Understandable. I made the same mistake initially, until this video helped open my eyes.
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Faber discussing virtual production and RIG21 at the Cannes NEXT 2020 Summit:
https://www.marchedufilm.com/live
(It’s the ”12:15 PM Paris time” video, starting at 53:40)
Here’s a summary of what he discussed:
- His new elevator pitch for Rebel Nature is “The Jungle Book with technology replacing the jungle.”
Imgur: The magic of the Internet - Rebel Nature will be a trilogy: the story of the parents, the story of the child, the story of the rebel
Imgur: The magic of the Internet - Faber’s “Rebel” philosophy is about using commercial art and entertainment to inspire youth and raise greater awareness about how we can create a future where people have a more harmonious relationship with nature as well as each other. (In other words, he believes he has a Duty to future generations to use technology to foster Unity, so humanity can achieve its Destiny living in harmony with the planet.)
- Faber wants to use virtual technologies to increase empathy by broadening and unifying people’s experiences. He uses an example of astronauts experiencing the Overview Effect, saying he wants to use virtual experiences to achieve the same psychological impact.
- Faber believes virtual world-building is the best way to reach youth with messaging. The virtual world can make just as visceral of an impact on new generations as the real world can, because they have been raised on digital technologies for their entire lives so their experiences in both worlds are intertwined.
- Good world-building starts with fun, and is strengthened by fan engagement; people must want to live in your world. Faber sees storytelling as a tool for optimists to envision the future they want to create, and world-building is the latest and greatest evolution of storytelling.
Overall, the bulk of the presentation was the same metaphysical talk we’re used to from him. It felt like a marketing pitch. I got the sense that he has an easier time using art to convey messages than he does when trying to put his ideas into words. He didn’t specify which technologies he plans on implementing in his projects, just that he and a group of likeminded people are developing their projects by way of the new RIG21 Studio, but if you look on his Instagram you can see he has made posts about VR gaming.
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The thing to remember with Faber is that he’s an ideas guys, not so much an executions guy.
Faber is the kind of guy who’ll have 5 different projects on the go and tell you about how great all of them are, and never actually see them get off the ground. He’s straight up admitted that 14B2020 was an attempt at generating hype (ostensibly by taking advantage of a rabid pre-existing fanbase). This is a man who gets paid to have ideas, and it shows. He’s got plenty of them, many of them good, but unfortunately Ideas do not always become reality, and that’s something I think the community desperately needs to remember.
Biovival may well happen, but based on his previous work I’m much less likely to believe that Biovival is anything other than another segue into Rebel Nature. Why? Because Rebel Nature tackles many of the same themes that Bionicle did. He’s been working on Rebel Nature since at least 2014, (he references that it’s a “Self Financed Project until Now” in this blog post) and more recently he apparently got some investment in the form of Rebel Nature being the first Production for Toon2Tango.
Both Pieces of information basically point to the fact that Rebel Nature is Faber’s priority, and while he might want to do something with the overarching themes of Bionicle, it’s also entirely possible if not likely that whatever it is he does will be under the umbrella of Rebel Nature. Rebel Nature is a Universe IP, meaning that it’s not a singular idea that Faber’s been trying to sell.
Calling out the “Biological Chronicle” separately from Rebel Nature does not in fact give us any indication of whether or not it’s connected to Rebel Nature. Why? Call me Pessimistic but I believe that Faber is the kind of person who is willing to get his ideas out there at any cost, and he is certainly not above using existing love for his previous ideas as leverage (because he basically admitted as much with 14B2020.). Not only that, but all of the same ideas that he believes are very important to convey are present in Rebel Nature just as they are in Bionicle - Man Vs. Nature and how at the end of the day we are more a part of the world around us than we are in control of it. These themes are integral to Rebel Nature, just as they would be to any Bionicle Revival helmed by him. Ask yourself this - would you be willing to put time, money, and effort into two ideas that are functionally the same? Or would you put all your ideas under the same umbrella, thereby hedging your bets that at least one of them works out?
Call me Jaded, but I can’t blame him for it either. This fandom is so eager to devour any hint of Bionicle that, collectively, we’ll foam at the mouth over nothing but a Hashtag. Sure, Faber created the concept of Bionicle, but let’s remember that there was an entire team of people at Lego who assisted with it.
