Heir of the Chronicler

That's a good way of putting it- BZP was like it is today, only more so. And, yeah, after the dark ages down time, the forum switched to a somewhat different format from the classic InvisionFree template it had always used. - Heir

I think we all knew it was going to end, we just didn't want to believe it could. - Heir

Thanks for doing so much to organize everything, B6! It was a pleasure finally meeting you folks. I know I didn't spend too much time down at the BZP corner, but that's what next years are for, right?

Ironically, my longing for the good old days is less vehement now then it was back IN the good old days! It's my belief that this really comes down to we-the-people policing ourselves and not repeating what happened with Hero Factory. - Heir

I was going to say something, and then I saw where Pomegranate already said everything I was going to say better than I would have said it, so I'd just like to say, what Pomengranate said. - Heir

A divide between new fans and old fans is only going to occur if we, the old fans, allow it to occur. In my case, "new fans" includes basically everyone after 2006, so I want to testify that peaceful co-existence is possible - Heir

Although I believe ball and socket constraction is here to stay, I would personally prefer if they'd mix the old system and the new system. That said, as long as the sets maintain the design quality of the Chima ultrabuilds like Sir Fangar, I'll be happy. - Heir

I've been with BIONICLE since the very first Lego Mania Magazine promo pic featuring Onua. I pull imaginary rank on all of you - Heir

Oh, man, I just remembered... back then, your proto level was a HUGE deal. Gaining or losing proto was everything to a member... I remember feeling sick when I got deproto'd the first time. It was devastating. So was the second time. I remember gnashing my teeth for days because I didn't agree with the rationale behind my deproto. It was a misunderstanding, I tell you! A simple misunderstanding, taken out of context! You have to believe meee... - Heir

Alright, so, my take away is, we can all agree that all of us need to show tolerance toward everyone else's opinions. Yeah, okay. I can stand behind that. - Heir

Hooray, I'm encouraging discourse! I agree, on both scores. Although the more involved story was a hook, it made the entry barrier that much higher after each year, which I believe is why they abandoned that approach for HF. Actually, I felt the same way! Although Bones makes a valid argument in that mystery is meant to be revealed, it doesn't change the fact that the mystery was a greater draw then the answers. Same here. That is the textbook definition of canon, after all, and I certainly don't have any issue with it. Because I was often enamored of the basic storylines, and then disappointed by where they went. The hero-or-animal theme of '05 was brilliant, right up until it was completely ignored in every way. Well, that goes without saying. What I'm trying to understand is why the community has put so much emphasis on canon... ... and I believe this to be one of the strongest answers, because- take it or leave it- the ongoing story was a defining element LEGO hadn't attempted before. Indeed- it was the first time I said to myself, "you know, I don't like that. I'm going to ignore it." They fit in that, the canon was, "This is what your protagonists look like now." True, but it still set a drastically different tone from anything that came before. I'm sure some would like my headcanon, and some wouldn't. What I'm getting at is, that doesn't matter, as it's written for my own enjoyment. I'm not saying it needs to be about proving something... if I was, then I would be attempting to prove something, which I'm not! In fact, I was attempting to say that I enjoy all visions- canon and fanon- equally... My argument, in this instance, is that canon needs to be written with much more care and consideration for a broader appeal then headcanon, and even then, you can't make everyone happy all of the time, as you say here: The difference is, IMO, LOST had much better writers, and it was a different medium- with a TV show, either you follow the story or you don't. The interactive element of a toy line simply isn't present. When I watch Game of Thrones, I can't say, well, so-and-so didn't die! Because I have no say in the story. But, when you own all the toys, and you can build more toys, you can take it where you want it to go. See, I started this thread to learn, and that, sir, is a touche. I can understand following the canon story as though it were a TV show, where you wait for the next installment to see where things go, and it's on the writer's shoulders to craft an enjoyable narrative. Switching back to LOST for a moment, this is the type of shenanigans the writers of LOST didn't have to deal with. Adaptive Armor exists because the set designers and the story team weren't on the same page, forcing the story team to invent a bogus reason on the spot for why none of the characters looked anything like themselves. GregF explained this away as, they couldn't sell sets that looked like previous years' sets, but the fact that Furno, Stormer, etc are all still the same colors and wearing the same helmets as they did in 2010 shoots that argument right in its foot. See, I can get behind that. Regardless of how well the story was executed, it created discussion, which created community. So, in a way, even though I didn't like the direction of the story, because- -that's exactly what I did, the story is what created the common bonds that Hero Factory simply hasn't made for itself. Sorry, I didn't express myself very well. I'm aware of that, and that's the point I was attempting to make- why do we, as a creative community, choose to hold canon higher than fanon, when all interpretations could be considered equal? Now, this thread has already gone far to answer that question for me, as canon does provide a common denominator for the whole community... I'll get behind this all the way. That's why I mentioned Yo Yo Piraka... although not canon, it established atmosphere, and that atmosphere was poorly rhymed. Alright, so, I suppose I should make some sort of a point before I sign off. Basically, where I'm coming from is, I better understand why we, as a community, care about following the canon, but considering it's interactive, open-ended nature, I still don't understand why there was such a fervor for GregF to fill in every last detail- especially when he was often making it up as he went along, same as us. - Heir

