft's weakest point. They are similar, but not... compatible.

[Dralcax]

While a large number of Minecraft fans may enjoy Lego, the Lego fanbase is still at a low percentage of Minecraft fans. Lego Minecraft *coughBiocraftcough* would be better than Minecraft Lego sets.

[Zarohum]

Wouldn't Minecraft Lego sets be the same as creator?

[Lyichir]

A lot of people seem to think this would have to be minifig-scale, which is far from the case. Look at this: Maybe too niche for a full theme. But as a standalone set? I think a number of Minecraft fans would love to have a replica like this.I think it'll be interesting to see how this turns out, to be sure. But a lot of cynics are complaining that the CUUSOO experiment has been a failure, when that's far from the case. The response to this idea proves that LEGO is willing to go to great lengths to try and facilitate fan suggestions. In fact (and I dread saying this, because I think it would be a bad idea), if a suggestion to bring back BIONICLE reached the target number, LEGO might look into at least releasing one or two more sets as an outreach to the faithful fan following.

[TuragaNuva]

Just two things.First: I'm not entirely sure why this got a news article. If it were only in the news because it was the first (I believe?) Cuusoo project outside of Japan to reach 10,000 supporters, that's all well and good. However, it seems clear from the wording of the article that this isn't the case; it's just there because it seems cool. Why haven't other amazing Cuusoo designs been mentioned in the news, while this one has?Second: I have to agree with the people who are saying that this probably won't work. Wouldn't it basically just be sets consisting entirely of 2x2 bricks? Or, if on a different scale, 1x1 bricks? I also feel, though this is solely my opinion, that there aren't enough Minecraft fans who would actually buy this. To reference what Zarohum said, why not just buy a Creator set if you want bricks just to build things with? I understand that there are people who will buy it just because it's Minecraft-based, but will that really be enough people to make it profitable?I suppose we'll see.EDIT: the post above mine was made while I was writing this. Lyichir brings up an interesting idea, which, I'll admit, changes my opinion somewhat. However, I'm not sure how a Minecraft playtheme would do beyond a set or two like the one pictured above.-

Edited December 8, 2011 by TuragaNuva

[Akuna Toa of Sonics]

Lego making sets on something based off Lego? Huh.

Legoception.On topic: I don't see minifig scale working for this, but on a larger scale, like what's been said before.Still, I anticipate the release of Lego Minecraft sets worldwide. Edited December 8, 2011 by Akuna Toa of Sonics

[~garnira returns~]

meh, i'm OK with the idea as long as it takes up on of the licensed theme spots and not a playtheme spot. But seeing as minecraft is simply building with virtual bricks, it might as well be in the "brick and more" theme with the lego brick bucket..

[Kahu Rider 13]

As an avid Minecraft player myself, I like the idea; I've always fancied the idea of having a bunch of Lego Creepers! However, I do think the potential market for this is too small to justify making sets based on it. First of all, the sets would not be visually appealing enough for many non-Minecraft players to be interested in buying them. I suppose a few would buy them to get otherwise rare colours of 2x2 bricks in bulk, but if there's a demand for that sort of thing, Lego can just make another brick box with the colours that these people want. Minecraft players who also use Lego would probably want to buy one or two, but I doubt that many would buy the full range. Much of the appeal of Minecraft is in exploring and searching for the specific blocks that you need, but with Lego, you (hopefully) have all the pieces as soon as you open the box, so these sets wouldn't have the same style of playability as Minecraft does. If I'm going to be completely honest here, I'm not even convinced that all of those who signed the petition would buy the products; some will have looked at the petition, thought it sounded neat, and signed it immediately without thinking through whether they would actually buy the sets. Collectible items, such a larger-scale set (like the grass block and diamond shovel shown above), or something like a Creeper in one of those Minifigures bags might be nice. However, I don't see it working as a 'playable' line, and it might be better for Lego to make another brick box with 'terrain'-coloured bricks, such as brown for dirt, beige for sand, and grey for stone. This way, non-Minecraft players could get what they needed more cheaply than if they bought a licensed product, and anyone who wanted Lego Minecraft could buy it and use their imagination (all builders in the 1970s had to) to fill in the gaps. I appreciate that this is the 2010s, and not the 1970s, but the stone wouldn't all be yellow or anything like that; models made with it would at least be passable as "Lego Minecraft".

[Gatanui]

First: I'm not entirely sure why this got a news article. If it were only in the news because it was the first (I believe?) Cuusoo project outside of Japan to reach 10,000 supporters, that's all well and good. However, it seems clear from the wording of the article that this isn't the case; it's just there because it seems cool. Why haven't other amazing Cuusoo designs been mentioned in the news, while this one has?