Until Faber confirms otherwise (and not just through omission) I’ll continue to believe that Biovival is either a red-herring to get the Bionicle Community (whom he knows are rabid fans) to support him and thereby give him leverage for his investors meetings, or it’s simply a part of Rebel Nature. In fact, those two aren’t even mutually exclusive.
TL;DR: I hate being taken advantage of and that’s 100% what this is, one way or another. Either we’re being taken advantage of to Hype us up for a project that’ll be everything we want or we’re being taken advantage of to hype us up for a project that already exists.
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Faber is not just some “ideas guy”, but the single individual most responsible for the story, aesthetic, design and approach of BIONICLE. (See this recent article.) He is now running the company producing Rebel Nature and all its multimedia products.
Faber has stated many times that Biovival and Rebel Nature are separate projects.
Were it not for Covid-19, 14B2020 would have been the announcement date for the “Biovival” project. (The postponed meeting was likely with LEGO, over his use of the BIONICLE brand.)
They share a very broad message of treating the planet well, but they are fully distinct ideas. From what I gather:
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Rebel Nature is a real-world future sci-fi, where robots and nature coexist in a world spoiled(?) by human technology and over-development.
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“Biovival” is a fantasy sci-fi likely about biomechanical beings in a mysterious non-technological world. We’ve seen teasers of canisters emerging from melting ice and allusions to climate breakdown as a hint at how that story may begin.
If you try very hard you can maybe squash the two ideas together, but it isn’t necessary and runs contrary to what we’ve been shown so far. Just because two things are sci-fi it doesn’t mean they are the same.
TL;DR: It’s pretty frustrating when people on a fansite to the idea Faber created paint him as someone “taking advantage” of people just to build “hype”. He’s clearly a nice, well-meaning guy who cares about BIONICLE and wants it to return. He is under no obligation to show us the behind-the-scenes, but has chosen to anyway, and I am very grateful for that opportunity to have something to look forward to.
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While it’s true that Faber was only a part of the machine, he was there, from beginning to end, always being an active part of the process (the Ignika comes to mind, the single-most important mask in the franchise and the most thematically charged in its design, all thanks to Faber). If he really didn’t care about this franchise and what it means to so many people, why would he stick around so long?
Because you’re being ridiculous. Several people, you before in fact, have said these exact same things, while ignoring what he’s actually said on the matter. Without any room for misinterpretation, Faber has outright stated that this assumption is entirely incorrect:
You’re not just being pessimistic, you’re being factually incorrect, and arguing in bad faith. Faber is perfectly aware of how “rabid” the fandom is, and the moment they realised that something was up he would lose that supposed free built-in fanbase that he seems to care so much about. At this point, keeping up the deception would make pretty much no sense at all.
He has, as I’ve just shown, you’ve just elected to ignore it.
Now it’s your turn, where has he said this?
TL;DR: I hate the fact that you and so many other people are so convinced that nothing can ever go our way that you refuse to budge on these absurd claims even in the face of actual evidence. There’s being realistic, and then there’s being defeatist. You’re the only one getting worked up here by trying to lead a smear campaign against a guy who’s posted some images on Instagram. For the sake of your sanity, and ours, stop.
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Now’s probably a good time to point out that basically lying and saying he’s making a Bionicle project just to get us interested is a terrible idea, and obviously so at that. If Faber’s just baiting us for our attention, what does he think will happen when that deception is revealed? How long could he possibly keep up the facade before people lose interest? And most importantly, out of those hyped for Biovival and nothing else he’s doing, how many are really gonna stick around for the stuff he’s already been working on that they didn’t care about before? To say that he’s lying to our faces is to attribute not only malice to him without due cause, but also stupidity.
