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Greg Farshtey Let off by Lego?


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6 hours ago, Heyzorks said:

What does this mean for the Contests?

Thankfully, they're over. 
 

6 hours ago, Heyzorks said:

What does this mean for the Fandom?

Thankfully, absolutely nothing.

Edited by Lorentz

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4 hours ago, Bambi said:

But now there won't be anyone to canonize every silly headcanon people have. 

Indeed. If this is true, then I do feel bad for Greg; it must really suck to be let go after so long with the company. But at the same time, it might finally spell an end to this clingy canonisation obsession so many people seem to have. 

That said, best of luck to Greg with whatever comes next. 

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11 hours ago, Nato G said:

Indeed. If this is true, then I do feel bad for Greg; it must really suck to be let go after so long with the company. But at the same time, it might finally spell an end to this clingy canonisation obsession so many people seem to have. 

That said, best of luck to Greg with whatever comes next. 

Yeah, I love Bionicle and all, but ten years of obscure canonizations after the end of the story has been frustrating to keep up with.

And yeah, I hope Greg lands on his feet. He has brought joy to many people and deserves some for himself.

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Sad indeed for Greg but at least he is given quite a fair bit a notice before leaving the company.  With his resume I believe he will have no problem finding a new line of work if he chooses. He may just retire. We will see.

As for the canon contest I believe they were not bad. Needed? No. I personally wasn't looking forward to all the ones after the Hagah but I had nothing against it. I am happy that we got to expand the Bionicle world one last time and am grateful for Greg who was still willing to canonis stuff. However deep down inside I am glad they have ended. Let G1 rest and let us expand on it on our own way.

"I believe in certainties. The strength of my limbs, the power of my mask, the sharp edges of my blades — that is what I build my plans around. Trickery, deception, complex strategies, they are for the weak! If you want power, and another has it, you get it not by outwitting him — you get it by stepping over his corpse." Makuta Icarax

"WHO ATE ALL THE PIES! WHO ATE ALL THE PIES!"

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20 hours ago, Nato G said:

Indeed. If this is true, then I do feel bad for Greg; it must really suck to be let go after so long with the company. But at the same time, it might finally spell an end to this clingy canonisation obsession so many people seem to have. 

That said, best of luck to Greg with whatever comes next. 

eh, there have been plenty of fandoms who have continued to follow "their guy" even after they get let go from whatever job he had. i expect people will still try to ask him stuff about bionicle as long as he has any online presence. of course, we'll see if he goes along with it or not.

man remember when no one would dream of making a forum site without signatures

 

 

that was tight

 

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3 hours ago, Master Inika said:

My theory is that Greg got sick of the bizarre parasocial relationship we fans have with him and begged Lego to let him go.

I'd be very surprised if that were the case. He's actively updating his new, non-bionicle story on the TTV forums, and not too long ago he said that he misses Bionicle every day. He has also said many times that interacting with fans was never part of the job, and that if he ever got tired of it, he'd simply stop. Finally, if he did that, then that'd be quitting not being laid off.

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11 hours ago, Lorentz said:

I'd be very surprised if that were the case. He's actively updating his new, non-bionicle story on the TTV forums, and not too long ago he said that he misses Bionicle every day. He has also said many times that interacting with fans was never part of the job, and that if he ever got tired of it, he'd simply stop. Finally, if he did that, then that'd be quitting not being laid off.

I think it's more likely he got fired BECAUSE he interacts with fans so much. Even if he wrote it, he doesn't own Bionicle. When you write something for a company, it becomes their property. They probably let contests and fan service slide when Bionicle was a top earner, but now, they would have zero to gain from him "representing" them and canonizing things, and would only have things to lose i.e. if he approves something lego doesn't (such as the lewd bionicles some people make) or if he accidentally took away Lego's ability to sell something (what if lego wanted to do artahka in a G3? Now they can't because there's a canonized image not designed by them). So Lego would have nothing at all to gain from contests except publicity and word of mouth for a dead theme that earns no money for them anymore, and could only lose out on future ideas or get in trouble for Greg participating. So it really wouldn't surprise me if he got let go and banned from doing this, just like he got banned from finishing the yesterday quest so many years ago.

