Biovival Discussion (aka Christian Faber's mysterious project)

[Ghid]

@VonDoom

Most of you don’t understand what Faber has been doing.

We know exactly what he has been doing - hyping people around a specific concept which he may or may not ever deliver anything at all on. We’ve known that since day one. And he’s used the internet clout for other means. Whether that’s good business - or business at all - is completely irrelevant.

@VonDoom

He could not say this outright because it is inherently a show-don’t-tell model of advertising

There is no advertising because there is no product. He is making vague promises that a product exists; we are to expect nothing because he has offered nothing. Show-don’t-tell only works when there is something to show and not tell.

@VonDoom

The only mistakes Faber has made were overestimating the maturity of Bionicle fans and underestimating the size of a social media presence he requires.

And overestimating his godlike status and the speaking power it “grants” him to the point of it actually pacifying the community, and underestimating the wrath of a community scorned. You think it’s bad for him now, wait till he eventually admits there was never anything in store and he was playing hype for hype’s sake - hype he “doesn’t need”.

Quote source - Christian Faber.

@Racie02

Did some people misread what Faber wants to do? Yes. Is that their fault? No. Because Faber refuses to make any clear statements. He says nothing but vague and cryptic statements, then is shocked when no one knows what he’s doing.

“Hey guys there is a thing!” is literally all he has said.

This isn’t marketing, this isn’t show-don’t-tell, this is don’t-show. This is inane and unequivocal babble which amounts to less than business, less than creativity. It’s pointless fluff which isn’t even pointing anywhere. It is a sum of its parts; its parts are four or five images of concept art for an idea nobody knows and a brand entirely kept alive outside of his involvement.

It makes me kinda wonder how much Bionicle he’s retained; how much of that masterful worldbuilding and conceptual skill is being ignored in favor of concepts nobody else agrees with. It’s part of the struggle of attempting to appeal to nostalgic memories because everyone’s Bionicle is different. Quote:

@Ghid

Bionicle G1 is a mix of what it actually was and the conceptualized, flawless version everyone has in their heads, which is different. If LEGO somehow managed to perfectly match one person’s dream with a return they would crush everyone else’s; it isn’t going to happen. If G1 came back exactly the same as it was when it started the charm would be lost, and it wouldn’t be the same G1 you had.

Yes I do quote myself to inflate my ego, be silent

But that’s hardly an excuse for the lack of anything other than “look at how much of Christian Faber I am” which he’s been posting everywhere he can. To gain a following? To advertise a product which may or may not ever exist? To remind people he’s alive and please notice him?

Maybe all. Maybe none. And we don’t know because he can’t do PR for his life.

[Chronicler]

@Ghid

I don’t care

I will make you care. >:)

@TheToaZanu

Hard not to read that as condescending…

I mean to be fair, when everyone is throwing accusations at you it’s pretty easy to get into an aggressive mode.

[VonDoom]

There is no advertising because there is no product. He is making vague promises that a product exists; we are to expect nothing because he has offered nothing.

You misunderstand what I wrote; He never said there would ever be a product, and you are not entitled to one just because you got your hopes up. What Faber is and has been doing is building proof of having a following which he can use to entice companies and/or independent investors to become business partners or to fund his projects. So far, this has landed him a series concept development partnership with Toon2Tango: Log into Facebook | Facebook and I’m sure he hopes that it will lead to more in the future, at which point you will be able to purchase product(s).

Show-don’t-tell only works when there is something to show and not tell.

You are taking my “show don’t tell” analogy too literally. He cannot tell his fans that they are part of a viral marketing brand-building exercise because that defeats the purpose of it being viral marketing. Instead he shows us artwork and test animation footage to keep us interested and invested in his ideas, because that makes his IP brands as well as his personal brand as a creator appear more lucrative to potential partners and investors than they would otherwise appear if he were relying on the originality of his ideas alone. Faber needs to do this because- and this should have been obvious to everyone- he is just one guy with little to no resources aside from knowing a few friends who work in digital design and scriptwriting, so it was always unrealistic to expect him to be able to launch an entire franchise with products based on another company’s IP within a year or two from announcing his desire to do so.

underestimating the wrath of a community scorned. You think it’s bad for him now

Please do not harass Faber. If you feel so passionately scorned over getting your hopes up based on the possibility that a man who you’ve never met might bring back a toy franchise he used to be involved with but never owned, then you should step back from this situation.

[Voxovan]

I think that anyone who believes that Faber’s posts are anything more than fortune-cookie esque motivational ideas i.e. “never give up your dreams” “creativity is the key” is simply delusional. Even if he had any actual plans for whatever he’s doing he won’t be able to realize them now due to Covid (not his fault really). But he definitely isn’t going to bring back Bionicle, at least not in the shape and form we used to know it. The sooner people realize that the better.

[Timeline15]

I personally just find it a bit dirty that he’s using the goodwill he acquired for Bionicle to drum up support for his current projects, with only the vaguest hint that they might be even tonally similar.

