Chat with Greg Farshtey

Johnyjo

2015-12-29 19:44 UTC–5

PW_3 wrote:
Hi, I was wondering if you could tell us a bit more about that cancelled Bionicle 2001 game by Saffire. Why was the GBA game not cancelled but the PC one was? Earlier you mentioned that the guy who worked at LEGO who was involved in the game left in 2005. What exactly was his involvement in the development? Also, what was the specific reason for cancelation? I have seen reasons range from combatability with the prevalent CPU's of the day to 9/11.

Welcome to the LEGO Message Boards, PW!

PW_3

2015-12-31 04:43 UTC–5

Permalink

In your opinion, is LEGO likley to ever revisit the whole 'one year event' that they attempted with 2001? With the Mata-Nui Online Game updated monthly, and the whole emphasis on mystery and exploration that was especcially prevallent then, it made for an absolutley unforgettable year in terms of story telling. Was it because they had to pull out all the stops to survive?

Also, was throwbots and roboriders, essentially, prototypes for Bionicle?

And finally, my last question: who has the cancelled game now? Is it LEGO/Saffire?

Thanks

777stairs

2016-01-01 00:07 UTC–5

Permalink

Okay, you may not remember, but a while back (page 715) I asked if you thought the species of Ancient & Tyrant and TSO and Conjurer could be combined. You said (page 735) that you personally didn't see a problem with it if if was something the community wanted. I took the idea to BZPower where a survey was taken.

Here are the results of the survey

2/3rds of those who voted thought that TSO and Conjurer should be merged in some way. Over 4/5ths of voters thought Ancient and Tyrant should be merged. However, when asked if all four creatures' species should be combined or not, half of voters (the largest category) said they shouldn't be.

It should be noted that five people voted consistently that they felt there should be no canonization at all. If you want to see the poll and various comments, you can go to BZPower S&T. (I tried to post a link, but this website wouldn't let me.)

Anyway, the largest percentages of people felt that the races of Ancient & Tyrant should be combined and the races of TSO and Conjurer should be merged in some way, but most felt all four should not be of the same race. Given the proposal and ideas accompanying the poll, that also means

-Tyr. grew tired of the ancient war and left to conquer other island/s
-Con. grew tired of the ancient war and left to conquer other island/s

-At some point TSO had to punish Con., so he cut off Con.'s tail--which is why TSO has a tail and Conjurer doesn't.

(Also, some trivia worth mentioning is that both TSO and Con claimed/had some power over disintegration.)

So are you fine with this? (Also, Happy New Year's

)

ScribeGT6817

2016-01-04 13:17 UTC–5

Permalink

PW_3 wrote:
In your opinion, is LEGO likley to ever revisit the whole 'one year event' that they attempted with 2001? With the Mata-Nui Online Game updated monthly, and the whole emphasis on mystery and exploration that was especcially prevallent then, it made for an absolutley unforgettable year in terms of story telling. Was it because they had to pull out all the stops to survive?

Also, was throwbots and roboriders, essentially, prototypes for Bionicle?

And finally, my last question: who has the cancelled game now? Is it LEGO/Saffire?

Thanks

1) Multi-part answer --

a) I can't really say "yes" or "no" to this, because whether we did something like that again (with not only the story emphasis but things like the truck tour) would be a call that Marketing would make.

b) One thing to note is that, with most of our "big" lines these days, we seem to have a TV series. That mitigates the need to do a lot of story telling in other media.

c) The reason you saw so much investment and so many things with BIONICLE in 2001 is that it was essentially a whole new category for us -- a story-driven, buildable action figure line -- and the only way it would work would be to aggressively push it. The idea was, "Pretend this is a big movie that we are doing toys for and just get the line out there so it's everywhere you look."

2) Can't speak to this, as I did not work here when those lines were active.

3) No idea.

MrBlackpants

2016-01-04 13:32 UTC–5

Permalink

Is there any specific reason why toa powers work the way they do? or ist it just something like "Magic"?

etjpabf1011

2016-01-04 13:34 UTC–5

Permalink

ScribeGT6817 wrote:
etjpabf1011 wrote:
AWESOME!!!! My only question is: what do you think of the re-doing of the bionicle theme?
As with any LEGO line, I hope it is successful.

