1Woah, so B3 is coming out next year? Woah: Let's see, one book every two months, so....
2I think B3 could come out anywhere from as early as June, to as late as November, anywhere towards late Summer, early Winter of '05. The novelazation should come out around late Summer, early Fall, but I remind you, this is just a guess.

1*I* PMed Greg and got some answers...although.....
2SPOILERS:::

3After reading Legends of Metru Nui, Something's been bugging me...Why aren't The six matoran[ Nuhrii, Tehutti, ectect Mentioned? I mean, They weren't exactly minor characters. And the Morbuzahk was given only one sentence of mention. Why was that? The Toa metru seemed to just go after the Great disks for no reason aside from Vakama's vision. Did they not get the disks to stop the Morbuzahk? Or is it that I am looking to much into this and that the first couple of chapters were to be one big recap? Thank you in advance and sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors.
4- Awhina.

5Hi, A. Basically, for the same reason the Bohrok-Kal are not in Mask of Light.
6See, in years that we have a movie, we essentially tell two stories (because the alternative is telling the movie story all year, which would blow the movie.) We have a first half of the year story (the Matoran and the Morbuzakh) and a movie story.
7LOMN book cannot contain anything that is not in the movie script, so that's the first thing. And there wouldn't be any point in telling the whole first half of the year story in the movie because a) everyone knows it already and there isn't time in the film. We'd rather have the bulk of the movie tell new story.
8Make sense?
9Greg

10Yes, Thank you. Now, this Isn't a Question persay, just praise: 11I recently read Voyage of Fear and I must say, this was one of your best works I've read so far. That is to say, I didn't dislike the other 4, I just enjoyed, or rather, Loved VoF. From the more subtle jokes [" In the future, no more secrets] to the Laugh out Loud jokes[" I say we go left" "why?" "because we hardly ever go left" and "If I say yes will he stop shouting?" "Probably" "Then yes]. Then there was the Krahli's extremely disturbing love for it's job. What Got me though was Mavrah. His story, it seemed so...imcomplete....I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy And then there was Ahkmou. Poor misguided Ahkmou..... But anyways, I do actually have a few Questions: 121. I don't know if this will be cleared up in the movie or not, but I've been more or less having a bad 'visual' when I read of the great barrier and the tunnel. Is the 'platform' the Makuta and Vakama 'dueled' just a little above the sea, or high above the sea? and where exactly IS the tunnel in which the Toa Metru went through in VoF? 132. Just when exactly did Makuta switch out with the Real Dume? 143. In Legends of Metru nui, Makuta transformed into 'Ultimate Dume' and is described as a form the Toa Metru had never seen, but from the pictures, he just looks like regular makuta with special attachments. Was Makuta's transformation just the add-ns and the toa had never seen his 'set' form, Or did he have a different body and his transfomation was into the Spirit of Shadows we all know and love? 154. Another Makuta question pretaining to the last: If his transformation WAS into his 'set' form, then what was he before? Was he a sort of Turaga[I get that, considering Turaga Lhikan's comment, or a guardian spirit akin to hs brother, Mata Nui? 165. Is there any real reason for Vakama not being on the back of VoF and Darkness Below? 17Thanks again, 18- Awhina

191) You will actually see the site of the battle and the tunnel entrance in this year's movie. The site of the battle is quite high above the sea.
202) I would say 12 to 18 months before the start of LOMN, possibly a little longer.
213) Good question. But keep in mind, let's say he looked like a standard Makuta from MOL before. When they see him as UD, he has Nidhiki, Krekka and Nivawk parts as part of his body, so it is a form they have not seen before. My guess is that they did see him in some form ... and one of the things I heard mentioned in Denmark was that Makuta had been so weakened by a previous battle that his body had lost mass and energy, which is part of the reason he was Turaga-sized. His absorption of the lightning storm and the power plant's energy is what helps him grow -- that is what someone told me, anyway.
224) I really can't comment on what his role was before, because I don't have a ton of info on it beyond what is in the movie.
235) Not that I know of. My guess is they left him off once for space reasons and now they are just picking that design up and using it over and over again. I will mention it to them when I see them next week.
24I am very glad you liked VOF -- I really think 5 and 6 are the best books I have written. 7 has some good stuff in it, and 8 COULD be good if I do it right ... but I am still fighting with that one It is around half done -- I am trying to avoid it being a "quest" book like 1 and 2 were, so I have this whole Krahka subplot and I want to work the Tahtorak in, etc., so I am trying to keep a lot of balls in the air with this one And then I want to go through and polish some of the dialogue.
25Greg

