BIONICLE G1 Canon Contests Discussion & Questions

As per the LinkedIn announcement from LEGO Author Greg Farshtey that he has been laid off by LEGO, with his final day being in July, the BIONICLE G1 Canon Contests are now at an end. For our full thoughts on this matter, please listen to Nak & Jay Episode 30.

After having a poll up for slightly over a month, and further deliberating a slew of specifics with many of the heads of several BIONICLE communities and projects, we are finally ready to announce the beginning of the contests, which characters Greg Farshtey has approved of for contests, and the rules we have settled on.

Characters:


Our criteria for which characters to pursue visualizations for was simple: Characters that were named and/or had speaking roles. Obviously enough, we didn’t pursue all of them that fit this criteria, and not every character on this list matches the aforementioned criteria, however we believe these to be the most important ones needing this treatment. Initially, our intention was to wait for this list to be exhausted before considering a second, however we have since drafted a second one. Both lists were sent to and approved by Greg Farshtey.

After lengthy discussions with community leaders, it was decided that we would release the first list ahead of any contests beginning so that everyone can start to focus on which character they’d like to work on instead of being blindsided by a short time frame that they’d have no clue as to the specifics of. The second list is being revealed here since the contests have been cancelled.

Character list 1:
Toa Helryx - Canon Design | Inspiration MOC
Artakha - Canon Design | Inspiration MOC
Toa Hagah - Canon Designs
Bomonga - Inspiration MOC
Pouks - Inspiration MOC
Kualus - Inspiration MOC
Gaaki - Inspiration MOC
Toa Tuyet
Lariska
Toa Orde
Toa Zaria
Toa Chiara
Toa Nidhiki
Toa Varian
Gold Skinned Being
Marendar

Character list 2:
Makuta Tridax
Makuta Kojol
Toa Naho
Builder of the Toa Canisters
Reysa
Gar
Kyrehx
Kodan
Ihu
Johmak
Kabrua
Lein

Rules (get used to seeing these, they will be posted in every contest topic):


This took the greatest amount of time and consideration. Meso and I spent a while discussing these with several heads of BIONICLE communities and projects to get perspectives on things we may not have considered. We’re happy with the place they’re at now, and we show them to you all at this time so we can address any concerns and garner any feedback, or anymore perspectives we may have missed. Feel free to ask us any questions in this topic and we’ll work on getting back to you as soon as possible. The rules are subject to change, and if improvements are necessary will we address them when needed/possible.

MOC CONTEST RULES:

Expand for Rules

0. Any members found to be disrespecting or subjecting toxicity upon the contest hosts, cast members, staff, or other members on the Boards, during, about, and regarding the Canon Contests, will be permanently banned from the site with no warnings or temporary suspensions.

1. Entrants must be 13 years old or older.
1a. Entries may not be entered on behalf of someone younger than 13.

2. All entrants must abide by TTV Message Board rules and guidelines.
2a. If you are permanently banned during the course of the contest, your entry will be disqualified. Suspensions will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
2b. Any member found to have a duplicate account will be permanently banned.
2c. Entries must be submitted on behalf of the entry creator themselves. They may not be submitted on behalf of another person.

3. In order to enter, a new topic must be made for the creation with (Contest name) in the title. That topic must then be linked in a post in the official entry list topic made for the character in question.
3a. For any of these contests (with the exception of the Toa Hagah contest), only one entry may be entered per person.
3b. Winners of prior contests are allowed to enter additional contests.

4. A minimum of four (4) photos must be provided. Front, Side, Back, and an Entry Photo (The one you want used in the polls).
4a. In addition to the 4 photos, you must provided a minimum of one (1) breakdown photo of the MOC.
4b. Further breakdown photos must be provided upon staff request. If they aren’t provided within three (3) days of the request, the entry will be disqualified.
4c. Once your entry has been officially entered and accepted, no further changes can be made without staff approval.
4d. Photos can be hosted on Imgur, Flickr, Brickshelf, or uploaded to the MB.
4e. Your creation may not feature any contemporary war weapons. (I.e Tanks, fully automatic firearms, etc)

5. We encourage your entry to be recognizably within the BIONICLE world. Part of that involves the use of Constraction, however unlike past contests we will not enforce a ratio.
5a. Constraction includes BIONICLE (G1 and G2), Hero Factory, Galidor, Knights Kingdom II large figure pieces, Ben 10 large figure pieces, and all CCBS.
5b. MOCs containing a suggestive or sexualized appearance, pose, construction, or otherwise are not permitted. Entries that contain these properties will be handled on an individual basis.