BS01 is definitely my go-to place for anything BIONICLE lore related, and the BioMedia Project serves as a great companion site. IMO, there's very little to be done that those two haven't already done better. - Heir

Ditto- if I have any "favorite characters" from Hero Factory, they're Bulk and Stringer. I would've liked to have seen an XL of either of them before HF ended, but alas, it is not to be. - Heir

So, I want to get something off my chest which has been bothering me since, like... 2001, really. Why do we, as the BIONICLE fandom, care so much about what GregF and the story team arbitrarily decided was, and wasn't, canon? Hear me out. It all began with the Matoran- or, I should say, the Tohunga. Now, I fully understand the reason why TLG officially changed their name. Speaking for myself, I thought Tohunga sounded better... and so, I call them Tohunga to this day. Now, although it may have begun with the Matoran, the Word of Canon marched forward through the years. The Nuva came, and when I saw Lewa had buck teeth, Gali had a pig snout, and Onua had both T-Rex arms and chainsaws, I despaired. I remember sitting in my parent's kitchen, looking over the Lego Mania Magazine, lamenting that I would never see my beloved Olda officially represented again. (I'm sorry, Tahu Stars... I want to count you, but you're still an Agori wearing a Hau to me.) So, I made my first big decision regarding Bionicle canon: I was going to disregard the Nuva, and carry on with the Olda. Besides, they made no sense! They were already powerful masters of their elements... why were there 6 magical cylinders in the Bahrag's chamber floor, acting as a level up reward in case they were defeated? In what way had they become more powerful? How could they be more masterful? Who scattered Kanohi Nuva across the island? When had they been created?! Thus, my Toa faced the Bohrok Kal and the Rahkshi wearing their iconic Gold masks, and I didn't own a Nuva until years afterward... Metru Nui came and went. I remember Greg promising to me, via PM, in 2003, that I would enjoy 2004's story. And, although I was initially hesitant to embrace the technologically advanced Metru Nui after the primitive and tribal Mata Nui, it came to replace my interest in Bionicle's first years. But, then, in 2005, things started getting out of hand... and by the time we hit YO YO PIRAKA, I was in fully-fledged denial. I didn't like 2006. I still don't. I literally cannot name anything I enjoyed about 2006s sets or story in any way. But, whatever... I disregarded it. I expanded on my Metru Nui storyline. I stopped caring about canon, and I made my own BIONICLE headcanon, which has fully replaced my interest in the official storyline ever since. My enjoyment is in crafting the best BIONICLE world I can... and no, I haven't shared it anywhere, because I'm not trying to prove that I can do better, and I don't expect anyone but me to care about it. 2001 followed the same template as other LEGO themes of that era, such as the Adventurers and Rock Raiders, and which many themes have emulated since: LEGO gave us the setting, the characters, and the conflict, and told us to go to town. To this day, the entire Quest for the Masks remains untold as a sandbox for our own stories to roam free. IMO, GregF's micromanagerial involvement with the community and with the story did us all a disservice, leaving the fandom waiting, with baited breath, for the next sacred revelation to be handed down from on high. Such revelations included... the name Teridax, aka, something else I've wholeheartedly ignored. So, as we move toward 2015, and I read the innumerable comments about how TLG needs to give us closure to this serial or that character, or bring back X, Y, and Z... I find myself wondering, why does it really matter? Since BIONICLE ended, numerous projects have sprung up- either retelling past years of Bionicle, or carrying the story forward from where it left off. In my eyes, they're all equal with the canon. Canon is whatever we, as individuals, choose it to be. Bionicle, IMO, makes for a good Batman... on his 75th birthday, are you going to say the Nolan films are Canon, and everything else isn't? How do you decide which to follow, the Arkham games, or the films? Maybe you're like my Dad, and actually enjoyed the 60's TV show... back when it was airing new episodes on TV. The different interpretations, canon or not, don't matter- what matters is the core story which we share, and where we take it from there. But, that's just my take-away, and I'd be happy to hear what ya'll think. - Heir

