That Matoran with a Vahi

Oh wow, I love the prompt I've received... I wasn't sure what to expect, going into this, but the one I got feels like such a perfect one for me It'll take a few days for me to start, just because I've got another (non-BZP) project part that I need to finish that's due much sooner; but I'm definitely looking forward to working on this!

I don't know... writers often tend to use foreign names for characters, don't they? I haven't seen anyone get in trouble for it in other contexts, so I'm not really sure I can see the harm in Templar doing that thing too; especially when it seems like they put a lot of research into the meanings. I thought it only caused major offence with Maori because Lego inadvertently used words that had culturally special or religious significance? I didn't know Takua's name wasn't settled on until after that, though; that's interesting! I knew it wasn't mentioned until right at the very end of MNOG, but I assumed Lego had had it in mind at all times. Then again, I do remember the rumour that he was named 'George' for most of his life up to that point, so I guess it does make sense ^^

I did it the other way around... put 'Takua' in, told google that it was (possibly) Maori, and it returned 'ship'. But, like I said, I don't always trust Google translate, so I can't guarantee it's correct.

I'm curious that you didn't include Takua on the list. Apparently, his name means 'ship' in Maori (at least according to Google translate, which I... don't always trust), and can mean piety or devoutness in Swahili... though I'm not exactly seeing the connection in either of those cases. Maybe it has more meanings in other languages, but I didn't check further.

Okay, that makes sense! This is just my first time taking part in one of these; so I wanted to make sure. Thanks! ^^

Oh WOW these are so cool. I particularly love the way you've built the heads mostly out of system pieces; capturing the look and aesthetic of the Vahki perfectly without needing any of the big specialised parts that the sets so relied upon. The attention to detail on the various staves, too, is spectacular... not to mention the sense of atmosphere and aesthetic that you create with the lighting and backgrounds. They certainly do call back to mind the old animations... which I now want to go back and watch again, heh xD Really nice work!

And, okay. I've just replayed the game (I haven't been able to get it to work on my new laptop, so I picked up the PS2 version cheap instead) and, taking out the huge rose-coloured lenses... You guys are COMPLETELY right. I mean, I'm still always gonna have a soft spot for this game, nothing can change that; and I'm still convinced the best thing it attempted to do was trying to make each Toa's level gameplay unique, rather than the rather repetitive strategy that BH used. But... Oh man, is it ever bad otherwise xD I'd forgotten how *slowly* the Toa ran, for one thing... add to that the low-budget graphics, sometimes-unresponsive controls, basic and dull battle mechanics, lack of coherent story... not to even mention that, if you die on certain levels, there's a bug that means the music dies too - and it doesn't come back when the character does. Looking at you, Onua. And though I still do applaud the attempt to have each level's gameplay be different, that very attempt led to each level feeling very... simplistic, for lack of a better term. Aside from a few moments that seem just put there to be cruel (glide after the Gukko, anyone? Still gives me trouble even now!) it's so straightforward that there's no real CHALLENGE factor at all. I get that Lego didn't want to make it too hard, for the sake of the target audience, but... The one level I exempt from this criticism is Tahu Nuva's surfing level. Easily the highlight of the game, in my book; still by no means perfect, but it was the one point where I felt like it gave me enough of a challenge that there was a real sense of accomplishment to beat it. Granted, that was also the level that I struggled with the most as a kid, but... preferences change xD

I... have another question. (Thanks for the reply on the previous one, by the way! ^^) What if, once the fic is written and posted, the recipient doesn't actually like it? Would the gifter have to take it back and make a different one in replacement?

