This is a weird topic, and there might already be a thread like this, but I feel I have a unique story to tell here that warrants this thread.
So, how many of you are familiar with LEGO Worldbuilder? If you’re not, it’s a service ran by Tongal in association with TLG that acts to allow users to create a “world”, filled with characters, storylines, and more. Essentially, it’s like LEGO Ideas but for a full-fledged world, maybe even a theme. Worlds from it have been turned into Web shorts on LEGO’s socials, such as the Golden Hour Ninjago short. I’ve noticed the platform is rather scarce in user activity, which may be a side effect of lukewarm marketing and advertising.
So, here’s where my interesting story begins. If you have any familiarity with Mixels, you can tell by my choice of profile picture that I’m a die-hard fan of the line. So, when I saw that Worldbuilder had an option to create a world based on an existing LEGO property (I.E. Ninjago), you’d better believe I took the chance to plug my own Mixels series on there, titled the Lost Tribes of Planet Mixel. I’m not here to plug that (okay, maybe a little), so let’s continue.
A while after I set up my world with characters, society elements, etc, Worldbuilder staff actually emailed me asking if I’d be interested in answering interview questions for a 810NICLE Day promotion. Of course, I said yes, and gave my answers to two questions they had asked some other BIONICLE fans in the community. Why did they ask me, you may be wondering? Four of the Mixel characters I had created were nods to Lewa, Matau, Kongu, and Krika. You can actually find this “promotion” on a sole Instagram post. I don’t have the link handy, but it wouldn’t be hard to find.
Flash forward a few months, I’ve long moved on from my Worldbuilder project after completing it. Another email comes in from the team, and this one was very interesting. You see, they had started this marketing event in which they created DnD-esque cards for random Worlds on the platform, and mine was chosen as the prime example for spin-off Worlds. You can find the card on their socials, but also, they had offered to send me “an exclusive worldbuilder minifig habitat”. Obviously, I said yes to free stuff and about 6 weeks later, I get this in the mail…
About 200 loose parts and a fairly well made habitat in an acrylic box for safety during shipping. Fun fact: the chair and table are actually glued together. Why? No clue, especially since the rest of the habitat isn’t!
Not really knowing what to do, I just threw a ton of the parts against the walls, creating this little monstrosity.
But wait. Bar the mono-fig, is that a printed 2x3 tile?
Weirdly, I’m the first person to detail this on the Internet. At least, I think so. I didn’t expect a unique print that likely only exists in a very limited quantity, but I suppose that’s what they meant by “exclusive”.
So… what’s the point of this topic? I feel I needed to share this weird little experience with the world somewhere. I kinda feel the weird urge to document this, as well as this one print that I believe only a few others may have. I got like 300 parts for simply existing on the Worldbuilder site (my project has far less hits than most), and that’s honestly really cool. LEGO is a great company for being willing to do little things for fans like this, and I feel this is an interesting scenario as very few people actually use Worldbuilder. Some Web shorts have been made from the platform, but I can’t see it lasting much longer with its dwindling user base.
Have you used Worldbuilder or still do?