1I would if I could But BA #9 is the movie novelization, and no official title has been given to the third movie yet, so BA #9 has no title yet. We are just referring to it as BIONICLE 3: The Movie until we have a real title.
2Greg

3Whoa: Hold up: B3? 3 a mere four books away? Holy smokes, that's soon: And that confirms another movie next year: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS::::: Next June, the movie novelization will be released, along with what could easily be an even earlier movie release:
4YAAAAHOOOO:::

5-CM

1Not really soon. 8 months.
2...
3Wow. That IS soon. HOWEVER... it will probably be pushed back. >_> I know I sound pessimistic, but really, it probably WILL be pushed back. XD

4ANYWAYS. now for the happy part of me to come out.
5WHOOO HOOO: B3 MOVIE: (but, the question is, will it be Theatrical Release?)

Althane Sep 24, 2004, 7:55 PM

1Not really soon. 8 months.
2...
3Wow. That IS soon. HOWEVER... it will probably be pushed back. >_> I know I sound pessimistic, but really, it probably WILL be pushed back. XD

4ANYWAYS. now for the happy part of me to come out.
5WHOOO HOOO: B3 MOVIE: (but, the question is, will it be Theatrical Release?)

6I know that that is a big NO. Greg has said tt if B3 did come to be, it would not be theatrical. So unless Miramax changed it's mind so soon, it's not going theatrical.
7-Cm

1Awww, NUTBUNNIES. Then again, I guess it's for the best. I never DID like Lego going MEGA, and the movies are REALLY Mega.
2AND NOW: EXCELLENT INFORMATION: Then again, it IS spoilers. SO PAY ATTENTION: SPOILERS SPOILERS::

3Heya Greg,
4You said: 5" I think the thing I am most excited about in next year's books in the revelations about the Toa Metru's origins in Books 8 and 10. Hoo boy, I didn't think I would get a go-ahead to do what I want, but I did -- if I pull it off, BZP is going to be debating this all year, hee hee hee. "


6Just wondering, did you mean the Lihkan set of Toa Metru, or did you mean the Vakama set of Toa Metru?
7And the new books sound AWESOME: VoF was incredible, and I can't wait for the 6th book.
8You are an awesome writer.. I just wish that they wern't.. well, "little kids" books. Maybe when Bionicle is finished, or later, we could have Bionicle Novels? (THAT I would LOVE)
9-A
10____
111) I met the Vakama set. I don't have any info on the Lhikan set.
122) As I mentioned to someone, while BIONICLE could certainly lend itself to a "real" novel ... you have two things to address. First you have to convince Scholastic to do something different than what has been very successful .. and second, an dharder, you have to convince book chains to put the book in the adult section. We actually wanted them to do that with the Scholastic books, but they said no. They didn't feel kids would think to look for them now.
13The only "kid" aspect of them I think is the length. I write them to the same level as I write the comics. I guess you could say the level of violence makes it a kid book too, but that wouldn't change in a bigger book because it comes from LEGO standards and practices.
14Greg
15____________________________________________________

16That's what I was refering too, in the second one (about the legnth). But I knew about the problems of getting the book to novel size, and why they wouldn't want to do it...
17But I was thinking, maybe when Bionicle is near done, or over, that Lego might make novels? It'd be like pushing all the Mata-Nui books together, but then joining them better (maybe a little story inbetween each, like an adventure of Takua's) than just smashing them together.
18*shrugs*
19Oh, and I wasn't wondering about the Lihkan set. It really doesn't look like a set I'll get... unless, of course, I get it for Christmas.
20And now, the actual point of the post:
21What's to tell about the Vakama set of toa? Hasn't their beginning already been told to us? Or were the origins you were speaking of for the Matoran Vakama and company, not the Toa Vakama and co.?
22Thanks for making us nuts about Bionicle...
23-A

24___ 25Well, think of what you know about the origins of the Toa Metru ... and then think about how a devious author with too much time on his hands could take that story and twist it inside out in a way that will totally change how you think about the Toa Metru ...
26Greg

27Long dashes are between PMs, short dashes are between my PMs, and Greg's replies.

1Discussing spoilers:

Althane Sep 24, 2004, 11:44 PM

2... 3Well, think of what you know about the origins of the Toa Metru ... and then think about how a devious author with too much time on his hands could take that story and twist it inside out in a way that will totally change how you think about the Toa Metru ... 4...