OK, and Is this new Bionicle Supposed to be a continue-ation or an alternate universe or what?

etjpabf1011

2016-01-04 13:36 UTC–5

Permalink

And how are Matoran made? Do Bionicle females give birth?

MrBlackpants

2016-01-04 13:40 UTC–5

Permalink

Is there any specific reason why toa powers work the way they do? Is it just something like "Magic" or is there something built into them to help a toa control an element? (I hope this isnt too confusing of a question)

ScribeGT6817

2016-01-04 15:16 UTC–5

Permalink

MrBlackpants wrote:
Is there any specific reason why toa powers work the way they do? or ist it just something like "Magic"?

Toa in original BIONICLE were bio-mechanical and their elemental powers were the result of science, not magic.

ScribeGT6817

2016-01-04 15:17 UTC–5

Permalink

etjpabf1011 wrote:
ScribeGT6817 wrote:
etjpabf1011 wrote:
AWESOME!!!! My only question is: what do you think of the re-doing of the bionicle theme?
As with any LEGO line, I hope it is successful.
OK, and Is this new Bionicle Supposed to be a continue-ation or an alternate universe or what?

It's a reboot. To my knowledge, it is not supposed to be connected to the original universe.

ScribeGT6817

2016-01-04 15:24 UTC–5

Permalink

etjpabf1011 wrote:
And how are Matoran made? Do Bionicle females give birth?

There is no biological reproduction in the Matoran universe in original BIONICLE. Matoran are manufactured as needed.

etjpabf1011

2016-01-04 17:33 UTC–5

Permalink

Awesome! Thanks; I never understood that!

SamTheLegoBlawk

2016-01-04 18:31 UTC–5

Permalink

I have one question. how did you come up with the main idea for Bionicle?

MrBlackpants

2016-01-05 01:37 UTC–5

Permalink

So were there things built into the toa? such as something like a flamethrower built into toa of fire? Could you explian how a toa power works?

etjpabf1011

2016-01-05 08:27 UTC–5

Permalink

Is Metru Nui another island, or is it in a massive underground cave like I've heard? Also, if it is in a cave, how does it have a day and night cycle? Thanks.