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If that were the case, you'd think Lego would just ask him to stop. Kicking him out of the company seems a bit extreme.

I doubt Bionicle has anything to do with him being let go.

Embers - a new Bionicle Epic - Coming 2024 

Class Is Out - A Farewell To Corpus Rahkshi - Chapters/Review

BZPRPG Characters - Minnorak, Kain, T'harrak, Savis, Vazaria, Lash

BZPRPG Mercenary Group - The Outsiders - Description - History - Base

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I saw this coming back in 2014. When reading his topic on the old Lego Message Boards I remember always reading a certain degree of frustration in his messages. Perhaps it was due to the younger userbase but I don't think that's what it was. You could tell he resented Lego's decision not to involve him in G2. In fact I remember his story would flip. At one point stating he was a creative consultant and other times stating he had nothing to do with G2 at all. His involvement with G2 was made quite unclear. Not only that he was always hesitant to talk about G2. I'm pretty sure he deeply resented Lego over that. And who can blame him? They took something he invested a decade of his life into and booted him out of it. My guess as to what happened is that Lego has become increasingly centralised and creatively restrictive and he has either decided to leave willfully or has been forced to quit by the company. Well now that he's leaving perhaps we'll get to have him back here on BZPower. Or perhaps he wishes to leave all that behind him. Either way I hope he goes on to do something he enjoys. 

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My original comment was (mostly) a joke.

I'm sure dealing with us was a toll on him, but I am thankful for his investment. Even though it's not good news, Greg does have a life outside of Lego. I am eager to check out more of that non-Bionicle story.

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
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On 3/6/2022 at 3:36 PM, Nato G said:

If that were the case, you'd think Lego would just ask him to stop. Kicking him out of the company seems a bit extreme.

I doubt Bionicle has anything to do with him being let go.

They asked him to stop when he started doing similar actions back in 2011 though. How many chances should employees get if they know the rules and break them anyway? I just suspect that it may be involved. Because otherwise, wouldn't he still be excited to do things contests and answering fan questions? I mean he probably never had much of an obligation to be so involved with fans, and I doubt lego has been making him interact with fans as much as he does (especially when they've warned him about it in the past). It just makes sense to me, but we'll probably never know the truth.

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3 hours ago, jchavoya said:

They asked him to stop when he started doing similar actions back in 2011 though.

Source?

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It's sad. Although he held on for 20 years as a writer for the Lego Magazine. Well he has a family to attend to and he can live a less "restrictive life" outside from Lego. We should wish him luck and be thankful for how much he did his part with crafting additional lore and answering fan questions.
 

  

On 3/6/2022 at 2:55 PM, jchavoya said:

I think it's more likely he got fired BECAUSE he interacts with fans so much. Even if he wrote it, he doesn't own Bionicle. When you write something for a company, it becomes their property. They probably let contests and fan service slide when Bionicle was a top earner, but now, they would have zero to gain from him "representing" them and canonizing things, and would only have things to lose i.e. if he approves something lego doesn't (such as the lewd bionicles some people make) or if he accidentally took away Lego's ability to sell something (what if lego wanted to do artahka in a G3? Now they can't because there's a canonized image not designed by them

I think it's only intended as a visual guide for G1. Ekimu the mask maker can easily be interpreted as Lego's own answer to Artakha. After all if he could rebuild his own body into a Toa (Uniter/Master) with a elemental power although not as strong in terms of taking hits or durability. They have the rights and means to decide when something isn't canon.

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6 hours ago, Lorentz said:

Source?

I'm pretty sure I heard that's why Yesterday Quest was never finished (if someone has a source either for or against that rumor, feel free to chime in). It could just be the Mandela Effect though, and I don't intend to search for a source, so feel free to ignore it. From a business standpoint though, it would make sense to me to not allow writers to do things using your name, trademark, or time that could be used on their projects unless it is being controlled or approved by you. As a similar story, a family member of mine was offered a job with Disney. He wound up turning it down though, one reason being that the contract stipulated that anything he did while hired by them would be owned by them, and he wasn't allowed to accept any side projects that might distract from his work or help competitors. I know Disney is a lot more ruthless than Lego, but it feels like a very similar situation to me. 