5Maybe they're space aliens.

1[SIZE=14]bionicle video game coming out in spring 05:

2have you heard if/if there's a chance that there'll be a bionicle game 2? 3if so, when? 4if so, will it be for gamecube? 5if so, will it have multiplayer modes?

6I think the next video game comes out next spring and it is based on BIONICLE Adventures #6. I don't think we have one coming out this year. 7Greg

8[SIZE=14]

Althane Sep 24, 2004, 8:44 PM

1Well, think of what you know about the origins of the Toa Metru ... and then think about how a devious author with too much time on his hands could take that story and twist it inside out in a way that will totally change how you think about the Toa Metru ...

2Lessee, Makuta's really a good guy and Lhikan was a rebel toa; the toa metru really never were meant to be; the great beings tried to destroy the anomalous toa; everything the turaga believe and have taught the matoran and the toa nuva about Mata Nui and Makuta is wrong... Or would that be TOO twisted?

Althane Sep 25, 2004, 11:44 AM

1Awww, NUTBUNNIES. Then again, I guess it's for the best. I never DID like Lego going MEGA, and the movies are REALLY Mega.
2AND NOW: EXCELLENT INFORMATION::

3Heya Greg,
4You said: 5" I think the thing I am most excited about in next year's books in the revelations about the Toa Metru's origins in Books 8 and 10. Hoo boy, I didn't think I would get a go-ahead to do what I want, but I did -- if I pull it off, BZP is going to be debating this all year, hee hee hee. "


6Just wondering, did you mean the Lihkan set of Toa Metru, or did you mean the Vakama set of Toa Metru?
7And the new books sound AWESOME: VoF was incredible, and I can't wait for the 6th book.
8You are an awesome writer.. I just wish that they wern't.. well, "little kids" books. Maybe when Bionicle is finished, or later, we could have Bionicle Novels? (THAT I would LOVE)
9-A
10____
111) I met the Vakama set. I don't have any info on the Lhikan set.
122) As I mentioned to someone, while BIONICLE could certainly lend itself to a "real" novel ... you have two things to address. First you have to convince Scholastic to do something different than what has been very successful .. and second, an dharder, you have to convince book chains to put the book in the adult section. We actually wanted them to do that with the Scholastic books, but they said no. They didn't feel kids would think to look for them now.
13The only "kid" aspect of them I think is the length. I write them to the same level as I write the comics. I guess you could say the level of violence makes it a kid book too, but that wouldn't change in a bigger book because it comes from LEGO standards and practices.
14Greg
15____________________________________________________

16That's what I was refering too, in the second one (about the legnth). But I knew about the problems of getting the book to novel size, and why they wouldn't want to do it...
17But I was thinking, maybe when Bionicle is near done, or over, that Lego might make novels? It'd be like pushing all the Mata-Nui books together, but then joining them better (maybe a little story inbetween each, like an adventure of Takua's) than just smashing them together.
18*shrugs*
19Oh, and I wasn't wondering about the Lihkan set. It really doesn't look like a set I'll get... unless, of course, I get it for Christmas.
20And now, the actual point of the post:
21What's to tell about the Vakama set of toa? Hasn't their beginning already been told to us? Or were the origins you were speaking of for the Matoran Vakama and company, not the Toa Vakama and co.?
22Thanks for making us nuts about Bionicle...
23-A

24___ 25Well, think of what you know about the origins of the Toa Metru ... and then think about how a devious author with too much time on his hands could take that story and twist it inside out in a way that will totally change how you think about the Toa Metru ...
26Greg

27Long dashes are between PMs, short dashes are between my PMs, and Greg's replies.

28Now I would certainly like to see Bionicle in the Adults section of the bookstore- I can't even find any of the Bionicle books in the kids section: Also the part about the truth of the transformation is interesting... perhapes they weren't Matoran but little plastic mini-figs who got into some trans-dimensional warp hole and transported themselvesw into the Bionicle Universe and accidentally got transfromed into Toa *realises all of BZP is staring at me*

1Another reply from GregF:
2SPOILERS

3SPOILERS

4I'll borrow a quote from my brother when he saw your answer. "This guy has too much time on his hands." Hehehe
5Anyways, why does this story focus so much on Vakama's failures? It's not as if his failures are spectacular, and he completes his destiny (after all, his destny wasn't to defeat Makuta, it was to get the Matoran to Mata Nui, where they could live for a bit, before returning to Metru Nui, supposedly?) right? Then agian, we don't know the story between then and then...
6Anyways, what I'm saying is, what makes VAKAMA'S failuers such an important part? Why not, say, Nokama? Or is this the classic Bionicle thing of "Red guy is always head guy"?



