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GregF

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  1. GregF

    Bionicle 2010

    By GregF,

    In the interests of saving time --
     
    I cannot discuss ANYTHING relating to BIONICLE 2010. I'm not allowed. That includes sets, story, etc. The fact that this site or that site may post things early does not change the rules I have to work under when I am on here.
     
    Greg
  2. GregF

    Bionicle And Bzp

    By GregF,

    I get a lot of questions about when BIONICLE will end, and I see a lot of topics on here about whether BZP would survive its ending.
     
    Well, all things end, eventually -- it might be a year or five years or 20 years or 100 years, but everything ends. But as someone who loves BIONICLE as much you do, I will give you some free advice:
     
    On the day it does end, assuming it is a time when you are still into it -- don't give up on it. Keep building models, writing stories, making theories. Someday, when the line ends, you guys will be the keepers of the flame, just as Star Trek fans were and Star Wars fans were (very few people remember that in 1991 Star Wars was considered a "dead license" -- it was the fans who kept interest alive until new books and movies came out). Never let anyone else's decisions -- not mine, not LEGO Company's, not anyone's -- dictate whether you maintain your interest in something you love. Don't walk away from BZP, which may be the place BIONICLE lives on for years after its "official passing." And from this one site on the web and others like it, who knows, perhaps someday a new universe will grow.
     
    Hopefully, this is not something any of us will have to worry about for some time to come -- but I thought it was important to say.
     
    Greg
  3. GregF
    Since you guys have been waiting so patiently for the last book of '07, which is still a ways away, I thought I would give you a little something to tide you over.
     
    This is a fragment of BIONICLE Legends #10, which is going to feature, in addition to 2008 main story, a flashback to the early history of the Toa Mata/Nuva. This section starts with the moment the six of them first woke up on the island of Daxia, long, long ago. (Since this doesn't give away main storyline, I figured it would be okay to share.) Enjoy!
     
     
    The crimson-armored being opened his eyes and looked around. He did not recognize where he was, nor did he have any idea who the five figures nearby might be. Each of them was lying on a slab, just like him, and each wore colored armor and a mask. But where he was red, they were other hues: white, blue, green, black, and brown.
    Of course, it came as no great surprise that he didn’t know who these others were. After all, he wasn’t sure who he was, either.
    He started to rise, then found he could not. Thick metal straps encircled him, keeping him pinned to the slab. Unsure of his identity as he was, he still knew that he didn't like being bound. He tried to exert his strength against the bonds, but without success. His frustration and anger grew. And then suddenly the metal of the straps was growing soft, turning to molten liquid, running off him and onto the floor.
    Did I do that? he wondered, as he sat up.
    On the next slab, the white armored figure had frozen his straps and then shattered them with the merest gesture. The others had all found unique ways to escape their bonds as well.
    “Well, we’re all free,” said the red armored being. “Now what? Anyone know where we are … or who we are?”
    The answer came then, but not from any of them. Rather, it was a voice that seemed to come from every part of the room that spoke in reply. “You are Toa.”
    The figure in the brown armor jumped down from his slab and onto his feet. “Toa! Hey, that’s great. I always wanted to be a Toa.” He looked up and addressed his next words to the ceiling. “Just one question: what’s a Toa?”
    “A Toa is a hero,” the voice answered. “Every Toa commands an elemental power, which can be focused through your weapons. Each of you also wears a Great Mask, with a power all its own. You will learn about these powers in time, as well as how to control them.”
    The white armored figure frowned. “To whom are we meant to be heroes, and why? You say we have great abilities, but what are we meant to do with them? Too many questions, for my taste …”
    The unseen speaker laughed softly. “You underestimate yourself, Kopaka – yes, that is your name. Questions will always whet your appetite for answers. But now it is time for you to meet.”
    A lightstone illuminated on the ceiling above Kopaka, as the voice said, “Kopaka, Toa of Ice.”
    One by one, the lightstones lit above the others as the speaker recited their names.
    “Gali, Toa of Water.”
    “Pohatu, Toa of Stone.”
    “Onua, Toa of Earth.”
    “Lewa, Toa of Air.”
    The last to be named was the crimson armored figure. “And Tahu, Toa of Fire. He will be your leader.”
    That seemed to startle Kopaka, who said sharply, “It seems to me we should be allowed to choose our own leader.”
    “I have to agree,” said Gali quietly. “I mean, none of us know anything about this Tahu. What if he’s too impulsive to be a good leader? What if he lacks the ability to work with his team members, or can’t motivate, or --”
    Lewa chuckled. “Or what if he’s just a #####?”
    A bolt of flame shot from an irritated Tahu past the Toa of Air, close enough to heat his mask to an uncomfortable temperature. Lewa reached up and yanked the mask off. Immediately, he felt so weak he almost fell over. Pohatu and Onua rushed to support him.
    “You must not remove your masks, unless you are replacing one with another,” the voice said. “Without them, your strength is halved.”
    Lewa gingerly returned the hot mask to his face. “Thanks … ow! … for telling us.” He turned to glare at Tahu. “And as for you, fireflyer, better be careful a big wind doesn’t blow you out one of these days.”
    “Big wind,” Tahu said, nodding. “Yes, that’s you, all right.”
    Kopaka decided to ignore the argument. “So we are a team,” he said to their unseen host. “Again, I ask – for what purpose? What are we meant to do?”
    A panel slid open in the far wall. Beyond, there was only darkness.
    “The gateway to another mystery, perhaps,” said Onua. “I wonder if a Toa’s life is filled with them?”
    “Then this will be just the first of many we walk through,” Tahu replied. “Let’s go.”
  4. GregF
    Hey guys,
     
