Because some adult children want to find ways around the word filter by any means necessary. There are ways to use shift and bypass the filter, but I’d rather not hand out explanations so people can be profane.
The explanations are out there on the site if you’re willing to look for them. But, veer is a word we need more often anyway.
People want to “perserve” canon. I know that sounded super pretentious but I don’t know how else to put it but to many people the world building and suspension of disbelif is a big factor in their enjoyment of the story so to me at least its completely reasonable to wanna restrict themselves within what is already establish. Its nothing about conservatism, its more about world integrity.
I do get that, but sometimes it is too restrictive. The only reason actual sets were not so detailed was because designers had to work with limitations such as part count/ availability, final price, etc. so the characters had “lower resolution”.
But here in these canon contests we do not have that limitation, so we have a chance to create better characters. So sometimes it is shame not to take that opportunity.
More detailed does not have to automatically mean, less G1. But that is a general remark and something that surprised me since these contests started.
Emphasis on “Canon”, canon is what it is thanks to this:
If canon was made up of only mocs made by fans these days, then fine make Biocup level entries but this is the hand we’ve been dealt and something more complex than Arthaka is an heavy outlier unfortunately.
If you want to be super creative and free by all means, compete in Biocup or any other contest fans are organizing. However canon is canon and canon contest needs to adhere to it. Unfortunately the Hagah has been very much decide in key aspects by canon making this contest the strictest by far.
However future contests will be more lenient on designs, however it is important to note that a lot of people vote with this in mind:
Because of this winning canon mocs most likely will follow the set standard of previous canon models. If you want a creativity without limits contest join another contest. You won’t find what you are looking for here, it’s unfortunate but true.
Also to be personal for a few seconds I hate this mindset, it spits in the face of designers by calling their designs bad. I can tell you months of work went into all those designs by very skilled people not only in LEGO building but sculptig, drawing, physics and engineering. It’s a super toxic mindset I would avoid using in the future. Sure we can definately build superior mocs with access to more parts and whatnot but the way you phrase it makes it sound like the equivalent of fixing art
Anyway, I didn’t want to digress too much from this topic. I just want to see what Ghid has to offer 
EDIT: Wait what 
! I just read the blurred out text…that is not how I meant it! I am not looking to devalue anyones work, quite the opposite. Why would you take it like that 
Just my two cents, but since the focus of the canonization is on the illustration, I’m not that skeptical of going a little more detailed than the sets in the mocs. I’d consider my entries (if I get them done in time) merely guidelines that the artists can sleeken a bit to match Norik and Iruini in the art portion. Frankly it’s even odd if we expect the mocs to be drawn part-for-part. I trust the artists can find a balance between Norik/Iruini and the rest. Sure there’s a limit to how offroad you can go with the build, but I doubt inching a bit closer to that limit is bad.
I understand that sentiment in regards to the other contests. But for this contest, we have a precedent in the form of Norik and Iruini (henceforth known as N&I). And I think even setting aside the purist angle, nostalgia factor is going to play a big role in people’s voting preferences. The entries that match the design language of N&I will probably be favoured.
I guess because the team art is what’s canon, and some art styles consolidate complexity like the Artakha art did, people can still inject some added complexity into the MOCs without that complexity translating into the art. E.g. if someone made a complex shoulder design made up of many parts, the art can appear to merge those parts, allaying any concerns about some of the Toa looking more complex than N&I. Maybe that’s some reassurance for you and Ghid.
And yeah, @Monarth echoed the same point just now.
which comes back to: how are you supposed to choose between effectively identical MOCs?
Sorry but I don’t know how else I should read that, its a me problem I guess.
… They’re not saying the official designs are bad. They’re saying that since we can make new, better designs, we should. Which makes sense.
The correlation was unnecessary.
I think there are enough variables that people will be able to pick between two very similar entries, even if near-identical entries do crop up (we’ve already had fourty entries so maybe it’s inevitable). Camera quality is an overlooked factor. And perhaps differences in consent will play a part too. And there’s no guarantee they’ll get pitted against each other in the same poll.
I know that’s not a particularly satisfying answer, and it’s not unlikely that someone who posts a very similar MOC to someone else’s but doesn’t get as far in the polls might get frustrated. But I don’t think anything can be done about that.
That said, I have the sinking suspicion that a handful of very good artworks are going to outshine almost every MOC that’s entered, so concerns about similar MOCs might be hastily forgotten about.