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Greg said that the reason he never finished the Serials was because A) He was never being paid to do them, and B) He had no time to do them with his young daughter. 

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image.thumb.png.ff011dc35327e7c9ad1bc76751bf253e.png

 

In all seriousness though, I have said it on Discord and elsewhere but the fact Greg has several months of warning about being laid-off makes me think he is leaving Lego on good terms. Companies don't usually tell you if they are going to fire you, months in advance. 

So the most likely reason, is that Lego is planning on further shrinking their print-media publishing. I.E. they are going to curtail Lego Life or whatever the magazine is called now, and we are going to see less tie-in novels to themes such as Ninjago; since apparently web media, aps and TV series are likely seen as a bigger return in investment for Lego's advertising arm now than printed media is. Which I think is a shame, especially since I think young reader novels were such a great way to get kids to actually pick up a book and read back in the day giving Bionicle a surprisingly education bent... But alas, I think Greg's departure is just a bigger sign of shifting priorities in Lego marketing plans. 

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8 hours ago, Xboxtravis said:

In all seriousness though, I have said it on Discord and elsewhere but the fact Greg has several months of warning about being laid-off makes me think he is leaving Lego on good terms. Companies don't usually tell you if they are going to fire you, months in advance. 

So the most likely reason, is that Lego is planning on further shrinking their print-media publishing. I.E. they are going to curtail Lego Life or whatever the magazine is called now, and we are going to see less tie-in novels to themes such as Ninjago; since apparently web media, aps and TV series are likely seen as a bigger return in investment for Lego's advertising arm now than printed media is. Which I think is a shame, especially since I think young reader novels were such a great way to get kids to actually pick up a book and read back in the day giving Bionicle a surprisingly education bent... But alas, I think Greg's departure is just a bigger sign of shifting priorities in Lego marketing plans. 

Well said. As easy as it is to look at Lego in an antagonistic light for doing this, the fact is that Greg's main contributions to Lego are centered around types of media that were more popular and profitable when we were kids than now. Looking at what Lego is doing now vs. the kind of things that activate the nostalgia response in me, and I really can't say they're the same company. I don't mean it in a bad way, it's just growth and development.

20+ years with a company is still pretty cool and something to be proud of. I'm sad of course, but at the same time I'm happy that we were able to build so many cool memories.

I remember one of the first OGD questions I read, someone asked if an Order of Mata Nui member's anti-telepathy shielding would protect against Hakann's mental blasts. I don't even remember the answer, I just remember my astonishment and thinking about how cool and deep the Bionicle universe was, and how awesome it was that we could just as Greg these things.

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

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5 minutes ago, Master Inika said:

Well said. As easy as it is to look at Lego in an antagonistic light for doing this, the fact is that Greg's main contributions to Lego are centered around types of media that were more popular and profitable when we were kids than now. Looking at what Lego is doing now vs. the kind of things that activate the nostalgia response in me, and I really can't say they're the same company. I don't mean it in a bad way, it's just growth and development.

20+ years with a company is still pretty cool and something to be proud of. I'm sad of course, but at the same time I'm happy that we were able to build so many cool memories.

I remember one of the first OGD questions I read, someone asked if an Order of Mata Nui member's anti-telepathy shielding would protect against Hakann's mental blasts. I don't even remember the answer, I just remember my astonishment and thinking about how cool and deep the Bionicle universe was, and how awesome it was that we could just ask Greg these things.

 

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I honest hope the he will come back or we need a replacement because the G1 story and Hero Factory’s story have to be finished. Well, good thing that I am working my story in Lego World Builder, so that should convince Lego to help us. 
 

No matter what it is, I hope we will still stay being fans, no matter how trashy do some people say to you.

I like Lego, Bionicle, and Hero Factory!:)

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22 hours ago, Lenny7092 said:

I honest hope the he will come back or we need a replacement because the G1 story and Hero Factory’s story have to be finished.

We don't need him, nor a replacement for him, nor an official ending for Bionicle and HF. We can imagine for ourselves what happend to our heroes, and many have already done so in form of fan fiction. Like the new cannon contest, an official ending would disappoint many who have already made up their own minds about the ending.