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Where did I ever say that he was “just” an ideas guy? Being an ideas guy does not mean you are not capable of other things, however Faber alone was not the one who 3D modelled or designed or tested every little piece of Bionicle. He was not the guy that painstakingly wrote the Bionicle story in it’s minutiae, nor was he alone the guy that made Bionicle viable. Even the article that @TheMightyObsidianDude linked states thusly:
Bone Heads of Voodoo Island was a bust—focus groups demonstrated kids didn’t respond well to detachable heads—so that same year, LEGO pivoted to focus on Bionicle. The plan was to take a more holistic design approach with these new toys than with craze products, but LEGO extended that comprehensiveness to the worldbuilding around the toys, too, a new strategy for the company. Faber and LEGO design manager Martin Riber Andersen were joined by former BBC film and TV executive Bob Thompson and writer Alastair Swinnerton to refine the Voodoo Island concept and pitch a new story. Faber, fresh from working on Star Wars LEGO sets, imagined something massive.
Should we put the same value to everything Alastair Swinnerton does? Many reports I’ve seen basically have a huge portion of the Bionicle story being attributed to Bob Thompson. What about Greg? Do we not attribute most of the storyline of Bionicle to Him? If you’re into Bionicle for the story and the world Building, by the end of it Greg had arguably more to do with that than Faber did seeing as he was the guy actually writing the stories. If Lego had to bring outside individuals in to make Bionicle Viable, why are we suddenly so sure that Faber can do it all on his own? I mean, hell, The fact that the very article you linked says that
“Faber and the others took on different aspects of creating the Bionicle universe. Swinnerton and Thompson formulated a story bible and characters, Andersen led development of the toys’ designs, and Faber established the visual look of the world…”
So why are we suddenly so sure that Faber ACTUALLY wore all the hats? The same article attributes the GSR to Swinnerton.
Faber has said he needs more horses in the stable because he doesn’t know which one will run. “This isn’t April Fools, this is a way to kick myself into action.” So fine, Biovival is separate from Rebel Nature. Rebel Nature is in the process of taking off, Faber would have to be a fool to pivot entirely to a new project with a different IP. “14B2020, I’m One, I’m For Bionicle, or something like it, in 2020.”
That’s literally the basis of 14B2020. Even if he just really loves Bionicle, he’s still going to use the existing love for Bionicle as a way to prove interest for whatever Biovival actually is supposed to be. He doesn’t have to outright say that he’s going to use the existing love of the franchise - because he called it Biovival and referenced Bionicle.
Aight so I’m gonna make one quick side-point. Making a point where you lack information is not arguing in bad faith. Making a point where you claim someone else is pointedly ignoring your point before you make it is.
“So Convinced nothing can ever go our way” huh? I said the same things about the Bring Back Bionicle movement that got us G2. IF Faber comes along with something more than concept art and words then I’ll be in full support.
There’s refusing to budge on “absurd” claims and then there’s looking at it from the perspective of “He’s been working on Rebel Nature the entire time he hasn’t been working on Bionicle. Why would he give up on that when it’s just taking off and Pivot to Bionicle?”
Also, where’s this “smear campaign” that i’m trying to lead. Or are you under the assumption that because I’m TTV I must obviously be on the same page with them on everything and that there’s a concentrated hatred for Faber? If anything, I’ve defended Faber the most amongst the TTV Crew because I at least respect that Faber’s trying to do.
I am, and let’s get this straight, the epitome of a casual fan of Bionicle. This is not, in fact, a fansite for Bionicle. It’s a fansite for TTV, a podcast that focuses mostly on Lego in General. Now yes, Bionicle factors in heavily because that’s how we all met and it’s overwhelmingly our favourite Lego Line, but to say this is a fansite for Bionicle is to ignore the names on the door. Without Faber Bionicle, and thus BZP, and thus TTV, would never have existed, sure. So while I appreciate Faber’s role in the life-long friendships I’ve created as part of this fandom, I also don’t hold him personally responsible for them.
Now if Y’all want to say, “hey, it’s really not fair to call Faber out and be pessimistic” then yeah, you’re probably right, but plenty of years of “BIONICLE’S COMING BACK GUYS” and “IF YOU DON’T SUPPORT X YOU’RE PART OF THE PROBLEM” have tempered my enthusiasm for anything relating to the franchise.
Oh, and fun fact: You don’t have to listen to me. If you don’t like the points I make then ignore them. Enjoy Fabers stuff, BUT, be fully prepared for the potential of disappointment.