7We make a lot of Vakama's failures because HE makes a lot of them. Think about it -- most of his life, he has hero worshipped Lhikan. His idol gets kidnapped before his eyes, because he couldn't do anything to stop it ... and then when he is finally reunited with him, Lhikan has to die to save Vakama. How would that make you feel?
8Onewa probably sums it up best in one of the books. Vakama says something about having pledged to Lhikan to save the Matoran, and Onewa says, "Oh, was that when you let him get kidnapped or when he died trying to save you?"
9Plus, all these events lead into '05 and some pretty startling plot developments for all the Toa Metru. There's a good reason that they, and Vakama especially, would rather not remember the events of '05.
10Greg

11Poor Vakama. Sounds like Onewa gets mad at him.

Raptordx1 Sep 24, 2004, 7:17 PM

1Yeah. Knights Kingdom is Fantasy, and bionicle is defnitely not the same.
2Essentially, if something involves robots, its not fantasy, or at least pure fantasy. Bionicle is best considered Sci-Fi with fantasy elements.

3Still, narrowing fantasy to just knights and swords is hardly fair to all the other forms of fantasy who don't really fall anywhere else. An extensive quote from one of my favorite authors:

4I had just seen two spectacular and highly succesful space movies--Star Wars,Close Encounters of the Third Kind--and Star Trek was still doing reruns around the planet.They were well done and I greatly enjoyed them, but they all had one thing in common.They were not, in the strictest sense, science fiction, but fantasy.
5Now I like fantasy every bit as much as science fiction--its literary standards are usually higher, too--but I recognize the distinction between the genres.Critics have been trying for decades to define both categories, without much success.Here is my working definition: Fantasy is something that couldn't happen in the real world (though often you wish it would); Science Fiction is something that really could happen (though often you'd be sorry if it did).

6bionicle video game coming out in spring 05:


7have you heard if/if there's a chance that there'll be a bionicle game 2? 8if so, when? 9if so, will it be for gamecube? 10if so, will it have multiplayer modes?



11I think the next video game comes out next spring and it is based on BIONICLE Adventures #6. I don't think we have one coming out this year. 12Greg

13That's interesting. I'm amazed, that the video game isn't based on the movie. Still, I find it a little hard to believe... I'm going to PM Greg for confirmation.
14-Alien

mdb31 Sep 25, 2004, 10:14 AM

1I have only 1 question, and its not really anything about a the upcomingplots. Since mata nui is awakened, will there ever be a set of him? I am asking because i just built an MOC of him, that took me 2 weeks to gather pieces from different members, and I didn't want the effort to go to waste.

2You're supposed to PM Greg your questions mdb31.

mdb31 Sep 25, 2004, 10:14 AM

1I have only 1 question, and its not really anything about a the upcomingplots. Since mata nui is awakened, will there ever be a set of  him? I am asking because i just built an MOC of him, that took me 2 weeks to gather pieces from different members, and I didn't want the effort to go to waste.

2Adding on to what J12 said, the answer would be;
3Mata Nui hasn't awakened yet. The movie worded the script wrong, and it sounded 4like he was awake...he's not. The first step in awakening him has been completed 5though.
6EDIT: News from Greg.
7SPOILERS



8Just striaght off, I'm gonna ask you this;
91. Are the Metru and the Hordika one and the same?

10Now that that is out of my system, here's some more.
112. Is there any such thing as a Vahki Kaita? (Asking ebcause it was confirmed 12that Kraahu and Kranua are not Kaita)

133. Will Rahkshi/ Bohrok/ Rahi-like creatures be included in the Rahi guide?


14And that would be it...

15Tokika


161) 2005 is set in the past, yes. 172) No. The ability to merge into a Kaita requires that there be at least something about the creature that is living (the way Bohrok have krana). Vahki are purely machines. 183) No. Rahkshi and Bohrok are not Rahi, so including them in the guide would be confusing since it is supposed to focus on Rahi.
19Greg

20Tokika

1Wow. It seems just yesterday that MoL came out , and LoMN is staring us in the face. I don't know what to say. VoF's Mavrah was an interesting character, and the concept of the Kralhi loving their job is just weird. But it was a well written book
2MoMN

Althane Sep 25, 2004, 3:32 PM

1To me, the Krahli just seem like an overdone Bordahk. UHm, I think Bordahks are the ones with the obsession of chasing. XD

2It is. "Bordakh like things that run." Anyway,--SPOILERS FOLLOWING:




















3I personally think it's wierd that the Krahli listen to Mavrah. I mean, if I was a Krahli, I would've done away with him years ago.