Johnyjo	2015-12-29 19:44 UTC–5 Permalink PW_3 wrote: Hi, I was wondering if you could tell us a bit more about that cancelled Bionicle 2001 game by Saffire. Why was the GBA game not cancelled but the PC one was? Earlier you mentioned that the guy who worked at LEGO who was involved in the game left in 2005. What exactly was his involvement in the development? Also, what was the specific reason for cancelation? I have seen reasons range from combatability with the prevalent CPU's of the day to 9/11. Welcome to the LEGO Message Boards, PW!
PW_3	2015-12-31 04:43 UTC–5 Permalink In your opinion, is LEGO likley to ever revisit the whole 'one year event' that they attempted with 2001? With the Mata-Nui Online Game updated monthly, and the whole emphasis on mystery and exploration that was especcially prevallent then, it made for an absolutley unforgettable year in terms of story telling. Was it because they had to pull out all the stops to survive? Also, was throwbots and roboriders, essentially, prototypes for Bionicle? And finally, my last question: who has the cancelled game now? Is it LEGO/Saffire? Thanks
777stairs	2016-01-01 00:07 UTC–5 Permalink Okay, you may not remember, but a while back (page 715) I asked if you thought the species of Ancient & Tyrant and TSO and Conjurer could be combined. You said (page 735) that you personally didn't see a problem with it if if was something the community wanted. I took the idea to BZPower where a survey was taken. Here are the results of the survey 2/3rds of those who voted thought that TSO and Conjurer should be merged in some way. Over 4/5ths of voters thought Ancient and Tyrant should be merged. However, when asked if all four creatures' species should be combined or not, half of voters (the largest category) said they shouldn't be. It should be noted that five people voted consistently that they felt there should be no canonization at all. If you want to see the poll and various comments, you can go to BZPower S&T. (I tried to post a link, but this website wouldn't let me.) Anyway, the largest percentages of people felt that the races of Ancient & Tyrant should be combined and the races of TSO and Conjurer should be merged in some way, but most felt all four should not be of the same race. Given the proposal and ideas accompanying the poll, that also means -Tyr. grew tired of the ancient war and left to conquer other island/s -Con. grew tired of the ancient war and left to conquer other island/s -At some point TSO had to punish Con., so he cut off Con.'s tail--which is why TSO has a tail and Conjurer doesn't. (Also, some trivia worth mentioning is that both TSO and Con claimed/had some power over disintegration.) So are you fine with this? (Also, Happy New Year's )
ScribeGT6817	2016-01-04 13:17 UTC–5 Permalink PW_3 wrote: In your opinion, is LEGO likley to ever revisit the whole 'one year event' that they attempted with 2001? With the Mata-Nui Online Game updated monthly, and the whole emphasis on mystery and exploration that was especcially prevallent then, it made for an absolutley unforgettable year in terms of story telling. Was it because they had to pull out all the stops to survive? Also, was throwbots and roboriders, essentially, prototypes for Bionicle? And finally, my last question: who has the cancelled game now? Is it LEGO/Saffire? Thanks 1) Multi-part answer -- a) I can't really say "yes" or "no" to this, because whether we did something like that again (with not only the story emphasis but things like the truck tour) would be a call that Marketing would make. b) One thing to note is that, with most of our "big" lines these days, we seem to have a TV series. That mitigates the need to do a lot of story telling in other media. c) The reason you saw so much investment and so many things with BIONICLE in 2001 is that it was essentially a whole new category for us -- a story-driven, buildable action figure line -- and the only way it would work would be to aggressively push it. The idea was, "Pretend this is a big movie that we are doing toys for and just get the line out there so it's everywhere you look." 2) Can't speak to this, as I did not work here when those lines were active. 3) No idea.
MrBlackpants	2016-01-04 13:32 UTC–5 Permalink Is there any specific reason why toa powers work the way they do? or ist it just something like "Magic"?
etjpabf1011	2016-01-04 13:34 UTC–5 Permalink ScribeGT6817 wrote: etjpabf1011 wrote: AWESOME!!!! My only question is: what do you think of the re-doing of the bionicle theme? As with any LEGO line, I hope it is successful. OK, and Is this new Bionicle Supposed to be a continue-ation or an alternate universe or what?
etjpabf1011	2016-01-04 13:36 UTC–5 Permalink And how are Matoran made? Do Bionicle females give birth?
MrBlackpants	2016-01-04 13:40 UTC–5 Permalink Is there any specific reason why toa powers work the way they do? Is it just something like "Magic" or is there something built into them to help a toa control an element? (I hope this isnt too confusing of a question)
ScribeGT6817	2016-01-04 15:16 UTC–5 Permalink MrBlackpants wrote: Is there any specific reason why toa powers work the way they do? or ist it just something like "Magic"? Toa in original BIONICLE were bio-mechanical and their elemental powers were the result of science, not magic.
ScribeGT6817	2016-01-04 15:17 UTC–5 Permalink etjpabf1011 wrote: ScribeGT6817 wrote: etjpabf1011 wrote: AWESOME!!!! My only question is: what do you think of the re-doing of the bionicle theme? As with any LEGO line, I hope it is successful. OK, and Is this new Bionicle Supposed to be a continue-ation or an alternate universe or what? It's a reboot. To my knowledge, it is not supposed to be connected to the original universe.
ScribeGT6817	2016-01-04 15:24 UTC–5 Permalink etjpabf1011 wrote: And how are Matoran made? Do Bionicle females give birth? There is no biological reproduction in the Matoran universe in original BIONICLE. Matoran are manufactured as needed.
etjpabf1011	2016-01-04 17:33 UTC–5 Permalink Awesome! Thanks; I never understood that!
SamTheLegoBlawk	2016-01-04 18:31 UTC–5 Permalink I have one question. how did you come up with the main idea for Bionicle?
MrBlackpants	2016-01-05 01:37 UTC–5 Permalink So were there things built into the toa? such as something like a flamethrower built into toa of fire? Could you explian how a toa power works?
etjpabf1011	2016-01-05 08:27 UTC–5 Permalink Is Metru Nui another island, or is it in a massive underground cave like I've heard? Also, if it is in a cave, how does it have a day and night cycle? Thanks.