I dunno, I still much prefer this game over its successor, Bionicle Heroes. Sure, it's easy, and short - it takes, what, a couple of hours to run through the whole thing? - and actual storyline-relevant plot is non-existent... but the thing that makes me like it the most is that each level was unique. Whether it was a world-explorer level like Tahu, Gali, Onua and Lewa's, or something more specialised like Kopaka, Pohatu and Tahu Nuva's, no two moments in the gameplay were entirely the same (excepting the Bohrok and Bohrok-Kal battles... but after how alike those waves of sets even were, I'm not sure we could have expected anything else!) And even the 'walkaround' Toa had unique abilities that added an differing elements to their level gameplay. Whereas Bionicle Heroes, three years later? The levels all played exactly the same which, to me, got far too repetitive to fully enjoy. Aside from game length, though, I feel like Bionicle: the Game's biggest failing was story... there was barely any, and what little there was had no explanation at all. A Bionicle fan, going into the game, would understand what was supposed to be going on, sure... but your average gamer who just picked it up out of curiosity? Wouldn't have a clue. In a sense, I feel almost like no story would have served the game better than the out-of-context story moments thrown together seemingly at random... that, and maybe picking a specific point on the timeline to explore rather than trying to jam together elements of all three years. I'd... honestly love to see a remake of this game that built upon what it did right, and corrected what it got wrong... I feel like the concept could have had a lot more potential than it actually realised. With a bit more work, it could have been a jumping-on point to the franchise for a whole new set of fans... but as it is, Lego settled on something that really could only be enjoyed by the existing fandom. In summary: it's still a fun little game, to me... but, unfortunately, that's really all that it is.

I think for me... yeah, that would be Exo-Force too. I was at the upper end of the age bracket in 2006, when the theme started; but even despite the way the comics depicted the characters as humans rather than the familiar shape of minifigures, it still managed to very effectively captivate the remnants of my childhood imagination and draw me in. Beyond that, no other new theme managed that feat... I kept an eye on them all for a few years after, I will grant, but the interest in them was gone and I only really invested in Bionicle and Star Wars after that. Even those, my interest in waned in 2009, only that year's Toy Story sets were able to tempt much money out of me... and that, on nostalgia value as much as anything else, because TS2 had been a huge part of my childhood. Nowadays, it's more nostalgia that drives my Lego interest than anything else, so I guess that was the beginning of my approaching Lego from the perspective of someone outside of the intended target audience? Meaning in that case... yeah, the answer to your question would definitely have to be Exo-Force for me.

Huh, never thought of it this was before, but I can see exactly where you're coming from. This is genuinely really interesting, and I love it. It used to bug me that the Matoran were portrayed as bickering kids in the first movie; but now that you point out there was symbolic purpose behind that decision, rather than the directors simply not knowing better, I actually appreciate what was done there. I still prefer to think of them as the responsible adult-minded characters that the MNOG gave us, I admit, but it's nice to know that there was a reason why the movies played them the way they did. Thanks for sharing this! ^^

In my case? It's mostly creative inspiration that I draw from it. When world-building for various story projects of my own, in particular, I'm almost always inspired by the classic Mata Nui aesthetic to some extent; things like the MNOG in particular, which showed such a fascinating world that really drew me in (and still does now), had a real impact upon my childhood mind, and that impact still plays its part in shaping... most every story idea I work on, to be completely honest.

This is shaping up to be very entertaining so far; I like it, and I'm interested to see where it will go if you continue ^^ RPG shenanigans are always fun to read, and I enjoy your writing style here too. I feel like the only possible outcome is for this to be very off the rails compared to canon... but that's also what makes it so amusing xD

Oh, nice! I had those magazines when I was a kid... I've been trying to find them again recently - mostly to contribute the Bionicle comics to the fandom, since no-one else here on BZ seemed to have heard of them until recently - but had no success; thanks so much for sharing them ...though WOW, the Tahu one was worse than I remembered. Lego Adventures Magazine was never known for spectacular storytelling, granted, but I feel like this may have been their all-time low. Though since these fell right at the end of the magazine's run, I guess they just stopped putting in the effort for the last couple of issues?

And I just joined up, after all. Short Stories aren't really a medium I have much experience with, but I'm prepared to do the best I can ^^ What's the approximate recommended length for one of these, by the way? I tend to get long in my writing, whether I want to or not; so I guess what I'm asking is, how long would be 'too long' for it to count as a short story? Thanks in advance ^^

I'm interested, but it's been far too long since I last wrote seriously in the Bionicle fandom - I wouldn't even know where to begin. Still... it might be good to stretch my writing muscles in a bit more unusual of a direction, to challenge myself. I'm gonna give it some more thought before I commit.

I was very torn between #2, #4 and #6. #2 really has that super-menacing feel that comes across really nicely - and I love the use of the system gem pieces for the eyes! Meanwhile #4 was just so detailed, with a really nice colour scheme to boot... and #6 just carried so much of a classic Bionicle feel that it really appealed to me. Difficult decision, that one.

#9 absolutely wowed me here... the others are cool too; but that one takes my vote, for sure. The intricacy of the city is really impressive.

