Rahi Go

[Pohaturon]

Not sure if this is the right forum for this, but hey, it's about Bionicle, right?

 

So, unless you've been living under a rock or something, you might be familiar with the recently released AR mobile game called Pokémon Go. The internet is overflowing with information about the thing, so I won't write a book here detailing what it is, but basically you use your smartphone to look for and catch Pokémon scattered around the real world using Google Maps integration. It isn't out globally yet, but it has been sweeping through the USA and some other regions where it has launched.

 

This gave me an idea - what about the same thing with Bionicle? Obviously this will never happen due to G1 having been cancelled and Bionicle, even at its peak, not having been even near Pokémon in terms of popularity, but hypothetically, would you play?

 

Various Rahi would be "hidden" in the real world, and you would need your Rahi-Go app to find them. Instead of a trainer, you would have a Matoran avatar, and instead of Pokéballs, you'd be throwing bamboo disks at the Rahi. You could "tame" them by knocking off the infected masks using the disks (so gameplay-wise it would be the same as Pokémon Go) and use them to level up. Instead of Pokéstops you'd have Matoran settlements, and Gyms would be replaced by Kini. Pokécoins would be widgets and so forth.

 

Much of Pokémon Go's praise stems from the social experience, so for the sake of argument, presume this game would be just as popular.

 

The three starters would be Fikou, Kofo-Jaga and Gafna, while the fourth hidden starter would be the Ussal.

 

Imagine traversing your neighborhood hunting for larger Rahi like Nui-Jaga, Kahus or Muakas. You'd need to find a lake or river to encounter a Razor-whale or Takea. Further from urban areas, you'd find Kavinika or Ash-bears. I think there are enough canon Rahi to make the game viable in the long run, and instead of joining one of three teams, you'd pick one of six elements to represent.

 

Thoughts? Ideas? Would you play this?

 

[cjr205]

I can confidently say that I would play this a lot.

[Bfahome]

The problem is that this is basically just taking Pokémon and putting BIONICLE names on it.  The idea of "starter Rahi" has no real canon basis, Matoran tribes or villages don't battle over who controls a Kini, and most Matoran aren't normally nomadic in the same way that a Pokémon trainer might be

 

The entire reason Pokémon GO works as a concept is because Pokémon is a story about kids going out and exploring the world to catch and train Pokémon.  Pokémon GO is essentially allowing people to do in "real life" what they've been doing though video games for years, which is to be that trainer to go out and find Pokémon and battle gyms and essentially take a step into that world for a moment.

 

That's not what BIONICLE is, though.  BIONICLE is about staving off a dark threat to save your homeland and the world.  I can see something sort of similar working, where everyone is essentially on the same team and you have to go around defeating and freeing Rahi, but there are some big flaws in that because it wouldn't be PvP-focused, which I think is what keeps Pokémon GO balanced.  Low population centers are still likely to have a decent team division, so even a rural group of one member per team can keep up the same kind of rivalry as a metropolitan area where there are hundreds or thousands of people playing.  The fictional BIONICLE game, however, would need some way to automatically balance against player density so there aren't massive dark areas across the map where one or two people play while the population centers are completely purified.  If that could be done, and of course pretending this would ever happen at all, it might be fun.  You and some buddies could get together and try to take out that nest that a big group of Nui Rama are building near you, or search for Kraata to keep them from infecting any more Rahi in the first place.

 

So… maybe.  Maybe a G1 BIONICLE social game would work, assuming that there would be the interest and resources for such a thing.  But I don't see it working as another Pokémon GO as far as gameplay.  It would have to be its own thing based on elements of the BIONICLE plot rather than a reskinned Pokémon game.

Edited July 15, 2016 by Bfahome

[evil_jaga_genius]

So… maybe.  Maybe a G1 BIONICLE social game would work, assuming that there would be the interest and resources for such a thing.  But I don't see it working as another Pokémon GO as far as gameplay.  It would have to be its own thing based on elements of the BIONICLE plot rather than a reskinned Pokémon game.

The final MNOG minigame with the Chronicler's Company dueling Rahi comes to mind.  Maybe make entries for all Rahi, then when you come to a hotspot, it triggers a Rahi fight.  You as a player would have a team of Matoran fighters to choose from (I'm pretty each Company member had different stats.  Like Kapura was less accurate but could KO a Muaka in three hits) with different attributes like accuracy, strength, dodge chance, the like.

