Aanchir

What an amazing treat! You should set that up in the BZPower central office that you're totally getting.

Cool! Which one will you build first?

Brining it back?

Glad you're having a fantastic time already! Did you hit it off with your co-workers in the LEGO City department?

To me, 2015 BIONICLE feels fairly similar to 2001 in tone, but there are definitely some storytelling differences. Namely, a lot of my first exposure to the story in 2001 came through the comics, the first of which conveyed a lot of info in short order, compared to some of the story episodes we've seen. And the Mata Nui Online Game, which fed you information more slowly like the new story episodes are doing, was also interactive, whereas we haven't really gotten any interactive story media yet with the reboot (the mobile game is not really story-intensive at all).

 

I want G2 to give the main characters some real development, including learning to tolerate and help one another through their shortcomings. The Toa's new flaws present an opportunity for the characters to experience conflicts other than just having bad attitudes and not being able to get along. They will really have reasons to get frustrated with one another. But if they learn to acknowledge their own faults and depend on one another for support, I think they will be able to become a stronger team for it.

 

In general, I'd like the lessons of the Toa to be a little less repetitive than they were in the early years of G1. The first few years of BIONICLE felt a little bit moralistic in that they kept drilling in the exact same lessons about teamwork and the Toa kept going their separate ways regardless. It got tiresome, even more so than every single one of their major conflicts in those first few years taking place underground.

 

But the later years had the opposite problem, where despite all the moral ambiguity, the lessons about heroism didn't have much real-life applicability. Matoro learned that he was destined to make a great sacrifice, and he embraced that destiny, but what does that really teach us? It's extremely detached from any kind of situation a BIONICLE fan is likely to find himself in. I feel like Ninjago has done a better job working lessons into its episodes without them feeling moralistic or redundant.

 

Another thing I want G2 to do differently than G1 is to stick with the same main characters for longer. If Ninjago and Hero Factory can get five years of storytelling out of the same main characters, I see no reason why BIONICLE can't. After all, is Tahu really any less compelling than Furno or Kai?

 

That doesn't mean Tahu and company can never step out of the spotlight, but if they do, I want it to be for a clear and understandable reason, not just because they're not the characters on the toy store shelves anymore. Let the first chapter of their lives actually come to a satisfying close, instead of them putzing around in the background on uneventful side missions while they wait to become relevant again. They could perhaps even become mentors to the next generation of heroes.

What about the video game spin-off, Taken Tag Tournament?

'Cuz space aliens are spooky.

I am very jelly. Can't wait to see what you will have to show for your work in the years to come! I'm sure you have a lot to contribute!

You worked on news stories! Those count as stories!

People keep telling me to switch to contacts because, apparently, I'm much better looking without glasses. Well forget them, there's no way I'm sticking plastic plates in my eye every day. No sir. I don't even like eye drops.

Same here. I've always been extremely squeamish about putting things NEAR my eyes, let alone IN them. Besides that, I've worn glasses since the second grade and have grown so used to them that if I STOPPED wearing I'd hardly recognize myself as the same person. They've become a part of my self-identity.

 

My avatar agrees!

I think 2014 has been a good year for me. Not on all fronts, of course. I still don't have a steady, paying job. But my standing in the LEGO community and my activity in that community have increased considerably, and I have a feeling that will eventually lead to new opportunities for me.

Well, some of them anyway.

 

I'd say the only one that's really disappointing is the Protector of Fire, because his arms need to be at least one module longer to be proportionate with his body. Otherwise, I definitely think they look good. On a certain level, they're everything the 2008 Av-Matoran and Shadow Matoran should have been.

If you judge how securely the masks can attach to a model only from how securely they attach to the head piece they're designed to pop off of with ease, you're not going to get a very realistic picture of their other potential applications.

 

XCCJ EDIT: Whoops, I tried to quote you and accidentally edited (and subsequently deleted) some of your post. My bad.

Wait... but does this mean you're NOT actually Santa?

 

EVERYTHING I KNOW IS A LIE

Torso armor is very great for building large-scale creations. I am not a huge fan of the Legends of Chima torso shell because it has such an intricate texture and so few connection points, but I've seen some fantastic uses for it.

 

I made sure to grab Splitter Beast's torso shells during the Brickfair parts draft. Haven't yet finished any MOCs that use it, but I have some WIPs that I would never be able to finish without it.

Gali is definitely my favorite, but I can respect people preferring Kopaka. He's got a fantastic design with lots of uniqueness and personality.

I like the Protector of Stone's color scheme, myself. Protector of Earth has a cool build but the color scheme's a bit too dark for my liking. I feel like he could have used some more Dark Stone Grey or Silver Metallic.

There's just more of a learning curve than most people would ever want in a LEGO launcher. The fact that LEGO felt the need to release an instructional video shows they weren't anywhere near as intuitive as most launchers. And first impressions are important. If a person struggles with the launcher the first time they go to use it, that will often color their perception of the launcher in general and discourage them from trying to master it.

Attaching the new masks to MOCs should not be any huge challenge. They can snap right onto pretty much anything two modules wide with a hole in each side, provided there's no collision with the inside of the mask. A Y-joint, a 2M friction pin, you name it.

One thing about BIONICLE that some fans lose sight of is that the prices are actually very low by LEGO standards. Granted, you often get a lower price-per-piece than with many other LEGO themes, but being able to get 13 sets for $180 is pretty extraordinary. Not as extraordinary as Mixels, which come out nine at a time at a $5 price point with less than ten cents per piece on average, but still much lower than a theme like Ninjago, Legends of Chima, or even Castle (the latest full wave of Castle cost $212 for just five sets).

 

Anyway, hoping you can make room for BIONICLE in your 2015 budget (the new sets are REALLY GREAT), but it's up to you how you spend your money, and you're right that next year's Legends of Chima sets appear to offer a great value! Just keep in mind that you might be able to save some money by waiting for good sales instead of buying an entire wave one fell swoop.

I stay out of S&T for the most part, not because of attitudes there but just because so much of the discussion there involves either talking about BIONICLE G1 loose ends that I neither know or care much about, or seriously overthinking BIONICLE G2.

 

However, the notion that the BZPower community has devolved in some way since 2011 surprises me, because my activity here actually diminished in 2011 and 2012 because of the negativity surrounding BIONICLE's cancellation and Hero Factory's introduction, and all things considered I think the community today is a lot more positive than it was back then.

 

There are still arguments, of course. You can't have a healthy community without the risk of arguments, because a healthy community depends on people having a wide range of opinions. Nobody wants BZPower to become an echo chamber, I don't think. But since those dark days in the immediate aftermath of the BIONICLE theme's cancellation I have seen far fewer topics being closed due to out-of-control arguments, far fewer people accusing people of being traitors or not real BIONICLE fans when they don't agree on everything, and far more openness towards differing points of view.

Awesome! My brother's CHI Cragger also arrived today.

get yo'self some granny's apple fries, son!

 

them's the crown jewel of the 'murican LEGOLANDs.

What I'm hoping for is a Legend of Korra comic series like Avatar: The Last Airbender is currently getting. That way the creators can still provide a guiding influence for the continued adventures of the characters but won't have to devote their lives to it like they would with a full TV series.

I haven't seen the finale yet, but by putting my post in spoiler tags I can make it look like I have!

Yes, I know I've used this joke before.

Yes, I know it's probably less funny the second time.

Don't worry, I'll be seeing the finale either today or tomorrow, and then I can actually contribute to the conversation more constructively.

 

[Please only use spoiler tags for spoilers. -Bfa]