So, I hear you help make Ninjago. I'm not a Bionicle geek, so I'm going to ask Ninjago-related questions. Is that ok?
- Do you help make the TV show or do you just write the books?
- What got you intrested in the Ninjago consept?
- Which line is your favorite: The Skeleton Pilot, Rise Of The Snakes, The Final Battle, or Rebooted?
- What color ninja would you like to see in the future? Purple ninja, Orange ninja, Yellow ninja, etc.
I'm a huge fan of bionicle. I have been a fan since 2001, and enjoyed the varying types of media Bionicle used (books, online games, movies, ect). I'm thinking of making a giant stopmotion movie spanning throughout the entire bionicle story from begining to end. Any advice?
Also, does Tahu still have his adaptive armor, or did he ditch it?
Hi Greg! It’s an honour to be communicating, I’m a big fan of your work in Bionicle! 
Some anatomy questions, some of which have been discussed back on BZP:
1) How many fingers do typical Bionicles normally have per hand? 4 or 5, or some other number? The sets that do represent them never go above 4 digits, and the original trilogy movies are pretty unique in showing 5, like humans. I always thought it would be a reminder that whilst they human-like, Toa, Agori and Matoran are aliens, and so the usually cartoonish feature would instead be an interesting anatomical feature.
2) How many toes do typical Bionicles have? The sets seem to suggest Matoran might have 2 toes per foot. Is this true? Or do they have a shoe like foot? What about for Agori/Glatorian? Perhaps they have the same number of toes as fingers?
3) Do Agori and Glatorian have soft skin like humans/mammals, or hard exteriors like the faces on the sets, perhaps like Armadillos, and to some effect like Turians from Mass Effect? If they are like mammals, I guess they probably have hair. How does hair distribute around their body? Is it like humans, mainly on the top of the head, or something else?
4) Do Agori/Glatorian eyes glow, and if so is this due to implants or natural bio-luminescence?
5) What does MU flesh resemble? It’s usually referred to as muscle, but I suppose there must be some kind of skin layer too? is it sinewy like muscle of softer? What colour is the muscle, or does it depend on which species/element we’re talking about?
Thanks! And thank you for the amazing Bionicle Saga that you developed!
kyle7475 wrote:Dear Mr. Farshtey:
1) So you said that Tahu is in possession of kraata powers other than heat vision, right? Can you give us a rough estimate of how many of the 42 kraata powers Tahu has? (e.g. a couple, about half, most)
2) And also, can you give us one example of a Kraata power that Tahu has aside from heat vision?
3) Are Tahu's elemental powers weakened now that he is in his mata state, or did his absorbtion of the Golden Armor's energies boost them back up?
5) Finally, if it were up to you, would you have had Kopaka, Takanuva or another character wear the Golden Armor?
1) No, not something I have calculated
2) Quick healing
3) Not significantly
4) No, because Tahu was always the most popular and best-selling Toa
zerotikihamster wrote:So, I hear you help make Ninjago. I'm not a Bionicle geek, so I'm going to ask Ninjago-related questions. Is that ok?
- Do you help make the TV show or do you just write the books?
- What got you intrested in the Ninjago consept?
- Which line is your favorite: The Skeleton Pilot, Rise Of The Snakes, The Final Battle, or Rebooted?
- What color ninja would you like to see in the future? Purple ninja, Orange ninja, Yellow ninja, etc.
1) I just write the graphic novels, have nothing to do with the TV show
2) It's something I got the opportunity to write for, like Chima or BIONICLE. It's fun in its own unique way and I have had a lot of creative freedom with.
3-4) I really have no opinion
Bio4Toa wrote:I'm a huge fan of bionicle. I have been a fan since 2001, and enjoyed the varying types of media Bionicle used (books, online games, movies, ect). I'm thinking of making a giant stopmotion movie spanning throughout the entire bionicle story from begining to end. Any advice?
Not really, I have not done any work with stop motion
kyle7475 wrote:Also, does Tahu still have his adaptive armor, or did he ditch it?
I can't see why he would ditch it, it's valuable
j22knuckles wrote:
I'm a story writer and I totally agree about the outlines. I don't get what the whole need for outlines is about because I always think of the whole story in my head and then I try to translate the story into writing. Why should I restrict my writing by making an outline? What I do with my writing is I look at other writers, take out their techniques that I think are good and I leave the ones I don't like. The result is still my own unique writing style.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you say "restrict your writing." It's very easy, with an outline, to just coast along and write what you plotted out. But the best scenes I have ever written and the best plot twists I have done have been things that just came to me as I was writing. Plus, if you already know the whole story, writing it gets boring.
There was a radio actor who used to be notorious for never reading his script before doing the show. When asked why, he said, "If my character gets into a death trap, it will sound more convincing if I have no idea how he is going to get out it."
ScribeGT6817 wrote:
Akuumo wrote:Greg, what do you think about female Toa of Ice? Or female Toa of Air?
Not possible, because there are no female Matoran in those tribes.
But what about Fan Fiction?
2. I'm getting the feeling that it was Gaardus (I probably misspelled that
) who wrecked the Red Star. Am I right?3. Did you have any plans as to who exactly Pohatu and Kopaka would encounter in the Red Star?
4. Do you think Vezon would make a good lawyer?
Could a Mask of Mutation be used to change a Matoran's tribe (ex. Ta-Matoran to Ko-Matoran)?
Macedonia wrote:
1. Was Lariska's species ever specified?
2. I'm getting the feeling that it was Gaardus (I probably misspelled that
3. Did you have any plans as to who exactly Pohatu and Kopaka would encounter in the Red Star?
4. Do you think Vezon would make a good lawyer?
1) No
2) Gaardus got blamed for it the same reason the last person to use the toaster gets blamed if the toaster breaks. But the fact is, the machinery broke down because it broke down.
3) Not specifically, no, I don't plan my stories ahead of time
4) No, he would get cited for contempt of court too often
ScribeGT6817 wrote:
MrMee wrote:I have two questions, one from curiosity and the other from extreme desire. But first let me say I am a huge fan! The things you did with the Bionicle story, characters, worlds, and so forth are amazing! I haven't kept up with the other series too well (Ninjago and Hero Factory), although they are good in their own ways. After Bionicle was stopped, I became upset. Now I have this never-ceasing aching/longing in my heart for Bionicle, at least for the stories to be completed in some way.
1. When you started work on Bionicle, did you have any idea that it would turn out the way it did? Had the Great Beings, giant robot bodies, other planets, or even the other Toa and creatures encountered been thought up and planned on, or was it sort of on the fly?
2. Will you ever continue the Bionicle story? As noted above, I have an EXTREME desire for you to. You really left us hanging. You started something on this other planet and never let us know what happened to some Toa and others. It just stops. I LOVE the story so much, and really want to see more! I'm collected all the books, movies, and comics that I can.
1) Some things were, some things weren't. Certainly the Great Beings existed from the start. But as with any story, as you need to expand it, you add more things.
2) Not at the moment, no. I did talk to someone at the company about it a while ago, but understandably the focus here has to be on lines that are active.
Well, if you ever do get a chance yourself to continue the story, we would REALLY REALLY appreciate and be EXTREMELY happy. The story really did expand in an incredible way. It's awesome.
By the way, thank you for the reply and taking the time to talk with us. 