1Well, it kinda makes sense, the Vahki are kind of like Krahli Mark 2, so it`s no surprise that some of their traits would end up in the vahki. Also, they obeyed Mavrah because he was the only matoran that didn`t try to turn them off, and they were programmed to serve matoran.

1Good Info from Greg:
2Spoilers



3Spoilers


4SPOILERS

5And how much does Energized Proto play into the 2005 storyline? It's in BA6, but is that classified as 2005, or 2004 storyline?
6And a question about the Visohrahk. How big ARE they? It makes them seem small, but then I looked closer, and the pieces they are made out of look pretty big... (are those Rahkshi legs?)
7And one last question, I swear. The Rahga, despite whateveryone ELSE might say, seem cool (besides, they're only 4 dollar sets, what were they expecting? Personally, I think they're better than the Turaga sets...). But, the disc on them, does it serve an actual storyline purpose? Or is it just a set thing, to make it more interesting?
8-A


91) Energized proto really does not play any part in the '05 storyline.
102) They are decent sized.
113) Yes, very much so. The Rhotuka spinners not only can fly up to 40 feet (the toy), but the spinners play a crucial role in the adventures and the fighting next year.
12Greg

Althane Sep 25, 2004, 7:55 PM

1Good Info from Greg:
2Spoilers



3Spoilers


4SPOILERS

5And how much does Energized Proto play into the 2005 storyline? It's in BA6, but is that classified as 2005, or 2004 storyline?
6And a question about the Visohrahk. How big ARE they? It makes them seem small, but then I looked closer, and the pieces they are made out of look pretty big... (are those Rahkshi legs?)
7And one last question, I swear. The Rahga, despite whateveryone ELSE might say, seem cool (besides, they're only 4 dollar sets, what were they expecting? Personally, I think they're better than the Turaga sets...). But, the disc on them, does it serve an actual storyline purpose? Or is it just a set thing, to make it more interesting?
8-A


91) Energized proto really does not play any part in the '05 storyline.
102) They are decent sized.
113) Yes, very much so. The Rhotuka spinners not only can fly up to 40 feet (the toy), but the spinners play a crucial role in the adventures and the fighting next year.
12Greg

13SPOILERS:::



















14Whoa...thanks, Greg: Rhotuka spinners? Cool. EP isn't involved much? Darn. Ah, well. Thanks Althane.
15-Master of the Rahskhi

Master of the Rahkshi Sep 26, 2004, 11:40 AM

Althane Sep 25, 2004, 7:55 PM

1Good Info from Greg:
2Spoilers



3Spoilers


4SPOILERS

5And how much does Energized Proto play into the 2005 storyline? It's in BA6, but is that classified as 2005, or 2004 storyline?
6And a question about the Visohrahk. How big ARE they? It makes them seem small, but then I looked closer, and the pieces they are made out of look pretty big... (are those Rahkshi legs?)
7And one last question, I swear. The Rahga, despite whateveryone ELSE might say, seem cool (besides, they're only 4 dollar sets, what were they expecting? Personally, I think they're better than the Turaga sets...). But, the disc on them, does it serve an actual storyline purpose? Or is it just a set thing, to make it more interesting?
8-A


91) Energized proto really does not play any part in the '05 storyline.
102) They are decent sized.
113) Yes, very much so. The Rhotuka spinners not only can fly up to 40 feet (the toy), but the spinners play a crucial role in the adventures and the fighting next year.
12Greg

13SPOILERS:::



















14Whoa...thanks, Greg: Rhotuka spinners? Cool. EP isn't involved much? Darn. Ah, well. Thanks Althane.
15-Master of the Rahskhi

16minor SPOILERS






17Wow, Rhotuka spinners, at least now I can stop calling that propellor-thingy a propellor-thingy. And it can go up to 40 feet: (can someone convert feet to meters for me, I'm bad at Imperial to Metric conversions) This Rahaga sets are a definate must buy on my list of "definate-must-buy-Bionicle-sets". Maybe the Rhotuka spinners have some connection to Kanokas? Also I wonder what Greg means by "decent" sized (canister or boxed?)
18Off-topic: Wow, I made page 80:

140ft is around 12 meters.
2Not too shabby.