So breaking established canon, because we can, in other words, doesn’t sound like a win to me.
I’m mean, you’re not wrong that’s why the sets look like that… but that also means that’s just how the canon/world generally looks. These are canon contests after all, not creativity ones. Besides, there were plenty of submissions that made it to the Helryx and Artakha finals that more so resembled video game bosses than “authentic” entities in the Bionicle world. That’s not meant to be an insult to the people who made those MOCs, they’re incredibly cool and well made, but they also don’t feel like something to me that would exist typically in the world.
Personally, of the entries so far I’ve seen, there’s a great variety to choose from. Sure they’re all using the Metru torso, but aside from that? I’d hardly call them clones. Although that’s a fairly subjective thing for me to say.
I will say I have been surprised by two things: the amount of Stud.io entries, and the amount of MOCs using the same masks for the same character. To the former, the majority of entries seem to be made in Stud.io (although I’ve hardly looked at all the entries), which I’m curious about. Is it because people don’t want to physically MOC with such a “limited” ruleset, or are more people entering with Stud.io because of the inherently simpler Hagah designs? I don’t know, but I think it’s interesting. Meanwhile, to the latter point, I feel like I’ve seen a few Bomongas with a Kakama, a few Kualuses with a noble Huna, etc. …I don’t have anything else to add to that. I just think it’s funny.
Bad =/= Simple. We have the option even under these restrictive rules to be more creative with our approach - the TTV crew has been more or less adamant we do so - so why should we limit ourselves by doing things the way set designers in 2005 would’ve done?
When ToaKebaba said Limitation, it seemed pretty obvious to me he was referring to having to build a canister set from the era with a limited number of available pieces, colors, and a specific price point in mind. Not that the designers are dumb and can’t build something complex - we are not restricted by time, parts, or preset guidelines for piece count and the like enforced by LEGO - we can do whatever we want as long as it matches the Hagah, so why shouldn’t we?
So sometimes it’s a shame not to take that opportunity when the only thing in the way is a specific preconception about whether or not it fits a perception of ‘canon’.
Perfect mindset.
If your build is so impressive and so complex that it hardly resembles the originals, you’ve gone too far. But taking things a little further while still staying within TTV’s guidelines is at least part of the contests’ basic function - and if it eliminates 60% of the competition for me to do so, I will.
Finally, a chance of winning one of these
I feel design language is a very open-ended term - does it mean stock limb pieces, or just the general appearance and flow? And does the definition differ from you to me, or me to Monarth, or Monarth to CoolcatMonte, or CoolcatMonte to xXMountaindewlordXx?
It sounds like design language and canon are two words sharing the same apartment. One should move out.
I don’t have access to my parts collection and I can’t afford bricklinking 4 mocs because I’m a student living on student loans.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say making ‘better’ (in this case more complex) designs breaks canon, though I will agree it breaks the spirit of the technical and narrative precedent set by Norik and Iruini - at least for some people. If one of the winning Hagah has radically more complex and unique armour than the others and the group art is unable to fix that, that infringes on the notion of the Hagah being a team of elite Toa whose armour was given to them at the point of them becoming a team. It also infringes on some people’s expectations that a team of Toa that’s 33% made up of official sets should have a common design language.
Why shouldn’t we? Its not liking making 2005 inspired mocs is boring.
Not what I meant, even though LEGO designers had limitations it didn’t stop them from designing new parts and sets from their limitations.
I can tell you months of work went into all those designs by very skilled people not only in LEGO building but sculptig, drawing, physics and engineering.
Designer obviously put thought into what they were designing. They were able to design something great within limitaions totally disregarding that seems very unfair. I can promise you that did Bionicle have the most horrible designs it wouldn’t have sold beyond the first year.
Mocs can be very creative and really awesome but sometimes working within limitations isn’t bad. Either way these are canon contest so you should reconsider if you want to join this contest, if you can’t build within a frame of reference or limitation. If you can’t how are you better than I designer whoms entire job is being creative within limitations or a frame of refrence.
that’s an exaggeration, and you know it.
Anyways, we’ve argued these points to exhaustion in the last six months, and I have no intention of getting sucked back in.
Is it though?
I agree still here we are, all over again debating why a canon contest is a canon contest an not a creative contest.
To say that if we don’t make clones we’re “breaking canon”?
ahm
yes.