G2 And The Sci-Fi Turn

[Pohaturon]

This topic is somewhat inspired by the one about what G1 would have been like if the story never left the island of Mata-Nui.

 

So in G1, the first three years, despite being about Biomechanical beings which, let's face it, almost every young 'un incessantly called robots, was more of a fantasy affair than sci-fi.

 

You had a tropical village, primarily melee weapons based on medieval technology, a tribal society, mysticism and ancient artifacts.

 

Yes yes, you can have all that in a sci-fi story as well. I'd like this topic not to debate the range and definition of the terms sci-fi and fantasy, so let's stick to the very basic definition of sci-fi = technology and futuristic stuff/ fantasy = mystical/old-tech stuff.

 

Anyhow, G1 took a decidedly Sci-Fi turn in 2004 and never really ditched it until 2009 with the more... "primitive" Bara Magna setting.

 

Metru-Nui introduced all kinds of cool technology in '04 and '05, the highly industrialized depiction of Voya Nui in '06 and freaking semi-auto ranged weaponry also is a bit more on the Sci-Fi side, '07 had high-tech submarines and do I need to even speak of '08?

 

So seeing as there is a pretty good chance G2 isn't going away in 2017, let's, for the sake of discussion assume it sticks around for at least as long as G1.

 

Now, so far G2 has opted for the more fantasy-oriented theme of the early years of G1. However, what if it stays here? What if G2 never makes the switch to sci-fi?

 

Would you be interested in seeing a longer saga with a more low-tech fantasy atmosphere to it?

 

We know there is an airship that Ekimu uses, but that can still err on the side fantasy with some stretch.

 

Now, it would certainly make travel between the other islands easier. While we don't know how large the planet is, it is safe to assume that with that level of tech (let's assume the "elemental blasters" are like magic and stuff), traveling to another continent by boat would be a lengthy affair. 

 

Either way, I'd love to see G2 evolve into having a larger scale story spanning various islands that were mostly isolated up until then, and the contact between them leads to tension/war. In the meantime some over-reaching enemy is gathering which threatens all islands, and the goal of the Toa is to create a stable alliance between them to face the coming attack. We could see a diverse range of cultures and set designs, with a wide range of non-Okotoan species. 

 

Would you prefer if G2 took a similar sci-fi turn as G1, or do you like the low-tech tribal atmosphere of early G1 and current G2?

 

[The Hip Historian Iaredios]

They might take a technological turn, but not as drastic as 2003 to 2004.
 

Yes yes, you can have all that in a sci-fi story as well. I'd like this topic not to debate the range and definition of the terms sci-fi and fantasy, so let's stick to the very basic definition of sci-fi = technology and futuristic stuff/ fantasy = mystical/old-tech stuff.
 
Anyhow, G1 took a decidedly Sci-Fi turn in 2004 and never really ditched it until 2009 with the more... "primitive" Bara Magna setting.
 
Metru-Nui introduced all kinds of cool technology in '04 and '05, the highly industrialized depiction of Voya Nui in '06 and freaking semi-auto ranged weaponry also is a bit more on the Sci-Fi side, '07 had high-tech submarines and do I need to even speak of '08?

Bionicle is Science Fantasy, just went from one side of the spectrum to the other and back again.
 
Part that threw me off the most was "the highly industrialized depiction of Voya Nui in '06", which if you read the books, Voya Nui was also tribal save the Piraka Fortress (and other constructions of theirs), which my imagination pictured it as a tech'd out retrofuturistic building akin to the capital palace of the emperor of the universe from the movie Dune.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Iaredios the Hip Historian

[Lenny7092]

I can what you mean.

In G1:

2001-2003 are about bio-mechanical people using tribal stuff with magic and medieval-based weapons.

In 2004-2005, the city of Metru Nui is filled with hi-tech.

In 2006, the island of Voya Nui started out as having people doing tribal things and use medieval-based weapons, like the ones in in the island of Mata Nui. However, when the Piraka showed up, they made hi-tech stuff, including the Piraka Stronghold and the Nektann robots.

In 2007, Matoran lived in a city underwater, use magic blades and submarines.

In 2008, the Av-Matoran in Karda Nui live in tribal villages and use magic swords, but they have jetpacks. The Toa also were given hi-tech and magic armor and weapons from a crafting guy named Artakha. The Toa also use flying futuristic-looking vehicles.

In 2009, life in a planet, Bara Magna is tribal, like the island of Mata Nui, as people use gladiator arena fights to survive since they live in the desert. However, they use guns that shoot exploding fruit.

In 2010, two giant robots fight each other on the tribal planet. After that, things are tribal. However, Pohatu and Kopaka went to the Red Star, which has hi-tech stuff, but it can magically revive people from the Matoran Universe.

You see, G1 had tribal and hi-tech stuff here and there. There are some things that mix. This makes Bionicle a science fantasy story, for G1 of course. As for G2, we only see magic tribal and medieval-like stuff. Since Ekimu has an airship, it would imply that we will see more hi-tech stuff later in the future of G2. This may also imply that this is going to do that same thing as G1.

[Pohaturon]

I really didn't want this to turn into a debate regarding the genre of G1. I was merely using terms in a simplified manner to convey a point without a pointless amount of explanation, and I realize that Bionicle fits into neither but counts as science-fantasy.

 

Also, I don't think technically anything counts as "magic" in G1. All of it is just technology.

 

The discussion prompt was more about what kind of a story fans would imagine/want for G2 if it dropped the "science" part of that, less about a genre debate regarding G1.

 

[Lyichir]

As far as I'm concerned, Bionicle was always science fiction, blended with fantasy. The issue is that G1 really lost sight of its fantasy roots at times, taking a turn into pure sci-fi. I'd rather G2 not do the same thing—there's no reason why they can't introduce vehicles and technology while still maintaining a fantasy island setting with a greater emphasis on mystical elemental powers than on comic book physics.

