Biovival Discussion (aka Christian Faber's mysterious project)

We just have to wait and see how this whole thing pans out.

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Also, to whoever edited the title, if you’re going to do that (which I resent, but do what you will): the least you could do is spell “disappointments” correctly.

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Ahk. Thanks.

Anyway, regardless of any disappointment regarding postponing is concerned, there is a lot of good to come out of this, watching the stream through now:

  1. Obviously, to start, it’s not a prank.
  2. This is 100% Bionicle (or is intended/hoped to be). That means no connection to Rebel Nature whatsoever, no funny business or extra caveats. This is a Bionicle project that is designed to appeal to Bionicle fans.
  3. Before Corona, he clearly had plans to meet up with some people to set up this project and make it into a reality, as opposed to a collection of ideas in his mind. Calling it a “glorified fan project” is therefore misleading, this is clearly supposed to be some kind of official… thing, whatever it is. Since those meetings never happened, he hasn’t revealed any of the people they would’ve involved to avoid getting our hopes up, but considering he does want this to be a Bionicle project, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Lego was in the cards somewhere here.
  4. He brings up worldbuilding, in his discussion of the project, which definitely shows an inherent understanding of that elusive “core” of Bionicle (which makes sense, given he was one of the many people that worked on it to begin with), and something he seems to want to continue here.
  5. He’s also stated that “all the people who have cared for this story and this universe [have been] invited into this next phase” (he doesn’t specify whether everyone answered that call, and it may indeed be that he hasn’t been able to formally do that due to the aforementioned halting of meetings due to coronavirus), which once again lends credence to the notion that he intends this to be in some way organised. How much that will entail, and whether it comes to fruition or not, is still up for debate, but the intention is there.
  6. As people have stated, he seems to be wanting community involvement in this project in some form when it comes to it, and that it will be a completely different way of experiencing this story (less a finished product given to consumers, and more a “ticket”, whatever that means. We can speculate obviously, but I wouldn’t set my sights on anything until we get it straight from the horse’s mouth). What exactly that entails, and where that line will be drawn is, of course, up for debate.

As little as this actually says, it still does so much by actually saying anything at all. For a whole year now, this topic has pingponged back and forth on the intent or direction or potential ulterior motives of the project, and it’s refreshing to have this video to clear the air. Even if it’s not as much as we might’ve wanted to hear, or even as much as he wanted to be able to show us, the fact that the video has even been made at all is indicative to me that he is passionate about this, and is going to continue work on it - getting the right people and shaking the right hands - as soon as humanly possible.

And that makes me happy.

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I wonder whether these developments will have an impact on Sokoda’s Lego Ideas project. If yes they could be negative. That is if Faber did even talk to Lego about this project (what I doubt). At this point I think the sub-communitys somehow interfere in a destructive way with another. I hope that is not becoming a trend or it will be the nail in the coffin for the Bionicle community. Sorry for my bad English.

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The impact could also be positive though. If Faber did talk to LEGO, and LEGO got convinced by Sokoda’s project that there is still interest in the theme, it would be easier for them to approve/get involved in the Faber’s project.

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If Lego sees that the community got it’s service through Faber, why should they bother risking financial losses for something that somebody other provides without them having to pay?

Okay, let’s just get one thing straight. We are more lucky now than we have been in years, second only to Lego actually listening to our whining and bringing the franchise back circa five years ago.

That pretty much sums up what I had to say on that subject.

Let’s just review, shall we? Sokoda has submitted a Lego Ideas project, which was accepted into the review phase, and still has a chance of winning, which would not only be the first G1 Bionicle related set released in 10 years, but also a giant loveletter to fans of the franchise as a whole. Then, not that long ago, the possibility of new fan contests bringing new life into the fandom, with old and new builders alike being able to pitch in their ideas for actual G1 canon characters, is opened. And now, Faber has finally lifted the veil of cryptic messages and cleared the air of most of the misgivings around his Bionicle project, showing both his care for the project and Bionicle as a whole.