    For those of you who bought Bionicle Legends #10 and wonder what the web code in the book will lead to -- it looks like it will be a new short story called "The Kingdom," which will take place between Bionicle Legends #10 and the first BIONICLE Level 3 reader. It will include how Takanuva lost the Staff of Light and got the Power Lance, and introduce you to the "Kingdom of the Great Spirit," the somewhat bizarre ruling council, and of course, the ruler of the kingdom -- Turaga Takanuva!
     
    Should be up on the site early this week.
     
    Greg
  6. GregF

    Bionicle: Tlr

    By GregF,

    Lately, I am getting a lot of PMs from people saying they have seen the new BIONICLE movie (which, to the best of my knowledge, has only had two screenings so far, one of which was in Billund where I don't think too many of you live). A few people have admitted that they are watching pirated copies of the film.
     
    So I am going to ask that you DO NOT send me questions based on watching illegal copies of the movie. You are putting me in a very uncomfortable position by doing so. As a colleague of Threshold and an employee of LEGO Company, I would be obligated to report you (and yes, I have no doubt BZP would hand your names over to the authorities if asked). I don't want to do that, so please stop putting me in a position of having to do so.
     
    Watching a pirated version rather than renting or buying a copy makes it less likely there will be future movies. Upcoming projects get green-lit only if TLR sells enough copies. If it doesn't, you can pretty much forget new DVDs in future.
     
    Greg
  7. GregF

    Book News

    By GregF,

    The news today is that it looks like there will be at least one more book in 2010. LEGO Company has asked me to write one for the first half of next year. I don't know the word count as yet.
     
    As far as I know, it will be published in Europe by AMEET. It will not be published in the US by Scholastic, but we are looking for another publishing partner here. If we don't find one in time, the book will most likely be serialized on the BIONICLE website, so US readers will still get to read it.
     
    More on this as it develops.
     
    Greg
  8. GregF

    Bs01

    By GregF,

    Just a friendly reminder...
     
    Those of you familiar with Biosector01 know it is one of the most informative BIONICLE sites out there, with a staff that works tirelessly to get it right. And they make it clear up front that the site is for canon information, not theories, not guesses. They do their best over there to police the site, but they can't be everywhere. And unfortunately, some folks don't pay attention to the "canon" rule.
     
    Case in point -- a BZPer put me on to the baterra entry this morning, which stated that the baterra had lived in peace until the Skrall invaded. That is incredibly far from the truth, and nothing has been written to suggest that. It also said the baterra reside in the Black Spikes, which is also not true. One was spotted there, doesn't mean they live there -- in fact, the first reference to them stated that they were following the Skrall, not that they lived in the mountains.
     
