So…no sets? That’s a shame. I’ve been wanting a G3 for a while now.
Probably a series of comics, or serials, or web animations? I’d like to say novels, but what CF is showing us is pieces of art. You can’t really call it a novel if it has a bunch of pictures, can you?
Well, Bionicle is different for everyone. That’s why I said earlier that for some people the sets are the center of Bionicle, and since this isn’t something that involves LEGO in any official capacity, then it isn’t the project for them. There’s a lot of components that make up Bionicle, so it’s not just one thing, so asking what one thing makes something Bionicle is a bit of a futile question to ask. It’s much more complex than that.
For me, the things I like most about Bionicle is the atmosphere, the aesthetics, and the non-traditional storytelling. Anything with those elements is Bionicle to me (this might be why I like G2 more than most people; it had all those elements enough for me to make it Bionicle).
If you want to know my hypothetical, or what I’d dare to re-imagine Bionicle as, if you will, it’d be a multi-media creative franchise. Think about the scope of creative IPs like the SCP Foundation. There’s a main sort of “canon” in the articles, sure, but it’s composed of many forms of media that people like. There are SCP videos, other kinds of stories, fan art, fan models, video games, comics. I’d love to see something similar with Bionicle, a universe dedicated to telling its story through all these new, neat, “post-cinema” media. VR could be a component, for instance?
My imagination was sparked by Faber’s previous imagery of Antarctica. I’d love to see a new Bionicle with a kind of gritty, industrial aesthetic combined with that frozen landscape. A spunky group of robots with powers on a mission to save the world from a mysterious danger. It’s got a similar aesthetic feel, the non-traditional storytelling, and a similar kind of atmosphere that makes it Bionicle to me.
I think what’s important, though, is to be more open-minded as to what Bionicle can be. It might have some of the elements we like, it might have all, or it might have none and become a new thing. We shouldn’t reject it because of that, though, because it’s still attempting to honor that Bionicle spirit.
I guess Faber could provide that. What he showed up to this point looks very mysterious (it looks to me like a combination of the 2001 atmosphere with the 2008 aesthetics).
I visited Lego Ideas today and saw something that could be useful to Faber if he does intend to try to form a licensing agreement with The Lego Company so he can use the Bionicle brand-name:
I think it’s intriguing that they specify submissions are not required to be physical products, but can be more abstract experiences, which seems to be what Faber is going for. I’m not suggesting Faber must use this or has used it, I just think it’s a cool initiative with relevance to Faber’s goal of providing multimedia experiences through emerging technologies. His VR and Mobile Game demos for Waveborn fit right in with the innovative concepts described here.
Lego has invested heavily into bold innovations recently; Advanced tech integration in Lego Boost and Lego Hidden Side, the Sustainable Plant-based Brick Initiative, educational aids for blind youth with new “Brick-A-Braille” Kits, and expansions into the adult collectors market through Lego Forma and the Wooden Minifigure display-piece. Buying Bricklink is inarguably a big move as well, controversial as it is. So if Faber is hoping to work with Lego in some capacity, it stands to reason that now is the perfect time for him to deliver an imaginative pitch.
Well it sounds like he’s already in touch with Lego, they just haven’t been able to hold a legitimate meeting because of The Plague.
This is definetly a Bionicle fan project for sure, because he keeps teasing some progress on it but it will never come out
Plague! Is somebody infecting comet kohli balls?
Well, no, not unless there’s any chance Jinping wears a Rau…
you never know…
Hey, never say never. He’s come out and outright explained the current situation, as has been discussed above. I would hold the horses and/or pitchforks until after we get that yes or no on whether those meetings go well.
Yeah, we’re in no position to press F until Lego itself says ixnay on the Ioniclebay. This isn’t a fan project that might be dropped in favor of IRL affairs or work; this is the work, or at least could be that work. Faber intends to bring back Bionicle in earnest, not to start some fan project he can’t commit to. We really oughta give the man an honest chance; he deserves that much, both for contributing so much to Bionicle in the first place and for seriously making a move to revive it.
We can only speculate on what Faber will do with the Biological Chronicle concept, but at least we do know that progress is being made on Rebel Nature- one inch at a time- but progress nonetheless. This comes from the RebelNature tag on instagram:
Didn’t he, on the livestream, explicitly come forth and say “I’m trying to get Lego to bring back Bionicle?” I don’t think there’s a lot of room for speculation here.
He also said it wouldn’t necessarily take the form of a traditional product line, so there is plenty of room for speculation as to how he plans to expose audiences to his new world.
He never said that. He also said in the stream that he has no interest whatsoever in bringing back Bionicle as a traditional product line (he even went on to say how the Bionicle pieces are precious and will likely never be produced again).
Whatever he is trying to do, I’m pretty sure it will be more focused on the story instead of physical products to sell.
You know, if Christian Faber’s trying to create a Bionicle that’s all about the story…I mean, it’s great that he wants to write a good story. But Lego is a toy company. A TOY COMPANY. It’s not a comic book company, or a book-publishing company, or a movie studio. They’ve gotten involved with such productions before, but ultimately, those books, comics, and movies they helped make were to help them sell their toys. So I don’t think Lego would put out a product that didn’t have any kind of toys attached to it.
The way I see it, Faber writes the story, TLG provides him with contact with their game/animation publishers and some of their story team. LEGO takes a cut of any of that media.
That is, assuming that the new story is told through traditional media. It could be released entirely on the web.
He is no writer tho, he will probably have to find someone to help him with thise things. Also I believe lego isn’t to comfortable working with the ip
I believe that’s unfounded hearsay, and we should just wait and see what Faber’s idea actually is in the way of making this work with Lego and if they’ll actually accept it.
And even then, who knows? In the worst case scenario Faber might be able to get away with Legally Distinct Bionicle™ and provide a similar… whatever this is.
I fear you might be right…
