Jump to content

How can Gen 2 Bionicle 's story improve upon that of Gen 1?


graywolf89

Recommended Posts

I think many Bionicle fans will agree that although Gen 1 Bionicle's story was pretty awesome, it had its share of flaws in both its content and the way it was delivered. Generation 2 represents a fresh new start for the line, whereupon I hope LEGO use what they've learned from some of Gen 1's precieved weaknesses to make Gen 2 have a great storyline (after they finish up that mediocre web series).

 

I'll say what I hope LEGO will do with Gen 2's story, and then I's like to know what you guys think they should do. (I know I've kinda discussed this topic in "Will Bionicle Ever Reach Its full Story Potential," but I figured something more focused would be better for discussion).

 

From what I personally believe, and from what I've gathered from other members on this forum, these are the completely subjective flaws of Gen 1 Bionicle:

 

1) The overall plot was too complex, requiring fans to read through multiple stories, presented through many forms of media (story serials, novels, graphic novels, movies, guidebooks) in order to fully understand.

 

2) The online story serials lacked structure, and were basically pointless side plots with no real effect on the main story. In particular Brothers In Arms had a weird ending. To me, they seemed kind of "fanfiction-y" (no offense meant to our lord and saviour Mr. Farshtey).

 

3) This one's kind of split between fans, but some people didn't like how Bionicle got darker with more Sci-Fi elements as the series went on.

 

4) Some people didn't like the sudden setting changes of the Ignition Arc

 

5) Some lore elements, such as romance being non-canon and the characters' 100,000 year life spans can be pretty restrictive/convoluted.

 

6) The Toa Nuva had poor characterization, as all 6 Toa were little more than shallow archetypes. This also applies to many of the villains. Also some fans want more female characters.

 

 

Here's what I personally believe LEGO could do to make the Gen 2 story better:

 

1) Make the story less serialized, and more focused and concise. You shouldn't have to read online serial, comics, novels, and graphic novels to get the whole story. LEGO will probably minimize the amount of story media anyway. The story should also be pre-planned, instead of being made up as it's being written. This would allow the writers to fit a lot story into a small amount of media efficiently, without any of the excess plotlines in Greg's writing.

 

2) Make the story less complex, but still interesting. Gen 2 has to find the sweet spot between the immensely complex epic that was Gen 1, and the bare-bone frame that was Hero Factory. I wouldn't mind the story being slightly more light-hearted, but it has to have at least some darkness in it for it to be Bionicle in my eyes. 

 

3) Keep the interesting parts of the story. While the lore could be less complex, fundamental elements like the matoran language and the various cultures of the matoran tribes should be kept, because they were what made Bionicle so unique.

 

4) Maintain a more consistent genre. Gen 2 has started out as fantasy, and for the most part it should stay that way. I wouldn't mind some Sci-Fi elements here, but nothing as drastic as the shift made in Gen 1.

 

5) Maintain well developed settings, and change settings less. It's no accident that people get attached to interesting places over time. It would be nice it Okoto was further developed, and if the Toa could stay on it for some time before going elsewhere.

 

6) Have actual character development. "Nuff said.

 

And finally,

 

7) Allow romance. Also, not everyone lives 100,000 years.

 

 

So, what do you guys think LEGO could do to Gen 2, to make it as good if not better than Gen 1?

  • Upvote 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I've been really hoping for is a good balance between a simple storyline and a convoluted one. I would agree that G1 tended to get a little messy towards the end, and so little of it actually mattered that there was no point in reading anything else. It was also a pain to get the novels, and the comics and serials never told the whole story. My knowledge of everything after Ignition is vague and mostly gained from BS01.

 

This is one of the reasons why the early years were so loved. The story was straightforward, the novels provided a bit more information, but most could be left up to the reader's imagination. But it wasn't simple. We had MNOLG for that. While the Toa were off on their adventures, gathering masks and fighting monsters, there was also another story going on with an average villager. While the Toa provided the action and adventure, Takua provided the worldbuilding and culture. And sadly, we're missing a Takua in G2. So, huzzah, the Masters got the gold masks and beat all the skull spiders and now they're fighting the LoSS and saving Ekimu... but why? Why do the villagers even matter? They're just a bunch of copy-pasted images stuck in the background so the Toa can feel good about what they're doing.

 

But there is a difference between worldbuilding and convolution. I liked the open world of Bionicle, the many islands and species that gave you just enough to let your imagination do the rest. But some things, we just had way too much detail about. Every little thing had to be explained in the end, and that limits a lot of the creativity. So there needs to be a balance of enough detail to have a foundation, and not so much detail that there is no room for addition.

 

As for your other points, I agree that 100,000 year lifespans just made things a mess. Just because a few characters had to be here at this one event just for fun, suddenly every character was there, but for some reason they don't remember it. A family lineage is a much easier way to convey the same ideas without breaking our poor mortal brains. 

 

I think the best way to go about romance here is just to never specifically say it isn't canon. Even just imply that it is. Because, as sad as it is, we are not Lego's primary audience anymore. And some young boys turn and run at the slightest hint of romance. So, maybe it doesn't play an important role in the story, or maybe it isn't featured at all, but it leaves all the older fans open to their interpretations. Not that ships wouldn't take place anyway. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Obviously, there is no way to improve on Bionicle's storytelling prowess. As the best story Lego produced, there is no way they can improve on the gloriousness that Bionicle Gen 1 turned out to be. 