[Junior Shark]

As far as I'm concerned, Bionicle was always science fiction, blended with fantasy. The issue is that G1 really lost sight of its fantasy roots at times, taking a turn into pure sci-fi. 

This. 

 

But on the issue at hand, I would prefer that G2 stay in low-tech science fantasy mode. I never had a preference for either the sci-fi or fantasy sides of G1 while it was happening, but looking back I kinda prefer the more fantasy years. Of course, there's nothing wrong with doses of technology. I like Iaredios' Dune analogy. Dune is sorta similar to G1 when looking through the right lens. For its "sci-fi" tag, Dune is more of a fantasy in space (space opera?) than a rock-em sock-em sci fi. The setting and plot are mostly built on mystical themes, but there is an undercurrent of technology as well. This is how I like my Bionicle.

 

However, I would be very interested to see how a more sci-fi Bionicle story would be handled today. But I think creating sci-fi CCBS Bionicles might be coming a little too close to Hero Factory for TLG's and many fans' tastes.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Junior Shark

[evil_jaga_genius]

I must respectfully disagree with the others.  Mata Nui's low-tech feel was cool.  But the next island, when they took the turn into pure sci-fi, Metru Nui, that was my favorite year.  I don't know, I guess I just like sci-fi better than fantasy.  That said - I'd love a Metru-style arc in Gen2, with a new Toa team in a high-tech metropolis.  Lots of dark and trans colors, Kanoka/data discs, maybe use the Bohrok-Kal elements (Lightning, Gravity, Plasma, Magnetism, Sound, Air), robot drones...

 

DANGIT SUMMER HURRY UP SO I CAN BRAINSTORM SCHTUFF

[Kopekemaster]

I always considered Voya Nui fairly similar to Mata Nui in setting. (They're quite different, of course, but they each take place on a pretty "primitive" island, at least in a "nature" sense.)

I could see G2 getting a bit more scifi, though. I doubt it would as much as G1.

 

The thing is, there were always "levels" to it, in a way. On the outside, Mata Nui seemed pretty primitive, but there was some pretty high-tech/scifi stuff hidden throughout. Exo-Toa, Bohrok+Bahrag, etc. In Metru Nui, the "outside" was more scifi, but we're still dealing with magic, basically, not to mention the Morbuzakh. So I think in most cases, even if the setting seemed more leaning towards fantasy, deep-down it still has plenty of scifi, and vice-versa.

(Glatorian taking place in a desolate, fairly low-tech area, but that's when we saw the most with the GSR, which was incredibly high-tech, just as another example to what I'm saying.)

[Aanchir]

I'm not sure how many more sci-fi elements the series might add, to be honest. I do not necessarily think shifting Bionicle G2 to a more high-tech setting would be appropriate. But that doesn't mean technology couldn't be implemented tastefully. I would certainly not mind if they were to introduce vaguely high-tech equipment like the Exo-Toa armor or vaguely high-tech vehicles like the Ussanui. I say "vaguely" because these are elements of the story that, despite being mechanical, could have just as easily been magic. If they had been armor and a sled that were merely enchanted to move on their own, rather than mechanical, it would not have substantially changed their role in the story — much like how if the Toa's normal armor were not mechanical in design it would not have a huge impact on the story.

 

And honestly, I think this is a good example of how tone and language impact the feel of the Bionicle story. To keep the story from feeling too overtly sci-fi, it can help to just try and describe things in ways that don't feel overly scientific. So instead of saying "mutated", depending on context, you might opt for "transformed" or "corrupted". Instead of saying "mech", you might say "armor" (or, if you must, "powered armor"). Instead of "Toa of Psionics" you might say "Toa of Mind". Conversely, if you were writing a purely sci-fi story like Hero Factory, you might want to lean hard into the technobabble, using sciencey words like "plasma", "disruptor", "mass driver", "nanobots", and "radioactive".

[Toa Doublebee]

If you think back to MNOG 1, you'll remember a bunch of examples of machinery (for example elevators and pumps) and equipment (tablet thingy an Onu-Matoran miner was calculating mining statistics in one of the caves). Mata-Nui has various isolated instances of high-tech and this makes perfect sense seeing as the Matoran came from the urban and industrial city of Metru-Nui to the then completely uninhabited island of Mata-Nui, in airships that they then scrapped to build the villages.

They have tech from what they managed to salvage from what they brought over from Metru-Nui. Not much, just enough to help them with the more difficult tasks.

I'm not implying that the Matorans were't smart enough or incapable of creating and inventing such machines on their own. I am sure any number of these instances of tech were of their own engineering. The vine elevator in Le-Koro being an example.

 

I think the characters of BIONICLE have a more um...relaxed? approach when it comes to tech. While guns and vehicles exist, people are happy to stick to swords and mounts. This is because unlike our world, the MU has basically magic and fantastic creatures. Advanced tech exists, but there are plenty of "lower-tech" alternatives that work just as fine.

 

 

I'm not trying to debate BIONICLE's gerne. I just thought I'd point this out. (in other words: "just sayin' bruh")

 

I personally really enjoy all this science fantasy stuff. I'd like G2 to keep things balanced. Never fully committing to the sci-fi, but keeping things spiced up with some instances of higher tech here and there. (this is also why I really enjoy Adventure Time's setting)

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

I wouldn't mind the turn to sci-fi. My favourite years include Metru Nui and Karda Nui after all. While I like the fantasy setting, it doesn't feel as unique as Metru Nui did. That was a weird kind of blend that worked really well. If we went for that aesthetic again, I would definitely not mind. 

 

-NotS