6. 3D printed pieces are allowed.
6a. 3D printed pieces are limited to masks and weapons, for a total allowance of four (4) 3D printed pieces.
6b. Only one (1) of the four (4) 3D printed pieces can be a mask.
6c. For any custom piece used, it must have one (1) point of compatibility with official LEGO pieces.
6d. At this time, the only 3D modelers who have expressly allowed the usage of their pieces are KingSidorak, Galva_, GX_05, KhingK, Vahki6 (for him, check this post), D-S-Creation-Forge.
6e. If an entry utilizes pieces from the aforementioned 3D modelers, they’ll need to provide a link to the free source for the piece. If one does not exist, the piece may not be used.
6f. If an entrant enters with a 3D piece they made themselves, they must provide a link to the 3D model file for free at the time of entry. If no link is included at the time of entry, and not included for three (3) days afterwards, the entry will be disqualified.
6g. By entering a 3D printed piece of their own creation, the entrant agrees that it will be freely available under a creative commons license for all time.

7. MOCs created in LDD and Stud.io are allowed, however they must abide by the same guidelines as physical MOCs in regards to 3D printed and custom models.
7a. Additionally, the LDD/Stud.io file for these creations must be posted along with the MOC, in similar fashion to custom pieces made by the entrant.

8. Rules on non-purism:
8a. Cut pieces and cut stickers are not allowed. This includes flex-tubes.
8b. Glued pieces and glued stickers are not allowed.
8c. Non-LEGO cloth, rubberbands, stickers, and strings are not allowed.
8d. Third-party or bootleg pieces not identical in mold to LEGO pieces (I.e: MegaBLOKS, bootleg constraction pieces) are not allowed.
8e. Painted pieces are allowed, however elaborate patterns/designs (I.E. Toa Uniter torso prints, etc) are not. Replicating dual-molded/marbled pieces is allowed.
8f. Dyed pieces are not allowed.
8g. Replicas of the above will fall under their category of replication. (I.e: If a resin mold is made of a cut-and-glued mask, it will be considered a cut-and-glued mask and will not be permitted for use in an entry.)
8h. Pieces that only exist in printed varieties that have had the printing removed or have been painted are not allowed. However, if the pieces are not unique and have been released non-printed in other colors, they may have the printing removed or may be painted over.
8i. Illegal connections are allowed, however we encourage individuals to not use those that will damage pieces in long or short term.
8j. Entries may be modified from their physical design with digital editing software, such as Photoshop or GIMP. However, the changes may only be the colors of the creation, and they must be in full parity with any official colors already featured on the MOC. Failure to meet full parity, and failure to correct it within three (3) days of staff request, will result in potential disqualification.
8k. Entries may also be placed onto a custom background through digital means, as long as the MOC is not altered aside from coloration. This may only be done to the entry image.

9. MOCs/Artwork created before this contest can be submitted, provided they abide by these rules/guidelines. However, the creations must be entered by the creator of said MOC/Art.
9a. To expand on the last sentence, entries must be entered by the creator themselves. Any MOC entered on behalf of another person, new or otherwise, will be disqualified until submitted by the creator them self.

10. We encourage MOCs representing canister-sized figures to attempt to adhere to the standard canister set size as of 2009, which would be 9 inches, or 22.9 centimeters. To stress, this is a guideline, it is not a rule. (Excluding the Toa Hagah Contest)

11. We reserve the right to disqualify, at any time, any entry that we have reason to believe has been entered in bad faith or in an attempt to disrupt the voting process, or any entry we have reason to believe may disrupt the voting process.