So, I'm just wondering. A couple of years ago now, we got a Lego collectable minifigures wave that was entirely Disney characters... and, as a massive Disney nerd, I will freely admit that they had my interest right from day one (I spent a while in Sainsbury's feeling every bag until I found the Stitch minifigure and have yet to regret it). I recall seeing, too, in Lego's annual report at the time that the Disney minifigure series was one of their best-selling products that year, which made me optimistic that we'd see more in the future. There are a lot of animated Disney movies, after all, and a lot of characters to chose from who I would love to see realised in the iconic form of the Lego minifigure... But after that, we didn't get any more. We've had plenty of other minifigure waves - now including Harry Potter, so licensed characters clearly aren't off the table - but not the slightest trace of another Disney wave. I would have thought, with how well the first wave sold, that Lego and Disney would have been falling over themselves to make more, so... Does anyone know why that didn't happen? It can't have been a falling-out between the two companies, as we have plenty of other Lego Disney products, so that leaves me puzzled. Do we know if there's still a chance of seeing more waves of Disney collectable minifigures in the future, or am I just waiting in vain for that? And on a more fun note... If Lego did make another wave of Disney minifigures, which of their characters would you most like to see represented? ^^

The music, and the visual style. At the time, I'll grant, eleven-year-old me loved all of it; but in hindsight, those are my two favourite things. The score needs no real explanation, but it still gives me chills to hear the music, all these years later - biiiiiig fan of the fact that it finally got released! - and honestly? Listening to the score on its own, my memories of the scenes seem so much more epic than watching the actual scenes themselves would be these days! And the visual style... the landscapes still look amazing, to my eye. They really captured the *essence* of Mata Nui, to my childhood mind and my adult perspective both, they made the world feel more real to me, even, than the MNOG did. And I know it's somewhat a controversial topic among the fandom, but I fell for the movie's character design style from the moment I saw the first movie-style images of Tahu on lego.com, and have loved it ever since. The more flexible and expressive masks; distinctive style of the yellow and red eyes; the way they adapted the look of those plastic Lego pieces into something that felt truly alive and breathing... I still love the character designs from the movie to this day. (I mean, do my avatar and banner give that fact away, or...? xP) I think three of my favourite scenes, too, are Tahu's healing and subsequent awakening, Jaller's death / Takua's self-discovery, and Hahli's speech. Are they perfect? Definitely not... but I love them, all the same. Aaaah, I love the smell of old nostalgia x3

Oh wow, that was really interesting to read. It's great to finally have the full story of what happened to the game, after all this time; it must have taken a ton of research to turn all that up. Seriously great work on it, Pohaturon

Just wondering, really. I didn't invest in G2 at the time, so I missed out on... most everything between its initial announcement and its eventual cancellation, truthfully. And, as someone who's potentially looking to pick up a set in hindsight (mostly for that wonderful sense of G1 nostalgia!) I just can't help but be curious as to which would be the most interesting for me. So, I figured, where better to turn than to the old hub of Bionicle opinion? Out of all twelve G2 Toa sets: which one, in your opinion, gave the most satisfying building experience? Was that one the most complex build, or was it just because it was more interesting or distinct from its fellows? Was there any sense of challenge involved in any of the builds, or were they all fairly simple construction? I'm genuinely interested in the opinions you guys all have to offer. And thank-you, in advance, for your time ^^

From the Official Rare Collectibles topic: I hope this helps a little bit ^^

I *used* to own the lion's share of released sets from 01-08 (lost most of my interest in 09), but... in the years since, I've sold off a lot of my collection, only have the most nostalgic sets left. But, let's see: In total, when my collection was at its most complete, I had: 18 from 01; 19 from 02; 22 from 03; 22 from 04; 23 from 05; 22 from 06; 22 from 07; 20 from 08; 4 from 09; 1 from 10; never bought any of G2, so... I used to own One hundred and seventy-three unique sets in total. Not counting Tahnok Va who I was able to build out of spare pieces and never actually bought the set of... and plus three of the playests. Now, though... well, my collection has two more recent entries that I never had back then, the Exo-Toa (which was quite a score for not even realising it was in the middle that bag of second-hand parts when I bought it!) and Glatorian Mata Nui. But otherwise... Twenty. Twenty sets, in total, remain. And while there are a few I kind of wish I hadn't been quite so zealous in getting rid of? I think I'm satisfied with those few ^^