@Lucasso_de_Luxor Thank you once again for your thorough answer to my question, I really love and appreciate the time and dedication you have put into this concept. I really hope I could also perhaps help out with some ideas, even though personally I don’t have that much skills when it comes to drawing. But, as someone who’s been building MOCs with both System, Technic, and Bionicle pieces for a very long time, I feel like I could be a voice representing the MOCers and what we would like to see in a Bionicle revival like the one you’re proposing (I even proposed a while back my own ideas for a remake of the Mata sets using almost exclusively currently produced System/Technic pieces, you can check them out if you’re interested, I feel like this is something you would also like to see: Here is my proposal for a Technic-based Standardized Onua Revamp (Technic) and one for a System based Standardized Kopaka Revamp (System) and another one for Onua as well Standardized Onua Revamp (System)
I have said earlier how I don’t think the Mixel joints would work that well in a Bionicle reboot because of their small size, however I think when it comes to designing cheap Matoran builds, they can actually be perfect, as I think they are just the right size for such builds. The Matoran I think can be the least problematic Bionicle sets to design, as their small scale can easily be achieved with a minimal number of new pisces, I’d argue you could even make them while introducing 0 new molds (recycling Toa masks and weapons, etc).
When it comes to Matoran, you could go two different routes. You could make them more system heavy, like in this MOC here:
Or more Technic heavy, like in this MOC here:
Notice how with the exceptions of the Masks and the weapons, both the MOCs I have shown are almost 99% comprised of currently produced pieces. Thus, while I do think creating some kind of standard frame for Toa builds, like the one you have proposed, would be absolutely necessary, I do think the Matoran could prove to more fexlible, with designers being able to experiment with more variety in the arm, leg and torso designs rather than making them all clone builds with different masks. That I think would go a long way in ensuring that G3 does not repeat the same mistake of G1 of having most of its early waves be just clone sets, which reinforced a sort of “you got one, you got all of them” mentality, rather than encouraging the getting of multiple sets within the wave. The masks could be just recolored versions of the Toa masks, like you said, which would go a long way in making the characters feel like they have distinct “faces” as opposed to repeating the mistake of the G2 Protectors, which, while it was nice to get the same mask in 7 different colors (I genuinely think G2 missed a great opportunity in giving us recolors of the various masks, we did get a few of them in some of the polybags, but compared to G1 it was a big letdown), felt like just different variations of the same character rather than distinct characters.
Different fans might have different preferences, some might prefer the more Technic approach to Matron as it would be more in line with the G1 aesthetic, however, having more system heavy Matoran builds I think would be safer, as designing the Matoran in that way could help in making the sets feel more “LEGO” and less “alien” to casual buyers not accustomed to either Technic or Bionicle (which both themes have historically and in the modern day tended to have their own niche, rarely sparking the interest of more System fans who prefer Minifigure-based sets). Plus, making those builds system heavy could perhaps boost their appeal among System MOCers, who might consider buying them for the sake of getting new system slopes in new or rarer colors. I think here using a bunch of those slope pieces with cool printed patterns and details, like those used on the chest of the KKII figures, could be very nice, and it would be something that would give the builds a more district vibe that wouldn’t be achieved as easily with Technic pieces (which rarely come in printed forms). I could see such pieces coming with all sorts of cool prints, like maybe various runes like those we have seen on the Skrall shield for example, looking very nice.
I think it would be worth pointing out here that reputable sources, including Greg Farshtey himself, have said that the 2001-2002 Mask masks tended to not actually sell that well. This may perhaps sound unbelievable to us fans today, who are accustomed to collecting those masks and seeing them fo for exorbitant prices online, but according to Farshtey and other designers, it appears that during the play testing phase, the Kids actually found the weapons of the various characters more interesting and they played with those more than with the masks. As a result, many of the Mask packs tended to actually be shelf warmers, which did not go well for LEGO, as producing so many recolors still cost them a lot of money. Having a return if the Kanohi mask packs would perhaps be a dream come true for many Bionicle collectors, but to be brutally honest I think that is in if itself more unlikely than the return of Bionicle itself in any form at all.
Of course, I want to be optimistic and hope that the claims that those early Mask packs didn’t sell well aren’t true or at least are not fully accurate (I would totally understand why the Krana and the Kraata packs would have been shelf warmers, those just feel like a cop-out compared to the Kanohi), but we have to consider that when thinking about a way in which Bionicle would realistically return. That said, we have recently see those small Formula 1 Blind bag collectables for the Speed Champions theme recently, so perhaps LEGO is more willing to continue experimenting with the blind back pack concept again? Though if they do, making them cheap and under 2$ would be absolutely essential, as the current price of the CMFs (5$ for a pack) is ridiculous and getting already out of the range of what can actually be considered “pocket money”.
That’s actually a very interesting point, I have never thought of that before. But as someone whose youngest sibling is a big fan of FNAF, this totally makes sense to me. I think this is indisputable proof that serious stories with great mystery and more edgy vibes are still viable and can still capture the attention of young kids, contrary to what some soulless, 50 year-old business executives working at the top of LEGO’s marketing department might think. It is very unfortunate that the recent original themes we have gotten have tended more towards the more “Tik Tok, short attention span” way of doing things, with more goofy, cartoony and colorful characters rather than more dark and edgy aesthetics like G1. This will be an aspect that can make or break G3 entirely even if the sets are absolutely perfect down to the most minute details, though I am optimistic that this could realistically happen in the current generation more than ever, as the amount of Bionicle fans who now currently work for LEGO is greater than ever before, including our beloved @Sokoda and @toothdominoes.
Speaking of which, does anyone know whether @Sokoda is still active in the community, or whether his current official job at LEGO prohibits him from directly participating in the community any longer? I feel like if he himself saw those concepts and designs here, he could be our gateway into getting those ideas on the radar of LEGO themselves.