12. We have no rules against vote brigading. However, if any member or participant in either the MOC or Art portion of any of these contests, or an unrelated party who is voting in the Polling portion, is found to be offering compensation (i.e, money, artwork, prizes, etc) for votes, then their account will be suspended for the duration of said contest, their entry will be disqualified (if they entered), and their vote will be subtracted from the final tally. Repeated offenses will result in a permanent ban.

ART CONTEST RULES:

Expand for Rules

0. Any members found to be disrespecting or subjecting toxicity upon the contest hosts, cast members, staff, or other members on the Boards, during, about, and regarding the Canon Contests, will be permanently banned from the site with no warnings or temporary suspensions.

1. Entrants must be 13 years old or older.
1a. Entries may not be entered on behalf of someone younger than 13.

2. All entrants must abide by TTV Message Board rules and guidelines.
2a. If you are permanently banned during the course of the contest, your entry will be disqualified. Suspensions will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
2b. Any member found to have a duplicate account will be permanently banned.
2c. Entries must be submitted on behalf of the entry creator themselves. They may not be submitted on behalf of another person.

3. In order to enter, a new topic must be made for the creation with (Contest name) in the title. That topic must then be linked in a post in the official entry list topic made for the character in question.
3a. For any of these contests (with the exception of the Toa Hagah contest), only one entry may be entered per person.
3b. Winners of prior contests are allowed to enter additional contests.

4. A minimum of two (2) images must be provided. One of the mask, containing the front, side, and top view, and one of the winning MOC wearing it.
4a. All artwork must be in color. Not grey-scale.
4b. Once your entry has been officially entered and accepted, no further changes can be made without staff approval.
4c. Images can be hosted on Imgur, Flickr, Brickshelf, or uploaded to the MB.
4d. Your creation may not feature any contemporary war weapons. (I.e Tanks, fully automatic firearms, etc)
4e. Artwork cannot significantly modify the aesthetics of the original MOC, either by omission or addition, and must follow the color scheme of the original MOC as closely as possible. For example, additional limbs or significant color shifts would not be allowed.

5. We encourage your entry to be recognizably within the BIONICLE world. However, we have no restriction on art styles.
5a. While we accept any style, we do not permit any character artwork featuring any characters that appears too human. Examples of that would be a lack of technical/BIONICLE pieces or elements, or human faces on Kanohi.
5b. Art containing a suggestive or sexualized appearance, pose, construction, or otherwise are not permitted. Entries that contain these properties will be handled on an individual basis.

6. 3D entries are allowed.
6a. Any entry using 3D must provide the model file at time of entry if they are designing a new mask.
6b. 3D entries must not be MOC recreations and renders using Stud.Io or LEGO Digital Designer. This is your interpretation, not a simple recreation.
6c. If the inspiration MOC uses a custom Mask or Weapon, you are allowed to either use those on the MOC or create your own.
6d. At this time, the only 3D modelers who have expressly allowed the usage of their pieces are KingSidorak, Galva_, GX_05, KhingK, Vahki6 (for him, check this post), D-S-Creation-Forge.
6e. If an entry utilizes pieces from the aforementioned 3D modelers, they’ll need to provide a link to the free source for the piece. If one does not exist, the piece may not be used.
6f. If an entrant enters with a 3D piece they made themselves, they must provide a link to the 3D model file for free at the time of entry. If no link is included at the time of entry, and not included for three (3) days afterwards, the entry will be disqualified.
6g. By entering a 3D printed piece of their own creation, the entrant agrees that it will be freely available under a creative commons license for all time.

7. Artwork created before this contest can be submitted, provided they abide by these rules/guidelines. However, the creations must be entered by the creator of said Art.
7a. To expand on the last sentence, entries must be entered by the creator themselves. Any artwork entered on behalf of another person, new or otherwise, will be disqualified until submitted by the creator them self.
7b. Any artwork found to be submitted that is determined to be a commission work made for this contest will be disqualified.

8. Entries are allowed to imitate the styles of prior BIONICLE artists. (I.e, Carlos D’anda, Randy Elliott, etc). However, please make it clear that the artwork is not actually by any particular prior BIONICLE artist.

9. Do not plagiarize.

10. We reserve the right to disqualify, at any time, any entry that we have reason to believe has been entered in bad faith or in an attempt to disrupt the voting process, or any entry we have reason to believe may disrupt the voting process.