    It's small stuff, maybe, but it sows confusion, especially when future canon contradicts it. So please, for the sake of the BS01 staff -- if you know A and you know E, don't take a wild guess at B, C, D and post it like it's official. Theories belong on BZP, not over there.
     
    Thanks,
    Greg
  9. GregF

    Busy Times At Bzp

    By GregF,

    BZP has been hopping lately, which is great, because it means people are excited about the new story and looking forward to 2009.
     
    However, it also means I have been really busy lately, with somewhere around 8000-10,000 questions in my inbox just in the last month. As some of you noticed, not all of them have been getting answered promptly (or at all), simply because of the crush of them. Since I REALLY don't want to ignore anyone's questions (that's not why I'm here), I thought I would pass along some tips --
     
    1) People who are asking fewer questions per PM are getting answered more quickly. A lot of the time I am doing my answers in the early morning when I am getting ready for work, and it is easier to dash off five answers than 35.
     
    2) Asking me questions about how 2008 is going to end or what is going to happen in 2009 is a waste of your PM time, because I can't answer them. Same goes for questions about the nature of the Great Beings or Mata Nui. And some questions which normally I would answer -- like which sets I have, etc. -- I simply don't have time for due to how busy it has been here.
     
    3) Please read over your questions before submitting -- if I can't understand what you're asking, I can't answer it.
     
    4) If you are in the middle of a forum topic where there is a question that needs my help, please suggest that someone be designated to ask me. The alternative is I get the same question from 10 different people in the forum.
     
    5) There are certain things I do not have answers on -- please keep in mind I do story only. I'm not a set designer, I don't work in Sales, so while your questions ARE legitimate, they are not ones I have the info to answer.
     
    6) Finally, please be patient -- I am doing the best I can to keep up with the influx of questions, but I can't always get to them as quickly as I want to. I feel bad about it and I am sure it is frustrating for you (and to be fair, everyone has been very gracious and polite). It's a good problem to have, because it means people care and are interested, but it is something that I have to chip away at little by little.
     
    Thanks,
    Greg
  10. GregF
    Sorry to beat a dead horse, but ... this morning I got a very intelligent PM from a premier member asking some questions regarding the look of the Agori and the Glatorian. I sat down, spent five minutes or so giving him his answers, sent it off ... and he is not contactable by Messenger.
     
    PLEASE do not send me PMs if your account is not set up to receive replies. It wastes my time and yours.
     
     
  11. GregF

    Chirox And Kirop

    By GregF,

    CHIROX
     
    "We knew what to do with Toa on Destral ... raw material for my Rahi, that's what they were."
     
    Chirox is one of the Brotherhood's top scientists, but is best known for the fact that the Rahi he creates tend to be vicious and destructive. He is less of a warrior than Antroz, but more cunning, and much more likely to fight dirty. He lives to do experiments, always tinkering with Rahi to make them more monstrous, and is quick to point out how much better his creations are than those of Mutran.
     
    Weapons: Tridax pod; blades
     
    Mask: Kanohi Shelek, the Mask of Silence -- can cause a target to temporarily lose the ability to speak or hear.
     
    KIROP
     
    "All those years we spent hiding in the light ... we were wrong. We should have embraced the darkness from the start."
     
    Forner leader of the Matoran of Light, Kirop has become their most dangerous enemy because he knows everything about all of them.
     
    Powers: Sight stealing -- can make a target temporarily blind; can fire shadow energy from his claw blades
  12. GregF

    Comic Research

    By GregF,

    Spent one evening this week at a couple of BIONICLE comic focus groups (there were four sessions, but I only made it for two). The purpose was to basically revisit the comic, see what people thought of it and whether it was helping BIONICLE as much as we think.
     
    The good news, at least in the sessions I was at, was that the kids (7-9 year old boys) are reading it, enjoying it (especially the fighting), and getting a lot of their awareness of BIONICLE from the comic and the LEGO Magazine. That is what we wanted to hear.
     
    The two things that surprised me was that none of the 17 kids we had in complained about the comic being shorter this year, or were having any problems following the story. No one seemed to realize #6 was online, which suggest to me at least that if we do more online-exclusive comics in the future, we need to really shout from the rooftops so people know they are there.
     
    Just booked my tickets for this year's Comic-Con! I will be there for the entire show, for those of you planning to go (I know at least a few BZPers are making the trip).
     