22 hours ago, Lenny7092 said:

Well, good thing that I am working my story in Lego World Builder, so that should convince Lego to help us

With that you have actually already solved your problem with the ending of Bionicle and HF, since you have already thought up your own ending.

And why would Lego help us finishing two old stories from two retired themes? Lego doesn't care about that. 

And was there actually something that came out of this Lego World Builder so far? 

Also, even if they canonize your ending not everyone would like your ending since not every Bionicle fan liked HF. Another reason why I think we should let everyone's imagination how it went on with Bionicle and HF. 

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I mean in the case of Bionicle G1, there was an ending... Yes all the B-Plots that got opened up by the serials were never ended; but when we consider the meta-narrative or the A-Plot of the franchise was "Mata-Nui is asleep, the Toa wake him up, he goes on a journey to get a new giant robot body because Makuta stole his old body, and then there is a giant robot punching match and Mata-Nui wins." That story has a very definitive ending, and while the Velika plot and all that from the serials opened a new can of worms and unanswered plot points, its easier to brush those aside as trivial or just world dressing as a reminder that the world continues on even if the main conflict is resolved. So while it would be nice to see the serials resolved, lets be honest and admit G1 had a fine ending; that for 95% of the story wraps things up in a bow; and everything in the serials is just set dressing at best. 

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21 hours ago, Xboxtravis said:

snib

Instead of Mata Nui going dormant inside of the Mask of Life, I think it would have been way cooler if he pulled another Time Slip and disguised himself as an anonymous Matoran, living a quiet and peaceful life, while simultaneously pulling a Spider-Man and making everyone forget about Mata Nui, so that nobody would come looking for him.

Edited by Lorentz

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-snib-

Edited by Lorentz

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-snib-

(I just triple-posted because I still cannot tell the difference between the Edit and the Quote buttons.)

Edited by Lorentz

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On 3/27/2022 at 12:04 PM, Edelgard said:

if greg is leaving lego i'm interested to see what he'll do next

He's currently writing an original story and posting it piece by piece to the TTV forum.

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  • 4 months later...

Over at TTV Boards, he has announced that he'll start up an external blog to post chapters as it is unwieldly posting chapters as-is. Also he has a new job at another Toy Company, they make wooden blocks, junior tablets and playground stuff. Guess he'll be writing catalogs etc. for them.

 

 

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On 8/3/2022 at 7:32 PM, Axelford said:

Also he has a new job at another Toy Company, they make wooden blocks, junior tablets and playground stuff. Guess he'll be writing catalogs etc. for them.

Sound like a bit of a step-down for him (given that he won't be exercising his creative muscles writing fiction), which is unfortunate. Though I guess that partly explains why he's starting up the original story/blog, since it would give him an outlet for creative stuff.

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On 8/6/2022 at 3:53 AM, Mukaukau Nuva said:

he's starting up the original story/blog

Yup. Plus keep in mind, since Bionicle ended he only did some Ninjago books and Hero Factory stuff but other than that he seems to had been doing catalog, Lego Life and book material for TLG for a long time now. Such as the minifigure book that was his last project, so I think he would be fine with and hopefully happy with writing catalogs or magazines that promote the product through engaging writing. 

Edited by Axelford
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  • 2 weeks later...

I think he just decided to leave LEGO on his own. It does not have to be so bad, him been kicked out by LEGO. The man has been writing and working with LEGO for 20 years. 20 YEARS. He just got tired. As for Bionicle, i agree, afther 2010 story, each and every of us just finished G1 with his\her own imagination. Personally for me Bionicle canon was never some restriction, but mere support for my creativity. Shame that some stories were left unfinishe thou.

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On 8/19/2022 at 8:58 AM, Raph said:

I think he just decided to leave LEGO on his own. It does not have to be so bad, him been kicked out by LEGO. The man has been writing and working with LEGO for 20 years. 20 YEARS. He just got tired. As for Bionicle, i agree, afther 2010 story, each and every of us just finished G1 with his\her own imagination. Personally for me Bionicle canon was never some restriction, but mere support for my creativity. Shame that some stories were left unfinishe thou.

If Greg had retired from Lego, he would have said so. No, he was laid off.

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On 8/22/2022 at 7:54 AM, Raph said:

What makes you think so?

?

 

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