 

Social attribute - each part of the world has different Rahi.  Defeating them fills out a RahiDex (filler name, ok?) page.  So - up here in the midwest USA there'd be more woodland and icy Rahi; down in, say, Arizona there'd be more desert and fiery Rahi.  Further variations could be made for seasons, time of day, etc.  Players can share pages to complete the Dex.

 

Also, maybe you could do something where you could jump into and help another player with their Rahi fight.  Get three or more players together and it turns into a giant Rahi brawl.

[Sybre]

A game where you physically walk out of your house and tame Rahi is a game that I would play religiously. However, I don't think a reskin for Pokémon Go would be too good of an idea. It would need some of the gameplay suggestions that the other members came up with.

[Pohaturon]

 

So… maybe.  Maybe a G1 BIONICLE social game would work, assuming that there would be the interest and resources for such a thing.  But I don't see it working as another Pokémon GO as far as gameplay.  It would have to be its own thing based on elements of the BIONICLE plot rather than a reskinned Pokémon game.

The final MNOG minigame with the Chronicler's Company dueling Rahi comes to mind.  Maybe make entries for all Rahi, then when you come to a hotspot, it triggers a Rahi fight.  You as a player would have a team of Matoran fighters to choose from (I'm pretty each Company member had different stats.  Like Kapura was less accurate but could KO a Muaka in three hits) with different attributes like accuracy, strength, dodge chance, the like.

 

Social attribute - each part of the world has different Rahi.  Defeating them fills out a RahiDex (filler name, ok?) page.  So - up here in the midwest USA there'd be more woodland and icy Rahi; down in, say, Arizona there'd be more desert and fiery Rahi.  Further variations could be made for seasons, time of day, etc.  Players can share pages to complete the Dex.

 

Also, maybe you could do something where you could jump into and help another player with their Rahi fight.  Get three or more players together and it turns into a giant Rahi brawl.

 

How about take a mini-game a-la the Rahi fights from MNOG, but each player only contributes their own character, meaning you'd need many players playing cooperatively to work as an effective team capable of defeating the Rahi?

 

I mean, in canon there are only 6 settlements on Mata Nui, but imagine if the Matoran had multiple little villages, outposts (the Tren Krom Break Jala mentions, as well as Midak's Ussal station come to mind) and stations. These would be scattered in the real world, and you'd need to physically go there to defend it against Rahi attacks.

 

Your effectiveness against given Rahi would be determined by how many times you've cataloged them in the wild. Lore-wise, maybe this would take place prior to the arrival of the Toa Mata. Maybe the Matoran had multiple settlements, things just got so desperate by the time the Mata arrived, that they were forced back into the six main villages and a handful of fortified outposts?

 

This way it isn't a Go reskin, fits into Bionicle lore and yet keeps up the real-world roaming, creature hunting social aspect.

 

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

Bionicle oddly IS a colection-based concept, similar to pokemon, it's jsut that what you're looking for isn't creatures, it's artifacts.

 

so a location-based Bionicle game could work, and would probably be pretty fun? it'd just probably be less like PokeGo and more around masks n whatnot o:

[Kopekemaster]

Cool idea, but I don't think there are near enough Rahi to pull it off. There were probably less than fifty Rahi in G1, which is nothing compared to 700+ (or 151 in Pokemon GO) Pokemon.

[Zidonaro]

Can I tame a Kanohi Dragon 

[Toa Imrukii]

Can I tame an Archives Mole?

[Pohaturon]

Can I tame a Kanohi Dragon 

 

Can I tame an Archives Mole?

 

All Rahi are fair game, though you can only tame a Tahtorak if you first summon it by taming a number of Laval Eels, and it can only be captured if you're literally underground.

 

[Alyska]

What if the Rahi sometimes have infected masks that can be collected and purified, then equipped either onto the Rahi or the player character for various purposes?

 

Some might have an in-battle function, such as the Kakama making the Rahi faster, while others have an overworld effect, such as the Akaku making Rahi visible from greater distances.

 

(Yes I know Matoran and Rahi don't use mask powers, but it'd make the collecting masks aspect more valuable if there was an in-game use for them.)

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

A Bionicle-themed Pokemon Go!-esque game would definitely appeal to me. Only if LEGO released it on Windows Phone though lol

 

-NotS

[Alyska]

Wait, would there be a competitive team aspect? Because Valor and Mystic's relationship is pretty much already Tahu and Kopaka...