The majority of those who bought the toys are male... so they made the majority of the cast male. Back before the canon was handed down that only Ga-Koronans were female, I assumed all villages were mixed gender, and my 11-year-old-self was totally okay with that. It is my sincere hope that they introduce a balanced ratio of male/female characters this time around, but if Natalie Breez is anything to judge by, they won't. - Heir

Yeah, that describes me, and I'm among the people who appreciates how J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek. I feel as though establishing an alternate timeline is better than invalidating and rewriting established canon, as they've now done with Star Wars. Of course, Star Trek tripped over its own retcon when they cast Khan as both British and not Ricardo Montalban from 40 years ago, but that, at least, has nothing to do with the manner in which they rebooted the franchise... Of course, I'm also one of the few people here who hopes they do a hard reboot and abandon everything that's come previously, but that's because I didn't particularly enjoy most of the story the first time around- partly because of pointless alternate dimensions and the characters hopping between them! Vezon, in particular, was one character I could never get into, and so- speculation and hypothisizing aside- I, personally, hope he doesn't make an appearance. - Heir

Basically, this. Also, I never liked Takanuva's characterization after he stopped being Takua. - Heir

Although I don't dislike HF, I won't miss it. HF was a huge missed opportunity- when you consider that Heroes are basically Halo Spartans wearing Iron Man armor- and I'm happy to let it rest in peace. - Heir

So, is this the mask the conductor of the Hype Train wears? - Heir

HA! YES! I *knew* I knew your name! I just needed that push to jog my memory. We did business, didn't we? Anyway, um, I'm Heir of the Chronicler, and I've always been Heir of the Chronicler since, what... 2003? I make custom masks and sometimes draw stuff too. And I'm back. I didn't actually plan on leaving in the first place, but RLS kinda kicked me to the curb, as it tends to do. - Heir

I'm less surprised that BZP is still around- a community of this size has way too much inertia to die easily- and more surprised that BZP survived the 7-month-downtime, which I genuinely believed- at the time- to be the end of the site. Writing this now, I feel pretty lame for not playing a bigger part in the community these last few years - Heir

Man, I can remember when I couldn't browse the forum after school on the east coast because this was the first site all the kids went to when they got home... ... so, I guess it was a golden age in that, there was lots of activity, but it wasn't a golden age if you wanted to actually use the forum - Heir

The comet ball traitor became a Turaga? Wut? I voted Onewa, primarily because his (only) dialogue in the Mask of Light is the best delivered line of the whole film: "The Toa squabble like Gukko birds over a berry." It's just great how disgusted he sounds... especially knowing, now, that he was a squabbling Toa once, too. - Heir

I'm going to have to say Mata Nui, because the MNOG was my childhood. That said, I spent a lot of time in Metru Nui and Bara Magna as well, so they're competing for a close second. MN and BM had what MN had: a mysterious, expansive locale with plenty of area to explore, which I much preferred to the narrative-driven settings of Voya Nui, Mahri Nui, Karda-Nui and even the Visorak-conquered Metru Nui. - Heir

Basically, this. In regards to BZP, I agree with everyone else who has said the front page needs a revamp because, well, it does. Not even a revamp- just an update. It'd be great to have the hot topics list and the member spotlight actually working again. - Heir