11. We have no rules against vote brigading. However, if any member or participant in either the MOC or Art portion of any of these contests, or an unrelated party who is voting in the Polling portion, is found to be offering compensation (i.e, money, artwork, prizes, etc) for votes, then their account will be suspended for the duration of said contest, their entry will be disqualified (if they entered), and their vote will be subtracted from the final tally. Repeated offenses will result in a permanent ban.

How these contests will be run:


The details and methods the contests ran changed over-time, and were due to change in a dramatic fashion in the near future after talks with other BIONICLE fan websites. As of the contests cancellation, the following information is generally inaccurate.

These contests will be run in a representative manner. An entry will be submitted to the contest during the entry period, of which will last for three weeks. At the end of the entry period, the entries will then go to be voted on. Once the polls end, the entry with the most votes will be sent to LEGO author Greg Farshtey to be signed off on as the canon representation of whichever character the entry is attempting to represent. We are currently unsure how long the voting period will last, that will be determined once they start as by that point we will know the volume of entries and how to best handle polling.

For characters with Kanohi of undetermined appearances (Helryx, Artahka, Tuyet):
These contests will be held in two parts. The first will be the MOC contest, which will design the character sans their mask and/or weapon. After one has been selected, a second contest will begin to illustrate the character in 2D or 3D* with a Kanohi mask and weapons (if no weapon had been included in the MOC). This second Kanohi contest will last for two weeks. The voting period is, again, unknown, however it is likely to be shorter than the voting period for the MOCs. This artwork will be the representation sent to Greg Farshtey to be canonized. We will also send a photo of the winning MOC to show what won the MOC portion and provided the basis/inspiration for the artwork.

*Any entry that is a 3D model must abide by the standard 3D model rules.


And that about does it. Thank you for your time, and have a great day.

61 Likes

I voted against but yknow, gosh dangit I’m excited for this. I’m really looking forward to what people make!

8 Likes

It begins.

5 Likes

Still unsure of how the winning entries can be considered official canon since they’re neither done at LEGO’s discretion nor official LEGO material. I think ultimately these contests will do more harm than good for the community at large, and I personally would rather invest in fan creators and fanon works than fight over what’s canon or not, especially given our track record as a fanbase.

That said, I hope people enjoy taking part, and I look forward to seeing everyones’ entries.

7 Likes

In my opinion, Marendar should not be on the list. I know a lot of discussion took place regarding whether characters whose appearances were deliberately kept ambiguous or mysterious should get contests, and the answer seemed to be no (which I completely agree with). By all accounts, Marendar should fit into that category as well. He (or it) has never made a physical appearance in the story, and the Yesterday Quest gives no concrete information on its appearance. For a character that has about 100 words dedicated to it in one short story, it seems strange that the Marendar has been included while other mysterious characters like Tren Krom haven’t (I agree Tren Krom shouldn’t be on the list either).

8 Likes

Greg Farshtey approves the winning entries. Greg works for LEGO, and is one of the few - if not only - story team members still working there. He is here on behalf of LEGO. End of story, from our perspective. We’ve discussed this at length in the poll topic, so I won’t go much further than what has already been said there.

For the record, I somewhat agree. This was something Meso pushed for, and I relented as it was still a character that was planned to appear and was one of the (actually, may have outright just been the last) last characters to receive a name before the serials stopped. That being said, he is on the list, and will be the last one we focus on.

9 Likes

But it’s not Greg’s product. He was employed to write it but ultimately it doesn’t belong to him. It’s also not an active product. Unless he’s officially licensed by LEGO to continue creating/approving material for the theme then how can it be official?

5 Likes

I agree with you, mate, but that conversation’s been rehashed a hundred times before this contest was “decided” by the community. The floodgates are open; might as well drink the Kool-Aid while it’s still rushing into our mouths and overwhelming us with the built-up pressure of ten years’ stagnation.

3 Likes

We’re not saying it’s his product, but he is still the foremost authority on canon as he is an acting representative of The LEGO Group, here with their permission, and was actively involved with the theme after having written for it for the entirety of its run. If you wish to discount these as official, along with any other materials he has signed off on after the theme was discontinued, that’s understandable and well within your right to do.