    Just finished proofing Bionicle Legends #8 and the new Encyclopedia. I think #8 is the best book I have done since BA #10 -- I ended up being really happy with how it came out. Encyclopedia is about 30 pages or so longer than the first one was, and includes a lot of pics of Rahi and Dark Hunter fan-built models, which is nice. Also has some new info, like a hint about 2008 story, details on the "shadow plague," some more info on what Lesovikk was doing over the last 100,000 years, and more -- hopefully worth picking up even if you have the old one.
     
    Greg
  13. GregF

    Comics4kids

    By GregF,

    Just wanted to share something I ran across this week.
     
    As some of you know, I have a huge comic collection, most of which is "reader's copies" -- not mint, not even near mint, just stuff I have read and enjoyed over the past couple decades. Anyway, with things like entire comic series coming out on DVD-ROM and the various collections Marvel and DC keep putting out, I've been able to replace entire boxes of comics (which saves a lot of space). But what to do with them then?
     
    I could, and have, eBayed them, but that takes work and a lot of times they don't sell. And I don't want to throw them out, because that is a terrible waste. So I have just held on to them.
     
    But this week I ran across a website, www.Comics4Kids.org -- it's a not-for-profit organization in Washington state that collects comics to give to hospitals, libraries, schools, etc. to help promote literacy in kids. As a writer for kids and young adults, promoting reading is of course an issue close to my heart. So I swapped some emails with the organizers and I am going to start sending stuff their way.
     
    I don't know that any of you have comics you are looking to give away, but if you do, or know someone who does, you might want to check out this site. Not only do the comics entertain and maybe even comfort a kid someplace, but they might lead him to buy his own someday and help out the industry as a whole.
     
    Greg
     
     
  14. GregF

    Contest Info

    By GregF,

    I am sure 99% of you already know all this, but in the wake of the Makuta contest, I thought it would be a good idea to post these LEGO Magazine contest tips again for any newer BZPers.
     
    -- If you are entering a building contest, please submit either a photo or an image printed out on photo paper (which you can find at any Wal-Mart, Target, office supply store, etc.). Photos printed out on regular printer paper won't be accepted, because they will not scan well for reproduction in the magazine. It states very clearly in the rules that entries need to be photos or on photo paper, and a lot of nice entries end up getting tossed every contest because people submit them on plain printer paper.
     
    -- Pay attention to the quality of your photos. If the photo is blurry, we won't be able to make out what the model is. If the photo is a giant shot of you with your model looking very small in your hand, readers won't be able to make out what the model is.
     
    -- If you are entering a contest where it states that the winning entries will be displayed on the web site, you are much better off just sending a picture of the model and not one with you in it. The reason is that we are not allowed to show pictures of kids on our site without first getting parental permission. We will NOT disqualify anyone from any contest for not following this suggestion, but it is one of those things that just makes the process more complicated for everyone involved.
     
    -- If you submit a photo, please do not fold the photo up. We get a lot of that, and again, the photo will then not reproduce correctly in the magazine. If we can't display your winning model in a way that will make it look good in the magazine, then you won't make first cut.
     
    -- If you are entering a drawing contest, it is a good idea not do your drawing on lined paper. While your drawing will still be considered even if you do, it's going to look a lot better when scanned if it is done on plain white paper instead.
     
    -- While we appreciate that you want your entry to arrive safely and securely, sealing the envelope with massive amounts of tape just makes our job harder. Remember that we may have two people opening 10,000 entries in the course of a few weeks. If we have to wrestle with yours to get it open, it slows the whole process down.
     
    -- If we ask in a contest for you to build a model, we want to see your creativity at work. A lot of people who entered the Makuta contest just built Mutran and took a picture of him and sent it in as their entry. We want to see what you can build on your own, not how well you can follow the building instructions in a set.
     
    -- On a side note, thinking outside the box when doing contest entries is always a good thing. In our recent City Police contest, winners included a giant zeppelin and a vehicle with a giant police dog as part of it. Remember that if an idea seems like a no-brainer to you, it probably is also one to the 10,000 other people entering too. If you hand in something a ton of other people have also built, yours is going to have to be that much better to stand out from their entries. There are certainly entries that win because, even though the subject matter is standard, the actual build is really impressive -- but the best entries are the ones where the building is good AND the idea is different.
     
