brickset.com’s Huw recently put out a call for community questions that he’ll be asking LEGO designers on a trip to Billund. Post any of your BIONICLE related questions you’d like answered here, and I’ll copy them over to brickset’s comment section ASAP.
BIONICLE-related questions that have already been asked:
Will Bionicle Generation 2 really end in 2017?
Will there be a Takanuva set for bionicle in the future?
Will the Bionicle team repeat history and make an ancient city like Metru Nui?
Is Bionicle selling well?
Why did LEGO start using hero factory parts for BIONICLE? Why can’t they go back to the good old pieces we used to know, I thought they were the best.
For BIONICLE, is the entire story (including characters) planned out ahead of time, both for if it is successful and is continued further than 2017, and if it fails to meet expectations and ends in 2017? Also, to whatever designer from BIONICLE is sent there, which sets did they design? If they made ANY of the 2015 Toa Masters, hug them for me : )
If Bionicle is to continue in 2017, will we see the return of the Toa Mahri with the addition of a new Toa of Ice? Or will there be a new Toa Team?
Was Hero Factory always meant to test out the new system before bringing Bionicle back or did Lego genuinely think it could be a good replacement?
What’s the thought process when it comes to sets with functions? Is it build first, then function? Or do you incorporate the function with the build in your planning?
How much do you consider Bionicle a prominent theme? More than Galaxy Squad or Alien Conquest, since this past it’s first year, but is it near the same level as, say, Ninjago?
How important are functions in the designing process?
How do… mediocre… set designs like the beasts get clearance to be produced? I know we tend to see the lava beast as relatively good, however relatively good to the other beasts is still terrible.
How come no-one at LEGO looks at these sets before production and just goes - “Hold on a minute, these are terrible! We can’t sell these to kids!?”
Well, most kids don’t care about appearance and exposed functions as much as older fans. The functions exist primarily for kids. I think that question kind of answers itself.
How closely do you work with other team members (i.e. concept artists, modelers, story developers, etc.)?
If you could redo any Bionicle reboot set so far, which would it be?
What is the design process for creating a new Bionicle set?
If possible to say, how many characters new to the Bionicle universe can we expect to see?
Also, why the questions about cancellations and such? These are the people who design the look and function of the sets, not the chiefs of the team or the heads of LEGO. I’m not expecting them to know any plans for new constraction lines, or even at this point if Bionicle will continue past 2017.
When designing the Toa, were certain choices made based off the characters established personalities? For example, giving 2015 Kopaka’s condensed, bulky physique would reflect his more reserved character?
How does the story design process fold out (story-boarding? scripting?) Also, in the event of adding new plot points to extend the theme run, how do you link them to the old plot points?