What do people do? Complain. “Oh, it’s been delayed due to a pandemic that’s shut everyone inside? I’m disappointed, I’m gonna throw a hissy fit and change the name of this entire discussion board.” I am exercising every form of restraint I know to not say some things that are against this board’s guidelines.

Without them having to pay. You mean, releasing a product which would earn them money?

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Where did you hear that? Not from me.

I’m referring to @TDPrince in this case.

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Ok, now I get it. Thanks for the reply.

Well I can certainly say that I am interested in what Faber will do. I just think he could risk a lot of things. And maybe Lego will take advantage of that, so they don’t have to.

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Perhaps. I do feel that this also very much has the opportunity to go the other way. If both we as a community, and Faber in his pitches, could prove to Lego that we’re still a strong, thriving consumerbase, Lego could be equally as inclined to capitalise on that and make some money.

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But whatever you feel, whether it was a long, drawn-out lie, or simply the truth

Faber never lied about the project, his cryptic messages appear to have been made out of concern for not wanting to make false promises that he can’t possibly uphold. That is why he only wants to show his progress once he has had those important meetings, because he doesn’t want to give anyone a serious reason to expect anything from the project until something tangible has been agreed to.

I know that many community members like to think Faber is some devilish internet troll who gets off on hearing them beg for content, but this perspective is ridiculous. Faber is an artist, he is an entrepreneur, and most importantly- he is a father. He doesn’t have any time, nor reason to play a cat and mouse game with the fans of a twenty year-old toy line- unless it wasn’t a game to him and he actually cared about the outcome.

Coronavirus clearly surprised Faber and potentially set him back majorly, but he still took the time to show the fans that he cared. The fact that he graciously talked about some random caller‘s MOC on a livestream that was essentially a business boardroom pitch meeting (and possibly using the same slides that were meant to be used in the meeting he missed)- is all I need to see to support him in whatever his venture is. And by the look of his charts on the livestream, and from what we know about his plans for Rebel Nature, that venture is most likely connected in some way to VR Gaming.

Edit: I really wish that “and disappointments” would be removed from this topic’s title because it predisposes a negative bent to the 310NICLE discussion, and I don’t think that’s accurate or helpful to us, and it’s definitely not fair to Faber.
Personally, I’m more interested in discussing how the project being a spiritual successor rather than a continuation would mesh with different peoples’ ideas of what Bionicle is and how much it can be changed before it is no longer “Real Bionicle.” Since we know it is extremely unlikely that the project will lead to the production of a typical line of LEGO sets, I want to know what type of experiences people are anticipating instead, and what are they willing to accept?

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I know that for me at least, nothing about this has been a “disappointment” if anything I’m excited to see what Faber will create, I know it will certainly will not be a new “g1” or a new “g2” and there’s a really good chance we don’t get sets, but for me seeing the artworks and seeing what story he’ll create is worth it.

I don’t want this to be another g1 or another g2. I just want it to be its own Bionicle, and from what it appears, that’s the direction it will go in.

As for sets, who knows, the 3D printing side of the community has done great work. If this does remain a fan project, and strictly a fan project, perhaps we could see interpretations of Faber’s design done by that community.

I guess the only I am disappointed about is that somebody put disappointment in the title of this topic.

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I think Lego would then proceed to strike down the project immediately.

unrelated, but does the channel title really need to have such a negative tone? Can we not leave it as “3IONICLE Discussion” and not make it out to be worse than it may be?

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unlikely, we had custom masks and parts done by the 3D printing community for a while, for example; look at RSG and what they have accomplished.

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I don’t know how to put it.
Yes, but they are working without the IP. Faber uses the Bionicle IP that encourage people to create own pieces. The other parts are nice accessories for a moc but these parts would be required to actually create the characters of the “official” thing.

Sorry I really don’t know how to make this more understandable.

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I think Lego has had plenty of opportunity to take action and hasn’t. If they haven’t already, I doubt they ever will.

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let me also remind you that is purely a hypothetical situation,

but as of right now there are a enough 3D printed parts out there to basically make your own bionicle character, barring pins and axles, which I’m sure 3D models could be found for them.

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