    Greg
  15. GregF

    Couple Quick Things

    By GregF,

    -- I have the dates and times for the appearances in Utah in October, and will send those along to BZP to post.
     
    -- Your January issue of LEGO Club Magazine and LEGO BrickMaster Magazine, which will include a new BIONCLE comic, will be coming early. Instead of the usual in-home date of around January 7th, the first ones should be hitting home around December 21st, 2009.
     
    -- Just a reminder -- I CANNOT discuss anything related to 2010 at this point. That includes confirming or denying info you are picking up from other sources. So please stop asking me to do so.
     
    Greg
  16. GregF

    Done!

    By GregF,

    BIONICLE Legends #6: City of the Lost is done and on its way to Scholastic!! Hope folks like it ... it's a little different than the other books I have done, in some respects, but I think it holds together and has a nice cliffhanger ending.
     
    Tomorrow I am in NYC to meet with my editors and brief them on BIONICLE and EXO-FORCE 2007, and discuss some other issues. Then Wednesday I start EXO-FORCE Book 3, which is due in two weeks (and has to get done in less, since I leave for Denmark on the 13th).
     
     
  17. GregF

    Empire Of The Skrall

    By GregF,

    Started work on the first of the 2009 serials today -- it's called "Empire of the Skrall" and it is going to focus on our favorite rock tribe. You'll get a good look at them, moreso than we usually do for our non-hero characters ...
     
    Some things that will be answered in just the first chapter are:
     
    Is Tuma a Skrall, and if so, what kind?
    Where did the Skrall come from?
    Why did they move south to Bara Magna?
    What are their intentions toward the other villages, and why?
     
    I am going to try to sort of put a "human face" on these guys, so they aren't just "nasty for the sake of being nasty." When you see the full picture, you will see how what they do this year will make perfect sense in their eyes, and in a strategic sense as well.
     
    Greg
  18. GregF

    Fake Matoran

    By GregF,

    It's been brought to my attention that one of the BZP members has posted an image in his blog of what he claims to be a 2008 Matoran that he bought. Just for the record, and to cut down on confusion, let me explain why this pic is a fake:
     
    The pic shows a blue Matoran wearing a Mask of Summoning and carrying a squid launcher (which he claims comes with a different kind of projectile).
     
    I have a picture in front of me the 2008 blue Matoran -- she is not wearing a Mask of Summoning and none of the '08 Matoran carry launchers. The image is a fake.
     
    If the member made an honest mistake, then he is maybe being reckless and should be a bit more careful in future. If he is deliberately lying to BZP membership, then other adjectives can be applied to him. If it turns out to be the latter, I will be blocking him from future PMs, and I have no time for that sort of nonsense.
     
    Greg
  19. GregF
    I received this today from a BZPer (whose identity will remain confidential), and I thought it was worth sharing --
     
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
     
    Hello, Mr. Farshtey. This is a rather long message, so if you're busy right now, I advise you to answer this later.
    This is not a question-filled PM like the ones you get all the time. In fact this is a proposition.
     
    I think you should either leave BZPower or stop answering all these PM's.
     
    Let me just say that I have nothing personal against you. In fact I enjoy your comic writing and dialog immensely and I think you should finally actually get to write the script for one of the movies. But I propose you should quit it with all these PM's because they are hurting the story.
     
    Getting bombed with thousands of PM's gives you extra work and it seems to me that the blue STARS Piraka is Nektann only because all the fans whined about it. And I have to say that listening to the hordes of fans in BZPower is not exactly good for the story. The fact that we get everything about the story on a silver platter every time we just ask is not good story development. It also pretty much kills the theories.
    And yes, listening to fans is not really a good thing. Let me quote a really funny man:
     
     
    QUOTE(Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
    "Fans are clingy complaining *******s who will never ever be grateful for any concession you make. The moment you shut out their shrill, tremulous voices the happier you will be for it. (Incidentally, why not buy a Zero Punctuation t-shirt?)"
     
     
    There will always be people who whine about some decisions you make in the story team, because you really can't please everyone. You shouldn't let the fans control the story. It will make everything better and way more unexpectable, if you listen to them a little less.
     
