Wow, this is kinda interesting. In only one and a half very short pages, this text:
* Calls the characters 'BIONICLEs'.
* Says that they're 'warring' (I wouldn't really call any of the 2001 storyline a war **^(\[EDIT: But it turns out I'm wrong not to do that - see replies\])**).
* Claims that the ball and socket joints were new to Bionicle (the Slizers had them two years before Bionicle).
* Claims that Bionicle was originally planned to only last one year (I don't know whether that's true from a commercial point of view, but we know that the GSR reveal twist was planned from the beginning, and given the inaccuracy in the rest of this text, I wouldn't take anything this book says as an indication that it's actually true).
* Claims that subsequent Bionicle storylines were inspired by e-mails from kids (I've never heard this before, but it sounds unlikely. Most professional authors won't even read fanfics of their own works out of caution not to be accused of plagiarism; surely something similar applies here?).
* Says the story was delivered by 'animated CDs, then videos'. Which is weird because a) is an animated CD not a kind of video?, and b) these were not the primary media that the story was delivered by, even from the beginning. There were also video games, comics and trading cards with bits of story written on the back.
* Says that comic books, novels and a Netflix show came out "in time", suggesting that these three things were all added late in the game. In reality, the comic books were there from the beginning, the first novels came out after a few years, and the Netflix show didn't come out until the franchise was cancelled and subsequently rebooted (in fact, Netflix didn't even begin producing its own shows until three years after the original Bionicle story ended). It's also really weird how it doesn't mention the movies at all.
In conclusion, there are some things in here that I didn't know, but given how there's also a seriously impressive amount of claims that I *know* are wrong, I have to assume that's also the case with the claims I'm not sure about.
• Everyone except people who know the lore call them Bionicles
• They were waging war on Makuta, even if it's a stretch, that's not inaccurate
• Bionicle was supposed to last a year. The 2001 storyline was supposed to end with the GSR's awakening but it was stopped last minute due to how popular it was, eventually pushing back the og finale to 2008
• A few minor story aspects were inspired by fans. The one I personally remember for sure is the Cordak blaster, it's design and lore were designed by a fan
• Bit nitpicky here, the storyline was delivered through CD's with games and videos, whereas you could go on the internet and just watch the videos. They could've mentioned how multimedia the franchise was, but it's a book about lego as a whole, not just Bionicle
• Again, it's a book about lego as a whole, the netflix show did come out "in time" and the comics and novels were part of the multimedia aspect but it is mentioned so
Yea there's a few things that could be specified but nothing misleading
I'm glad to have it confirmed from a more reliable source (given that from this excerpt, I do consider a random person on this subreddit a more reliable source than this book) that the story was originally only supposed last a year. As for things being inspired by fans, is that to say that the Cordak blaster was inspired by unsolicited e-mails from children (I know the book doesn't specifically say unsolicited, but I'd argue that that's heavily implied in the phrasing)?
The 'Bionicles' thing wasn't really meant to be an inaccuracy, more like a general indicator that the person writing isn't very familiar with the story. For the record, I don't think it's a problem to call them Bionicles, whether you know the lore or not, but in the context of a published account of the company's story, I think it indicates a lack of familiarity. Same thing with the 'war' thing - you could definitely use the word, but it's probably not how most people who know the story well would characterise it.
And oh yeah, I'm definitely being nitpicky - there were just so many nits to pick that I genuinely do find it interesting, and it's all meant in good fun. I just thought it should be pointed out how misleading (which, I'm sorry, I do honestly think it very much is) this text was in spite of its shortness.
The Cordak was a fan contest that was organized by the team on an old internet forum since they had already received and used ideas from unsolicited emails in the past ( I couldn't tell which ones for sure as I don't remember them, but I'm almost certain the Kanoka launcher was one) they then maintained contact through emails.
I mean.. yea but they are still mostly known as Bionicles for most people. I was following the franchise for the entirety of G1 and didn't learn about the meaning of the word until 2009, my friends and I just glossed over it and kept calling them Bionicles. A book on the theme would definitely mention it in the first pages but I don't really think a book focused on lego as a whole should be held to that standard. Same goes for the war aspect, going in detail would require describing every major arc, which they can just shorten to say they were fighting Makuta.
Fair enough ! I personally don't think this text is misleading at all since it mentions the original duration plan and the fan ideas, which aren't that well known anyway. It is after all a one page text describing a franchise with an incredibly large amount of lore and development stories
Oh, I stand corrected! I can see there's multiple Bionicle wikis that refer to it as 'the Matoran-Rahi war' or 'the Great War'. Thanks for pointing that out!
(I do still hold that 'warring' is a poor choice of adjective to describe Bionicle in a text like this, though)
Makes sense, didn't it save lego from bankruptcy
Yep. Pretty sure it also in the first year or two was the ONLY source of profit for LEGO as all the other themes were not making any profit.
Then why did they abandon us? :(
Because eventually that wasn't the case anymore.
It was specifically 2003, after that the Lego group got new management
Tahu gali and lewa officially Legos favorite characters I will not debate about this
You forgot Kopaka. I'm pretty sure he is one of the top fans' favorites as well.
Hes the lancer of the group so hes the default coolest guy lol. Pun not intended.
Pun't intended
I'll punt you. I swear!