I guess the reason why the news was posted is partly that, as you said, it´s the first project to reach 10 000 supporters, and partly that Minecraft is a highly popular game all around the world and in BZPower as well, so it´s understandable that this project deserves special attention because of what it is and because of the great support it´s encountering.I am not too sure about this. Sure, Minecraft is great, and the idea is very interesting, but I am simply not sure if Minecraft sets can even work, not because I wouldn´t want to see them but rather because creating a proper world in Minecraft style would require too many bricks for a set to include, especially if we build at a larger scale to make the Minecraft bricks more detailed. Add the licensing costs to that, and you have extremely expensive sets compared to what you can do with them. Then again, they should be very useful for getting bricks in rare earth colours. I guess we will see.~Gata. Edited December 8, 2011 by Gatanui

[55555]

First: I'm not entirely sure why this got a news article. If it were only in the news because it was the first (I believe?) Cuusoo project outside of Japan to reach 10,000 supporters, that's all well and good. However, it seems clear from the wording of the article that this isn't the case; it's just there because it seems cool. Why haven't other amazing Cuusoo designs been mentioned in the news, while this one has?

I guess the reason why the news was posted is partly that, as you said, it´s the first project to reach 10 000 supporters, and partly that Minecraft is a highly popular game all around the world and in BZPower as well, so it´s understandable that this project deserves special attention because of what it is and because of the great support it´s encountering.~Gata.

I believe the reason it was posted was because it looked like Lego was on board with it, and it was likely that sets would come from it.Speaking unofficially, I think future Cuusoo projects that seem likely to become sets will likewise become news.- 55555

[Aanchir]

It's also worth noting that TLG issued their own press release about this particular project reaching the threshold for being considered as a set. If the Bring Back BIONICLE project had gotten that far, then it would be newsworthy. But it hasn't, and it's not.It should be noted that the review process includes changes to the models to make them better sets. The Shinkai 6500 model, for instance, uses a LEGO tail fin piece in Bright Orange on the back. The original prototype proposed through Cuusoo had a brick-built tail made from 1x2 slopes and other basic bricks. Naturally TLG isn't going to release any set that fails to meet their design standards. But the fact that the model has made it this far means its almost certain that a LEGO Minecraft set or sets will be released in some form or another.

[Billbill36]

Whoa, first post in a while, I left Lego a bit ago, and was kinda bummed, the Xbox wasn't doinit for me, and I got Minecraft. Most fun I've had in a bit. It's wonderful to see the combination of two of my interests. I may actually buy some of these sets, should it cone to fruition.

[ActivePalpitation]

Ah,the combination of 2 of my favorite things,endless creativity+endless creativity=XD

[iPenguin]

Yeah, I saw that article a while back. I voted yes http://www.bzpower.com/board/public/style_emoticons/default/cool.png

[ManiacToaLaco]

If they couldn't pull off actual sets, the least they could do would be some minifigs. I'd love me some creeper minifigs.

That's it. I don't think they could really do any sets of well, anything really of Minecraft, but they could do some "survival" type things, with zombies, skellies, creepers, etc.. All though I would enjoy some sets about the Yogscast :PMTL

[Lyichir]

If they couldn't pull off actual sets, the least they could do would be some minifigs. I'd love me some creeper minifigs.

That's it. I don't think they could really do any sets of well, anything really of Minecraft, but they could do some "survival" type things, with zombies, skellies, creepers, etc.. All though I would enjoy some sets about the Yogscast :PMTL

The one thing I CAN'T see them doing in sets is Minecraft minfigs. The proportions and shapes of Minecraft characters are completely different from those of minifigs. A single set featuring large-scale models of figures, tools, or blocks, THAT I can see. But figs? I doubt it.

[Bambi]

If they couldn't pull off actual sets, the least they could do would be some minifigs. I'd love me some creeper minifigs.

That's it. I don't think they could really do any sets of well, anything really of Minecraft, but they could do some "survival" type things, with zombies, skellies, creepers, etc.. All though I would enjoy some sets about the Yogscast :PMTL

The one thing I CAN'T see them doing in sets is Minecraft minfigs. The proportions and shapes of Minecraft characters are completely different from those of minifigs. A single set featuring large-scale models of figures, tools, or blocks, THAT I can see. But figs? I doubt it.

I could see Lego Creepers. How about Ghasts? :sly:Also Yogscast sets= no.

[WORT WORT WORT]

give me a steve minifig and i will be happy

[Leg O'Brick]

Well, we can all pat ourselves on the back. We made this happen.Us & the other 18-million-some minecraft users.

[Klak]

Why couldn't they do a news story about the Bring Back Bionicle project?

Good question. Though I think Sumiki kind of addressed that. Still, I hope all goes well with that project.Anyways, a Lego-Minecraft set would be interesting. I wonder if it will work out.