    So, if you don't agree with this, just say so and I'll stay quiet. But I have three different solutions for this. The first is the most extreme, the third is a little easier.
     
    1. Leave BZPower completely, maybe visit every once in a while. (This will not work if you are here just because you like these forums)
    2. Stay in BZPower, but stop answering the questions.
    3. Stay in BZPower, but only answer questions concerning what has already happened in the storyline. Everything else you could ignore.
     
    Sorry if this all seems a bit harsh. I genuinely respect you as the writer, but it just doesn't work when the creator of a story is too intertwined with the speculative community of the fans.
     
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     
    A few points I wanted to make:
     
    1) While it is true that the character of Nektann exists thanks to a suggestion by a BZPer (Nuhrii the Metruan), the notion of the Piraka set BEING Nektann came about in 2008 and did not arise from conversations held here. Since that is the only example the poster gave me, I have no idea what other instances of fans somehow determining future storyline he/she had in mind. Future story, as you know, comes from the story team, and while fans have contributed a lot to the universe as a whole (see below), they rarely know the shape of future story early enough to have major, major impact on it, at least to the extent this person seems to think.
     
    2) That said, I am personally proud of the fact that fans -- both on BZP and off it -- have been able to contribute to the story universe of BIONICLE the way that they have. The whole notion of interacting with the community is something LEGO is very much all about -- from me being here to Kids Inner Circle to the LEGO Ambassadors Program and the work of the entire Community division. We're not looking for one-way communication - we hand stuff to you and you just take it -- or for you to just be crying out in the wilderness with no one listening to you. The best of LEGO comes about when community and company can work together.
     
    So I will never apologize to anyone for being open to a suggestion here when it's a good suggestion, or for adding to story to fix a possible contradiction a fan has pointed out, or for doing things like Rahi Guide or Dark Hunters guide that gave fans a chance to create an official piece of the universe. BIONICLE belongs to the fans as well as to the company, in that sense -- we all help to make it what it is. And I am honored that people of such obvious intelligence and imagination would want to contribute to this universe. I think just ignoring what people say they want in story would be to do a disservice to the fans and to the company I work for. Needless to say, I don't intend to take this poster's advice.
     
    3) On the "ruining theories" thing -- yes, I have heard that before, but not sure what that means. If I come up with a theory -- say, that Captain America will come back from the dead as a 12-foot tall giant made of Play-Doh -- and I find out that is not the case, my theory is not "ruined" -- because it was never accurate in the first place. There's a difference between "ruined" and "wrong." A theory is a hypothesis based on evidence -- if the evidence is not there or it's being misinterpreted, then the person theorizing is going down a rabbit hole. To me, ruining a theory would be more like ... a BZPer guesses what is going to happen next, so I change it so he won't be right. And I don't do that sort of thing, it would be obnoxious and unfair.
     
    Think of it like this -- you're driving along, and you're not sure you are on the right route. You stop and ask someone for directions. He can tell that you turned left three miles back when you should have turned right and you're going to wind up nowhere near where you want to be. Which should he do? Say nothing and let you waste hours being lost, or tell you, "You might want to look at the map again, I think you are off back here." (Now, it's possible you just were enjoying the drive, don't care whether you get where you are going anytime soon, and don't want to know if you made the wrong turn -- but I'd guess under those circumstances you wouldn't stop and ask directions.)
     
    Anyway, that is what I think on this.
     
    Greg
     
  20. GregF

    Fan Fiction

    By GregF,

    Along the lines of the last post, I got another interesting PM the other day. The poster was concerned that the revelation of details about various aspects of BIONICLE, through my answers, was messing up his fan fiction in progress (which he was trying to keep as close to canon as possible).
     
    Not going to debate the nature of fan fiction here, or get into the fact that a lot of the questions being asked are by other fan fiction writers who want the info for their stories ... but rather discuss the world of "licensed publishing."
     
    So let's say that you now have my job -- you are the writer for the official comics and books for BIONICLE. And you have a great story idea and your book is humming right along.
     
    And then you find out a set you thought was going to come out (say, shadow Toa Ahkmou) has been cancelled. But there are three new combiners you need to work into story, plus a new poster whose action has to be reflected in story. What do you do?
     
    You rewrite, of course.
     