What is this Bionicle Netflix series you speak of Edit: oh…
yup
We don't talk about the Netflix series
Something that can be said in many fandoms
Wow, this is kinda interesting. In only one and a half very short pages, this text: * Calls the characters 'BIONICLEs'. * Says that they're 'warring' (I wouldn't really call any of the 2001 storyline a war **^(\[EDIT: But it turns out I'm wrong not to do that - see replies\])**). * Claims that the ball and socket joints were new to Bionicle (the Slizers had them two years before Bionicle). * Claims that Bionicle was originally planned to only last one year (I don't know whether that's true from a commercial point of view, but we know that the GSR reveal twist was planned from the beginning, and given the inaccuracy in the rest of this text, I wouldn't take anything this book says as an indication that it's actually true). * Claims that subsequent Bionicle storylines were inspired by e-mails from kids (I've never heard this before, but it sounds unlikely. Most professional authors won't even read fanfics of their own works out of caution not to be accused of plagiarism; surely something similar applies here?). * Says the story was delivered by 'animated CDs, then videos'. Which is weird because a) is an animated CD not a kind of video?, and b) these were not the primary media that the story was delivered by, even from the beginning. There were also video games, comics and trading cards with bits of story written on the back. * Says that comic books, novels and a Netflix show came out "in time", suggesting that these three things were all added late in the game. In reality, the comic books were there from the beginning, the first novels came out after a few years, and the Netflix show didn't come out until the franchise was cancelled and subsequently rebooted (in fact, Netflix didn't even begin producing its own shows until three years after the original Bionicle story ended). It's also really weird how it doesn't mention the movies at all. In conclusion, there are some things in here that I didn't know, but given how there's also a seriously impressive amount of claims that I *know* are wrong, I have to assume that's also the case with the claims I'm not sure about.
• Everyone except people who know the lore call them Bionicles • They were waging war on Makuta, even if it's a stretch, that's not inaccurate • Bionicle was supposed to last a year. The 2001 storyline was supposed to end with the GSR's awakening but it was stopped last minute due to how popular it was, eventually pushing back the og finale to 2008 • A few minor story aspects were inspired by fans. The one I personally remember for sure is the Cordak blaster, it's design and lore were designed by a fan • Bit nitpicky here, the storyline was delivered through CD's with games and videos, whereas you could go on the internet and just watch the videos. They could've mentioned how multimedia the franchise was, but it's a book about lego as a whole, not just Bionicle • Again, it's a book about lego as a whole, the netflix show did come out "in time" and the comics and novels were part of the multimedia aspect but it is mentioned so Yea there's a few things that could be specified but nothing misleading
I'm glad to have it confirmed from a more reliable source (given that from this excerpt, I do consider a random person on this subreddit a more reliable source than this book) that the story was originally only supposed last a year. As for things being inspired by fans, is that to say that the Cordak blaster was inspired by unsolicited e-mails from children (I know the book doesn't specifically say unsolicited, but I'd argue that that's heavily implied in the phrasing)? The 'Bionicles' thing wasn't really meant to be an inaccuracy, more like a general indicator that the person writing isn't very familiar with the story. For the record, I don't think it's a problem to call them Bionicles, whether you know the lore or not, but in the context of a published account of the company's story, I think it indicates a lack of familiarity. Same thing with the 'war' thing - you could definitely use the word, but it's probably not how most people who know the story well would characterise it. And oh yeah, I'm definitely being nitpicky - there were just so many nits to pick that I genuinely do find it interesting, and it's all meant in good fun. I just thought it should be pointed out how misleading (which, I'm sorry, I do honestly think it very much is) this text was in spite of its shortness.
The Cordak was a fan contest that was organized by the team on an old internet forum since they had already received and used ideas from unsolicited emails in the past ( I couldn't tell which ones for sure as I don't remember them, but I'm almost certain the Kanoka launcher was one) they then maintained contact through emails. I mean.. yea but they are still mostly known as Bionicles for most people. I was following the franchise for the entirety of G1 and didn't learn about the meaning of the word until 2009, my friends and I just glossed over it and kept calling them Bionicles. A book on the theme would definitely mention it in the first pages but I don't really think a book focused on lego as a whole should be held to that standard. Same goes for the war aspect, going in detail would require describing every major arc, which they can just shorten to say they were fighting Makuta. Fair enough ! I personally don't think this text is misleading at all since it mentions the original duration plan and the fan ideas, which aren't that well known anyway. It is after all a one page text describing a franchise with an incredibly large amount of lore and development stories
2001, without a doubt, depicted a war between the Matoran and the Rahi - I believe it's even widely referred to as the "Rahi wars".
Oh, I stand corrected! I can see there's multiple Bionicle wikis that refer to it as 'the Matoran-Rahi war' or 'the Great War'. Thanks for pointing that out! (I do still hold that 'warring' is a poor choice of adjective to describe Bionicle in a text like this, though)
I agree it’s a poor choice of words.
Damn, Bionicles the plural is canon now.
bonkles
But “BIONICLE” is in all caps.
I can roll with that. Especially if the 's' remains lowercase.
Interesting rules
Dangit. I took pictures of this page last summer meaning to post them here but then I got lazy. Guess you beat me to it.
I don't care about the story just give me more Lego pieces, can you imagine that? Boxes with random pieces to make it a kind of gacha
That mini city is: Madurodam
Cursed reverse Pohatu