That being said, we don’t subscribe to that, the polls are over, and these winning entries will be hosted alongside the likes of Certavus, Kirbold, Kyry, the Rahi guide creatures, and so on, in the same manner as those aforementioned character representations.

12 Likes

Okay, so, question on the contests for characters with no mask:

should the Mocs include a plaxeholder mask, a custom mask (being either brickbuilt or 3d modellef) or should they just be a blank head (I.e. a Metru head with no mask)? Or does it not matter?

2 Likes

The choice is ultimately up to the builder. Just understand, it won’t matter in the grand scheme of things, as it will not be considered the canonical Kanohi. My understanding is that BS01 will host the image, however it would be either in a gallery or at the bottom of the page. The artwork is what will receive the official mask, be signed off on by Greg, and be hosted on the page in its proper location to signify its recognition.

1 Like

Fair enough, though the Rahi guide creatures were in an official, published work so that’s a false equivalence.

Reason I bring it up is that Greg still had to sign off on all of them and give them their story purpose. It’s also to reiterate that those creations and the ones made during fan contests hold the same weight. They’re all considered canon.

But again, the choice is yours and I appreciate your perspective. We understand how these will likely be seen by some, but we hope the community revitalization and the creative builds will overcome that distaste against them. We’re trying to handle these as carefully as possible as to avoid the needless canonizations such as the Toa Mangai’s Kanohi masks, or which elements were on the Toa Cordak team. Of course, depending on the person, all of the contests could be seen as frivolous, but we like to think that these aren’t quite so much.

3 Likes

If I’m to be perfectly honest, I’m definitely in the camp of seeing these contests as frivolous at best, damaging to community spirit at worst. It might seem like a good idea now, but people have been making their own MOCs of all of the listed characters for years, especially to putting their own spin on the Toa Hagah. I really don’t think these contests are going to help revitalise the community; I think they’re going to dampen it.

3 Likes

Random Question, is the G2 Mask of Creation allowed to be used on Artakha?

2 Likes

Wait what just happened to my comment?! Was it considered spam or something because it was only an image?

I personally think it should. They did say any lego constraction piece would be allowed, so for all they care you could probably use Batman’s head from the super heroes contraction line.
Not that anyone likely will, but you technically could do that and stay within the parameters of the rules.

2 Likes

I understand where you’re coming from, even if I disagree. At the end of the day, no matter what gets confirmed as official by Greg, it won’t stop people from building their own interpretations. Nothing ever has.

We’ll have to wait and see how things go. We’re optimistic. Please bear with us.

Yes. Whether or not it becomes the official deception of the G1 Mask of Creation is another story.

We have a rule against posting one image or image only replies. I encourage you to re-read through our rules again, thank you.

2 Likes

Ah, gotcha.

I keep forgetting we have no canon G1 mask of Creation visual.

Tridax and my boy kojol have done more than marendar!

Liberate the makuta!

8 Likes

The way I see it is this: Tren Krom, Anonna, and the Great Beings were kept deliberately vague by Greg in his storytelling. In the case of Tren Krom and Anonna, they were horrifying, otherworldy beings, with Tren Krom specifically driving people mad simply by looking at him. The Great Beings always appeared cloaked, and even though they’re just members of the Glatorian species, the few times they did appear were deliberately shrouded in a certain air of mystery and a reluctance to reveal their appearances outright.

These are characters who we do not want to hold contests for, because their lack of an appearance is a deliberate choice made by Greg to add to their mystique.

Marender isn’t like that; the only reason we don’t know what he looks like is because of the abrupt end of the storyline. He was not a horrific, otherworldy monster… he was a robot, plain and simple. There is no ominous, mysterious aura around what he looks like, and as such, he’s fair game for a contest IMO. Had the story continued, he would have come into conflict with somebody soon enough and we would have gleamed more concrete details, because he was shaping up to be a very relevant threat that would’ve been at the center of the story.

Some guidelines may be beneficial, so that’d be something we could maybe ask Greg about at a later date as far as colors and whatnot are concerned, and he is definitely at the lowest end of our priority list, but that’s my thought process behind the conclusion.

8 Likes