    Why? Because that is the very nature of writing in a universe you do not own or fully control. In the end, I don't decide what sets come out or don't, or what kind of ad materials get done, or what the web game looks like ... I just have to incorporate all of that into what I am doing. It's the same for someone writing a Star Wars book, or a Star Trek comic, or anything where he/she did not create the universe and does not own it. Someone else can always change things and you have to be ready to turn on a dime and make changes to reflect that. You are playing with someone else's bat and someone else's ball and they make the rules you have to follow.
     
    Not everyone likes that. Some writers only want to create their own universes so that they don't have anyone else making changes, and that's fine. And a lot of people write fan fiction that is THEIR BIONICLE universe and does not try to reflect the official one too much -- and that is great too! But if you are going to write for a property someone else owns -- or write "canon-close" fan fiction where you are trying to match it to my answers -- this is something you will have to deal with multiple times in your career. Nature of the beast.
  21. GregF

    Few Pieces Of News

    By GregF,

    -- The BIONICLE movie has evidently been completed by Tinseltown Toons and turned over to Universal. Congratulations to Sean Derek, the folks at Tinseltown Toons, and particularly Kristy Scanlan who was so nice to work with there.
     
    -- I am in talks about doing an appearance in Salt Lake City, UT in October to help promote the movie. More on this as it develops. And, of course, I will be at Comic-Con again this year.
     
    -- Two of the three stories for the Papercutz graphic novel are done, as is the 2009 AMEET BIONICLE guide.
     
    Greg
  22. GregF
    Saturday morning, and still 6000 words to go on BL #6. Behind schedule, especially with an EXO-FORCE book to be started right after this. Sometimes, when you hit the three-quarter mark, the book picks up speed and finishes itself -- sometimes you are still pushing the ol' sled uphill.
     
    Eventful month coming up -- meeting with Scholastic on Tuesday, then off to Billund for BIONICLE meetings, and then a week of LEGO Club meetings. Going to be hard to squeeze writing in with all that. As I always tell people, any day I am not in front of my computer writing is a wasted day.
     
    Other than that, just trying to decide if it makes sense to replace chunks of my comic collection with those new "40 Years of ..." software sets Marvel has come out with. Downside is you have to read them at your computer (they're Adobe PDFs) -- upside is 11 CDs are a lot lighter than two or three long boxes of comics, and I do need to winnow my collection down so it doesn't take up so much space -- space being at a premium since I got married. Anyone own any of the software sets? Any thoughts?
     
     
  23. GregF

    Gavla

    By GregF,

    GAVLA
     
    Quote: "You might say I saw the light ... by looking into the darkness."
     
    Personality: Leader of the shadow Matoran, Gavla's hatred for her own people makes her a formidable enemy. She fights the Matoran of Light as much because she enjoys it as because she has been ordered to.
     
    Weapons: Claws blades; teeth
     
    Powers: Vertigo -- can disrupt the sense of balance in a target (when linked with Makuta only); shadow energy
  24. GregF
    Lots of questions on the various inhabitants of the BM universe and whether they are bio-mechanical or not. I held off answering until I could consult with the story team, but now have an answer for you.
     
    As you know, MU characters are bio-mechanical. A Toa or Matoran or Dark Hunter, etc. is normally about 85% mechanical and 15% organic (the organic being muscle tissue, lungs, etc.)
     
    BM characters are also bio-mechanical -- however, they are more like 85% organic and 15% mechanical (note that helmets and armor do not count as part of the mechanical, since they are just equipment that can be put on or taken off. I am talking actual permanent mechanical parts of the body.)
     
    So BM beings are closer to, for example, an organic being who happens to have some mechanical implants, as opposed to a largely mechanical being who happens to have some organic elements.
     
    Greg
  25. GregF

    Gn #8

    By GregF,

    Got my copy of Papercutz GN #8 in the mail today. I must say, the art is gorgeous, especially on the first story -- really captures that creepy, claustrophobic feel I was going for. At first, I thought they might have overdone the snowstorm, as it makes things kind of hard to see at times .. then I realized that worked, because it IS hard to see in a snowstorm and that is part of what makes the baterra's sudden appearances and disappearances so effective.
     
    Overall, a great job by Christian Zanier.
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