 

:lookaround: Wait, that actually sounded smart. 

 

Nah, they could stand to brush up on a couple things: 

 

1) Use less storyline mediums to tell the story. And for pete's sake, keep the story consistent across mediums so we don't have a convoluted mess of canon, thanks. 

 

2) No more Greg answers, they just make a mess. 

 

AND

 

3) Tell a different story than Gen 1, please. Remember that actually having a story is important, and that Gen 1 has been done. It's time for something new.

  • Upvote 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) Have consistency with the stone element characters, keep it brown this time lego! 

 

2) Keep tech out of things this time, I must say I'm not a huge fan of the more technological aspects of G1, specifically the vehicles, they were very strange and didn't fit with the theme.

 

3) Don't change canon, that IMO was one of the main issues of G1, it made things really confusing, sad part is that I'm not sure if I can trust lego to do that as I saw they did just that with ninjago.

  • Upvote 2

It's time to move on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with pretty much everything said, but I'd like to mention one thing: romance. Maybe some of you missed it, but right in the Protectors' bios, it says:

 

The Protectors wear sacred Elemental Masks that have been passed down through the generations from father to son along with the Prophecy of Heroes, which foretells the coming of Tahu and his allies. In their wisdom, the Protectors must guide the heroes on their quest.

Look at what I bolded. Generations, father to son? That means children, which means mating. I sincerely doubt that there is a giant machine that makes villagers and Protectors, so I'm gonna assume that each new generation is (pro)created by mating. Also, the society the villagers live in seems to be a civilized one, given that there are villages and a city, with a sort of government (albeit a patriarchy, but it's something). When it comes to mating in a civilized world, I think it's safe to say that romance is prevalent.

 

That being said, I don't necessarily want to see romance out the wazoo, here. I just want enough to let us know this is a realistic world. I liked Hewkii's relationship with Macku, and Hahli's with Jaller. They weren't glaringly obvious, but it added a bit of worldbuilding.

4oIeWSz.jpgUhL9N9c.jpg8UUsogq.jpgzIJn7N0.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it can improve upon G1's story by being more clear where the main storyline lies. Go all out on the transmedia storytelling approach, but make the main source of the story accessible to all consumers of the brand. This was a big shortcoming with the books of the original line.

 

Also they should be a lot more clear in establishing timeline skips if they take that route: 2005-2006, for example, was past-to-present but it was never advertised that way, and I'm sure the people who consumed the story solely through the comic series were scratching their heads in confusion. 

 

-NotS

  • Upvote 2

tahubanner.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't let Greg get his hands on the story, some of his ideas were very, odd, to say the least.

 

If there is no mating in the Matoran universe, where do matoran come from? I don't believe that was ever explained.

 

100,000 year life spans? Really? That sets some pretty strict limits on any prolonged story.

 

The guy also had some long lists of do's and don't's for the BIONICLE universe. Parts of it contradictory. I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but when you rely on only one person to set the "rules" of your universe, your asking for trouble.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If there is no mating in the Matoran universe, where do matoran come from? I don't believe that was ever explained.

They are made by machine, which the Turaga could operate.

 

The guy also had some long lists of do's and don't's for the BIONICLE universe. Parts of it contradictory. I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but when you rely on only one person to set the "rules" of your universe, your asking for trouble.

Greg was a member of a larger story team. There were multiple people setting the rules of this story.

 

Most stories actually have one person setting the rules of the story, actually - Bionicle was an exception to that rule.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

If there is no mating in the Matoran universe, where do matoran come from? I don't believe that was ever explained.

They are made by machine, which the Turaga could operate.

 

The guy also had some long lists of do's and don't's for the BIONICLE universe. Parts of it contradictory. I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but when you rely on only one person to set the "rules" of your universe, your asking for trouble.

Greg was a member of a larger story team. There were multiple people setting the rules of this story.

 

Most stories actually have one person setting the rules of the story, actually - Bionicle was an exception to that rule.

 

Yeah. Also, Greg is a consultant for the new story, just not the writer. Some things he did are obviously different in this new reboot, like how romance is a thing, and there's no giant machine that builds people. I, for one, welcome our new Bionicle overlords.

  • Upvote 1

4oIeWSz.jpgUhL9N9c.jpg8UUsogq.jpgzIJn7N0.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to see them keep the complexity and the lore, but have it so there's 1 reliable source of media to get the main story from, and other stories that don't affect the main plot, put them on the bionicle lego page or have a site dedicated to bionicle where you can get it all from and have the stories build on the characters in a way that doesn't leave anyone missing out if they don't happen to read it, but create a background to the main story.

  • Upvote 1

:smiletakua: :m_o: :w: :l: :e: :x: :a: :n: :m_d: :e: :r: :smiletol:

76561198067723583.pngAddFriend.png

|

"We are the Turaga of the new generation." ~Owlexander

YouTube - Imgur - Flickr - Bionicle RPG Chat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...