Like, he doesn’t seem to get that there are no fans of him, just fans of Bionicle. He hasn’t produced much else. Maybe one day down the line when Rebel Nature has actually been released, someone will genuinely be able to say “I’m a fan of the work of Christian Faber”, but right now, that only amounts to saying “I like Bionicle”. He isn’t owed support or a following for his new projects because of it, especially when he markets them so poorly.

[LeslieShoemaker]

@VonDoom

He never said there would ever be a product

But the constants teasing with Bionicle artwork and criptic messages are the same as him saying “Wouldn’t it be nice if someone brought back Bionicle? wink-wink”. He made a hashtag for “bionicle revival” (if he clarified some other meaning of the word, please enlighten me).
If he doesn’t clarify that he doesn’t want to bring Bionicle back while doing all these teasing, I don’t think it’s a surprise that big chunk of his followers think/thought that he tries to do it.

@VonDoom

Instead he shows us artwork and test animation footage to keep us interested and invested in his ideas,

Ehh, I don’t think so.
Scanning through his instagram, half of his post are Bionicle/HF related, quarter are some shower thoughts, and the last quarter are about Rebel Nature, and these can be the same concept art. The Bionicle posts, in average, get 2-3 times as much attention as the Rebel nature ones.
So to me its more like he rides the passion of the Bionicle fans to raise his “personal brand”, so he can sell Rebel Nature. If it wasn’t for Bionicle, I doubt he would get this much attention.

[Makutros]

@LeslieShoemaker

bionicle revival”

@LeslieShoemaker

(if he clarified some other meaning of the word, please enlighten me).

*Biological chronicle of survival

@Flux

I’d also like to mention that Faber commented under Mesos video. He is hoping for an interview.

[TichePotato]

[Lost_Head]

Showdown incoming. His wording, as always, is interesting, presumably implying that he’s trying to make this without drawing LEGO’s attention. So, exactly what we’ve known for the past two years.

[Ghid]

@Chronicler

I will make you care. >:)

“Do you care? I will make you care”

@Chronicler

I mean to be fair, when everyone is throwing accusations at you it’s pretty easy to get into an aggressive mode.

No it isn’t shut UP

@VonDoom

He never said there would ever be a product, and you are not entitled to one just because you got your hopes up.

Correct.

@VonDoom

What Faber is and has been doing is building proof of having a following which he can use to entice companies and/or independent investors to become business partners or to fund his projects.

You don’t know that. You can guess that was his true intention all along, but jumping to that conclusion is post hoc ergo propter hoc.

@VonDoom

He cannot tell his fans that they are part of a viral marketing brand-building exercise because that defeats the purpose of it being viral marketing.

Yeah, I… Know. But anyone in any klind of marketing knows you don’t blind hype and expect it to pay off; you add substance and all Faber’s done is hint as a theoretical Bionicle that may or may not exist. Hint, prod and lead to something Real, not something that after two years you are as equally vague about as you were when you started (if not more vague). That’s not even how viral marketing works.

@VonDoom

Instead he shows us artwork and test animation footage to keep us interested and invested in his ideas, because that makes his IP brands as well as his personal brand as a creator appear more lucrative to potential partners and investors than they would otherwise appear if he were relying on the originality of his ideas alone.

For Rebel Nature, sure. The stakes are laid there. We know his pitch precisely and we know the general scope of everything he’s trying to accomplish. He’s been methodical and proper about that angle of viral marketing, and it’s paid off decently.

But that only makes it more obvious there’s nothing in 14B2020 or we would have seen something telling us what it is by now. Nobody in the community or online or anywhere outside of Faber’s inner circle has any clue what 14B2020 is because… It’s nothing.

And until Faber makes it something it’s going to continue to be an ad campaign for something that doesn’t exist. That’s why people are getting angry and are being disappointed, because all the posts and all the hyping adds up to a grand total of zero - which is exactly what he promised.

@VonDoom

and this should have been obvious to everyone

It is obvious. What’s also obvious is Faber’s pointing at the sky and boasting how many clouds there will be based on the fact that there aren’t any now. When pressured he’s responded with accusations, implying if people aren’t satisfied they can go home, and where he’s going he doesn’t even need clouds, so why bother arguing with him over it?

People are not upset because Faber has been utilizing a corporate tactic. People are upset because Faber is so bad at basic PR he’s shooting his leg clean off because he’s not going anywhere near land and therefore doesn’t need to walk.

@VonDoom

If you feel so passionately scorned over getting your hopes up based on the possibility that a man who you’ve never met might bring back a toy franchise he used to be involved with but never owned, then you should step back from this situation.

Great, now tell that to every other person on the planet who actually feels that way, and not just the messenger. I’m something of a community weatherman since I’ve been leeching off it for so long, and my predicted forecast is Faber’s going to be hit with a community-leveling hurricane if he doesn’t either stop the misleading posts and fall to silence or make good the imaginary promises the community thinks he made by nature of being Faber.

I will be watching from far away.

@Voxovan

I think that anyone who believes that Faber’s posts are anything more than fortune-cookie esque motivational ideas i.e. “never give up your dreams” “creativity is the key” is simply delusional.