Not Malice, necessarily, and it’s actually quite the opposite of stupid. In order to pitch ideas you have to prove interest in them. If the Biovival is capable of being rolled into Rebel Nature as a sub-IP then you now have a whole subset of people “Interested in the Rebel Nature IP.” Maybe “Being taken advantage of” is a much stronger wording than necessary, but the end result is the same - Faber knows there’s a rabid fanbase for his previous work. Besides, who’s to say that those same people who love his work now will care for his work later down the line, when it’s not -quite- the same as it was before. Quite Frankly if Faber didn’t try to leverage the fandom that exists for his previous work into his new work in some way, that would be stupid.
And yeah, I’m a pessimist for sure because I’ve actually sat in on investor meetings and funding meetings. I’m a Bachelor of Commerce (Student, admittedly), and unfortunately no one invests in an idea if they can’t make their money back. The only way to do that is to prove there’s an audience for your idea. The easiest way to do that, is to leverage an audience that already exists. It’s why Hero Factory said “From the creators of Bionicle.”
Imma leave you all with this quote from my original post that you all very pointedly glossed over.
Biovival may well happen, but based on his previous work I’m much less likely to believe that Biovival is anything other than another segue into Rebel Nature. Why? Because Rebel Nature tackles many of the same themes that Bionicle did.
I never said “Bionicle’s never gonna happen.” However, it makes a lot more financial sense to wrap it up as a side-IP, something that occurs in the same universe as Rebel Nature, than it does to make a completely separate thing. There’s no smear campaign here - it’s a tempering of expectations. Y’all are free to take my hesitation as evidence that I “hate Faber” or “Want him to Fail” or whatever else - the reality is that If Bionicle Fails again we will never get another chance.
Agree or disagree all you want, this is my last post on the topic because we’re all coming at this from completely different perspectives and it’s really not worth the circular conversation this will become. Regardless of what ends up happening, if there’s a Bionicle to support I’ll support it, as I would hope everyone else here would. I’m just not interested in devoting time and energy into supporting something not even out of the concept stage. Faber’s been working on Rebel Nature for, realistically, at or over a decade. I sincerely doubt we’re going to see any massive leaps or strides in progress of Biovival for quite a while - and until we have more than cryptic Instagram posts and allusions to “meetings” then my viewpoint will remain unchanged, because getting the meeting is just the first step.
~Hawkeye
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He’s never said he’s doing it on his own, in fact he’s already stated that he wants to “invite other people into this next phase”. I’m not going to speak for his ability to one-man this, because I don’t think he could, and I imagine he knows that, which is why he hasn’t said he will. What I have said, is his work on Bionicle for so long proves his dedication to the franchise as at the very least, the concept of a disease cured by tiny warriors in capsules was his literal brainchild, and he ran with it in his own way (such as with the Ignika’s design) to the end.
Okay, so by “leverage” you mean a reboot. You could just say reboot. Reboots can be made out of love as well as just pure greed, you understand this, right? And don’t say that he’s outright said something if he hasn’t, that’s called lying.
I will definitely admit defeat on that one, that was a bit of an oversight on my part, I probably should’ve used a different phrase 
We have no idea so far, but on what little we know, it may be that they are both created in a similar medium, his “RIG21” project which is (supposedly) for VR storytelling.
Making points trying to assassinate his character by framing him as manipulative and “taking advantage of people”. He has given you absolutely no reason to approach his motives this way, this is your own preconceived notions colouring his actions. I have no interest in your affiliation with TTV because it’s irrelevant to the conversation, I’m addressing your points as stated here.
Sound logic, he’s said this isn’t what he’s doing though. So not only is he being shady in this scenario, he’s also a liar. How much further are you willing to take this?
There’s a big difference between people having confidence in a potential project based on name recognition and the supposed deliberate misleading and manipulating that you seem to be describing.
I never said you did, I said that your claims “tempering the expectations” of what Faber is doing are wrong, and unnecessarily represented him as malicious in intent when there was no reason to do so.
Also something he’s said already
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Eh, @Kini_Hawkeye has a point. He is an “ideas guy”.
As an aspiring concept artist myself, that’s entirely what the job entails. It’s producing large volumes of visual ideas that serve as jumping-off points for a project.
While some of a concept artist’s ideas might end up realized in the final product, most usually the case is that the majority of their work is kept for internal use and never shown publicly. The ideas that do stick are often heavily iterated on and developed far past the concept artist’s original idea.
Most concept artists are hired for their ability to generate a large amount of ideas quickly, and have enough skill that those ideas are clear and readable. Most concept artists aren’t the guys who refine, polish, or execute the ideas.
That being said, I do think Faber has fairly clear visions of a refined project for Rebel Nature, and he’s assembled a larger team that can execute his ideas. He’s leading the charge on that front, and he’s clearly got the chops to do so.
I’m hesitant to say that Biovival will become a part of Rebel Nature just because he stated his intentions clearly in the live-stream, that both are separate ideas. Very similar stories, yes, but I think Rebel Nature is his big idea, mass-appeal, world-market project. Biovival may very well just be the initial seed for a passion project. No less worthy than Rebel Nature, but something made with heart and soul for us, the Bionicle fans.
But I do think @Kini_Hawkeye has a point. Expectations should always be tempered. I, personally, have full faith that something will come out of this, but if/when it does it might take longer than we think, and it might not be all we imagine.
I’m fine with that. Like I said, as an aspiring concept artist myself, I’m perfectly happy getting an Instagram speed-paint every now and then, if not to fuel my own inspirations. But only time will tell what happens.
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I do agree with what your are saying here and I’d like to add some stuff to this:
Faber is mostly likely working on this first and foremost in his spare time inbetween his work on Rebel Nature and for what its worth this is a sidegig project.
So looking at it from that perspective is key and by doing so I think he has gotten quite far for working on it in his spare time if that is the case.
He has been both forward and honest about his intentions with the project, he have also stated that he can’t give to much detail. Also we know for a fact that he has been in contact with companies because he has been open with that, some of which he has arranged meetings with or in the case of the Snow corporation from whom he have requested commisions not only for Rebel Nature but for biovival too or at least he hope they do something with his concepts for it. Which he mentioned in one of his livestreams he held on the 17th of april.
It still ain’t much but he is doing something he has more stuff going on behind the scenes than we know. Meanwhile I do agree and full heartedly believe that people should check ones expectations.
However I also believe that he isn’t keeping us in the dark to raise false hopes or to play with our emotions either but because it could probably jeopordize the progress he has already made.
This however is my 2 cents anyone is free to disagree.
//Tarkur
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Of course–but the risk is in doing something that’ll piss off those same rabid fans. If he’s hyping us up for Bonk stuff, then if it isn’t Bonk stuff he produces, he’ll lose a lot of the traction he’s gained from the fandom because people will feel as though they can’t trust him, either because he outright lied or failed to deliver something he said he could deliver. This is much easier to avoid if he’s not doing this with the intention of a RN tie-in. That these have similar subject matters (and they may not be that similar beyond the surface-level ideology, who knows at this stage?) doesn’t mean much; there’s a number of authors who make a lot of stuff that deals in the same ideas.
Then the easiest solution for Faber is to say “From the creator of Bionicle,” which isn’t entirely accurate but the shortest tagline I can think of, on RN just like that. Instead, Faber’s gone to great lengths to tease out Biovival. Again, how can he avoid backlash if he doesn’t deliver on that? Because there’ll be far more upset over that than you’d see when Biovival inevitably didn’t perfectly fit everyone’s expectations.
And from what he’s said so far about getting meetings and such, it sounds like he’d like to bring Bionicle back in earnest, but he has a plan B if that doesn’t happen. That may be a new IP entirely, it might be part of RN. We don’t know and can’t know at this stage because we don’t know exactly how plan B is supposed to work. Will he wait sometime after RN gains traction to make a new series? Will he try and get it going right as he comes out of the gate? Will it just be a personal passion project? There’s too many variables to really make any bets, and while I can understand your pessimism, I also know that lots of things don’t turn out like we expect, whatever our expectations may be.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until I’m proven wrong: Faber deserves the benefit of the doubt here.
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I don’t think the funding backers of Rebel Nature want to get involved in the fate of a dead toy line from Lego.