Ones that also tug at your heartstrings and promise a breath of life into the old, decaying corpse of Bionicle by the one person who would theoretically have the status to do that. You can’t say Faber hasn’t had the appearance of teasing a theoretical product when he’s flashing logos, professional concept art, and discussing business deals. If you do, that’s simply delusional.

And any flak Faber’s received thus far has been, frankly, entirely justified. He knew what he was doing, and it wasn’t just hyping the mob for corporate gain.

@TichePotato

In fact, he…

He, uh…

He’s… Actually watching the topic and he’s… Gambling for an interview?

More specifically, he is literally saying this is working up to be an end product, which proves me right, haha take that losers, Ghid is right once again!! wow I’m so glad I’m this smart but more specifically he’s…

@Lost_Head

So, exactly what we’ve known for the past two years.

…Yeah. Doing the exact same thing he’s been doing this whole time. Meso, if you’ve survived this long, I wouldn’t do that interview. I expect it to be, well, more of the same.

Also hi Faber how’s the weather over there

[SirKeksalot]

@TichePotato

image892×148 25.4 KB

Don’t do that. Don’t give me hope.

[Racie02]

@VonDoom

; He never said there would ever be a product,

Technically, you are correct; he has never said “there will be a product”. Instead, all of his actions have been designed to make people think that there is a bionicle product.

Lying through actions is still lying.

@VonDoom

What Faber is and has been doing is building proof of having a following

“Look at all these fans who only follow me because I’ve promised something I might never deliver! Now give me money to make a completely different thing that these fans won’t care about!”

[Chronicler]

All this confirms to me is that BIONICLE has a thoroughly toxic fandom. With the G1 contests lately, and even this. I grow tired of the pointless anger and entitlement. BIONICLE is dead, just enjoy it for what it was and make your own MOCs and stories like the ending of G1 encouraged. Why must we desire an official product?

[TheMightyObsidianDude]

We’ve been through this gather yer pitchforks phase so many times at this point that I can’t even bring myself to care about it anymore. Just shut up.

[Votuko]

@Lost_Head

Showdown incoming. His wording, as always, is interesting, presumably implying that he’s trying to make this without drawing LEGO’s attention. So, exactly what we’ve known for the past two years.

Or that when attempting to form partnerships with said companies, you aren’t allowed to just release all your plans to the public. Doing so would ruin your negotiations.

@Chronicler

I grow tired of the pointless anger and entitlement.

Agreed. It sure would be nice if people could just be happy to see this cool concept art.

Regardless of his end goal, Faber is already giving something to the community for free, at a time when he has other actual paid work to do. What right does anyone have to demand (more) details / disclaimers / promises etc?

Mainly though, to those it concerns, please stop claiming Faber is “exploiting” people by drawing a BIONICLE. He’s asking for nothing in return, so just don’t look if it upsets you.

[Lost_Head]

The problem is we don’t know what he’s given to the community. He’s been teasing something for years, and getting upset when we ask what it is. How would you feel if I told you “Hey I’m getting you something” and just kept telling you that over the course of two years, and getting frustrated whenever you asked for any details?

[Voxovan]

@Ghid

Ones that also tug at your heartstrings and promise a breath of life into the old, decaying corpse of Bionicle by the one person who would theoretically have the status to do that. You can’t say Faber hasn’t had the appearance of teasing a theoretical product when he’s flashing logos, professional concept art, and discussing business deals. If you do, that’s simply delusional.

Yeah but that was 2 years ago

[TheJerminator]

@Lost_Head

and getting upset when we ask what it is.

No, he gets upset when people call him a manipulative, egomaniacal ■■■■■■ who exploits one of his own personal projects to feel good about himself.

People have been asking what this is for the full two years, and he never got upset at that.

[SirKeksalot]

@TheJerminator

People have been asking what this is for the full two years, and he never got upset at that.

Correction: he’s never said he’s upset. And after 2 years, I think we have a right to be skeptical. Maybe he’s not doing this for ego purposes, but if he really has nothing to show, the only option is some major failure which he’s failed to communicate.

[Racie02]

@Votuko

just don’t look if it upsets you.

Ah yes, the old “if you don’t like it, go away” argument.
Look, man, if you don’t like our criticism of the guy, no one’s obligating you to read the topic and state your opinion. Just don’t look if it upsets you.

You see the problem with this argument?

@Votuko

Agreed. It sure would be nice if people could just be happy to see this cool concept art.

Agreed. It would be nice if Faber was just posting cool concept art for people to enjoy. I think his art is great. His teasing something he’ll never deliver is the problem.

@Votuko

Regardless of his end goal, Faber is already giving something to the community for free

While also not so subtly stringing the community on with false hope.

If he was just posting cool concept art, no one would have an issue.

---

Now, for Chronicler’s post:

@Chronicler

confirms to me is that BIONICLE has a thoroughly toxic fandom.

Every fandom has people who will complain about something. That doesn’t make it “thoroughly toxic”.

@Chronicler

With the G1 contests

You mean the contests that have led to tons of creativity, discussion, excitement, positivity? Sure, some people haven’t always liked the result, and we had the whole Hoseryx debacle, but overall the contests have been largely positive.
To call them “thoroughly toxic” because of some negative people is not only wrong, it’s disrespectful.