Also, it’s not really hard for a company to work on two projects as long as they are similar. Right now Faber is running an independent production company (Faber Fuel) and has capital invested in a VR rig. And when you start a creative project company, you’re better off doing multiple projects at once, because the more work you can get out of your equipment, the more you can get returns to your investors. Once you’ve got a hit, you can slough off the unsuccessful projects to give your customers what they want, and that increases profits. If multiple things are successful, you can use the money to expand, hire more people, get a second VR rig, etc. Good deal either way.
You’re assuming Rebel Nature is already successful and the Bionicle idea will never be as good as Rebel Nature. Just because Rebel has a deal for a TV show doesn’t mean it’s the next big thing or is profitable. Who outside the Bionicle community knows about Rebel Nature? Exactly.
It’s easy. Blame legal problems with Lego not allowing him to pull it off, or some other business problem.
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I’m working under the assumption that this is all some premeditated maneuver on Faber’s part; and if it is, that means he has to either lie and say he met with Lego when he didn’t, which could get out fairly easily and start a real ■■■■-show; or he has to go to a meeting that he has no intention of getting things done at all to disguise his scheming. If things genuinely don’t go Faber’s way, then of course it’s hard to blame him in particular, but that’s not what I was talking about.
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It’s simple - he makes a teaser for a proposal that he floats to Lego that he knows they will reject, and he uses that proposal to string us along into his Rebel Nature project. The fact that there are no sets in the proposal would be a red flag - Lego is a set company, are they really going to go for it? Then, blame Lego: “I tried, guys.”
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Faber has never said he’s specifically meeting with Lego. Just that he has ‘meetings’ with ‘people’. Just want to point that out.
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Which, of course, many people take to imply Lego. Which I expect he knows full well they will. He’s also intentionally left vague hints towards Lego in some of his posts.
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The reason also might be that Lego still owns the Bionicle IP and to do anything with it, Faber has to have a deal with them?
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I mean this is just arguing semantics, but sure. My point was that Faber is perfectly capable at both “ideas” and “execution”. You painted him as incompetent at “execution”:
Which is clearly an unfair characterisation seeing as he has never done that, and is currently running the company producing Rebel Nature!
I also never claimed Faber did everything, only that he was the “single individual most responsible” for BIONICLE.
Don’t know which “we” was talking about multi-hat-wearing
and can confirm that I have read the article that I originally linked. The parts relevant to my comment are
“I was sitting with LEGO Technic and thought I would love to build a character instead of a car,” Faber says. […] Faber pitched Cybots, a line of humanoid action figures with attachable limbs and ball-and-socket joints.
For the storyline, Faber drew on his experience with prolactinoma. To him, his every-other-week injections seemed like sending in a new wave of protectors to battle his tumor with every dose. Faber imagined this group of disease-fighters arriving on an unknown beach with no memory. […] He and Swinnerton conceived Bionicle’s island setting to be a dormant automaton protected by the Toa, the heroic Bionicle warriors.
Faber established the visual look of the world
I’m not diminishing the good work done later by others like Greg, but the aesthetic and core of the story come from Faber, and those are the elements that matter to a revival. (It’s worth noting that BIONICLE’s “viability” steadily decreased as the theme moved away from the original aesthetic and storytelling approach.)
Lastly,
Nobody glossed over this. I pointed out it’s simply not true according to Faber’s statements.
If you want to assume someone is a liar by default, I guess that’s your problem.
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Given what we know about Faber’s numerous cryptic teases, the man wants to somehow continue Bionicle without sets, and by extension doesn’t seem to care if Lego is actively involved or not. What this means for his project is interesting, because I highly doubt it’s going to involve Bionicle the actual IP. Why would you pitch a story without product to LEGO and expect LEGO to be interested in it? Best case, we get off-brand Bionicle that can’t say it’s Bionicle and tiptoes around trademarks, and is that really worth the investment of following Faber’s cryptic web of teases for?
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Yes. Legally Distinct Bionicle 
actually opens the doors a lot for exploration of ideas not covered in the original. And again, the difference is just that the names aren’t the same. The core theme and ideal would remain, presented in a very similar manner. For me, that’s more than acceptable.
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