3QB

1A lot of new info here, and great news for toa nuva fans.

2QUOTE 3QUOTE 4QUOTE 5Since Book 9 is the movie novelization, and it is coming out around June/july of next year, does that mean that the movie will come out earlier too?
6Also, because adventures(unfortunately) stops at 10, will there be more books in the end of the year to continue the story past the summer, possbly of a new series? Because you said they were sucessful in another post, IIRC.
7I also must say I love the way you are developing the charachters of the toa metru. Vakama`s transformation from a reluctant hero to a confident warrior was great and really showed in the way he took command in VoF. but I do have one question, why do they refer to each other as "toa of air" "toa of stone" etc.. and not their real names?




8Book 9, as far as I know, is an August release, just like the movie book was this year. No release date has been set for the movie yet, but my guess is it will be October again because that is holiday shopping season.
92) You have your schedule a little off. Book 10 is out in September/October, and then we follow that up with the big special book I hinted at earlier. Then we would pick up the novels again (I assume) in Jan of 06 with the beginning of the '06 storyline.
103) Basically, that is a writer trick -- one, because constantly using their names would get dull, and two .. how often in conversation do you call someone by their name? It also gives their speech a little bit of a formal quality, which I like.
11Vakama goes through a lot more changes before all is said and done. I expect there to be a lot of debate end of next year on BZP (providing, of course BZP is still here then) over his actions, and why he does what he does. One of the things we see in '05 is that he is really driven by what he perceives to be his failures, with some pretty dire consequences.
12Greg


13So the big special book is more story related than a "guidebook" type thing like the rahi and city guides?
14Has the next toa nuva(or whatever they will become) storyline been written/planned? I personally wouldn`t mind if it continued with the toa metru forever because, IMO, they are far more interesting and complex charachters, but I know certain people may become restless. ( It was cool to see Tahu finally realize how foolish he has been in all his battles at the end of VoF, though)
15Is this schedule right:
16Maze of Shadows: December 17Visorak: Febuary 18Hordika: April 19Rahi Guidebook: June 20Movie novel: August 21Time Trap: Sept/Oct 22Special Book: Nov
23Do you know what system the Maze of Shadows Video Game is for?
24Are any of the 05 villains related to Makuta?







251) It's kind of a little of both. 262) Yes, it has been. 273) That's the schedule as I know it 283) I THINK it is GBA, but I can check for you -- not sure offhand. 294) Connected to? Yes. Related to? No. You actually won't be seeing a ton of Makuta for quite some time -- having him always be the big bad guy every year is getting old, so we want to do some different things. Frankly, next year's major villain, while not as powerful as Makuta, makes the big guy look like he should be running a charm school.

1Darn... Althane's post means pretty much the same as mine, but might as well post it anyway...

2Hey Greg,
3Just one this time...

4Well, think of what you know about the origins of the Toa Metru ... and then think about how a devious author with too much time on his hands could take that story and twist it inside out in a way that will totally change how you think about the Toa Metru ...

5Would this have anything to do with the "Dread Secret of Energized Proto"?
6Thanks.
7torritorri 8

9Nope, not at all. Energized proto had nothing to do with the origin of the Toa Metru.
10Greg

11There ya go...
12torritorri 13
14EDIT: Ooh, Greg got an av: looks pretty cool.

Alien Sep 25, 2004, 10:15 AM

Raptordx1 Sep 24, 2004, 7:17 PM

1Yeah. Knights Kingdom is Fantasy, and bionicle is defnitely not the same.
2Essentially, if something involves robots, its not fantasy, or at least pure fantasy. Bionicle is best considered Sci-Fi with fantasy elements.

3Still, narrowing fantasy to just knights and swords is hardly fair to all the other forms of fantasy who don't really fall anywhere else. An extensive quote from one of my favorite authors:

4I had just seen two spectacular and highly succesful space movies--Star Wars,Close Encounters of the Third Kind--and Star Trek was still doing reruns around the planet.  They were well done and I greatly enjoyed them, but they all had one thing in common.  They were not, in the strictest sense, science fiction, but fantasy.
5Now I like fantasy every bit as much as science fiction--its literary standards are usually higher, too--but I recognize the distinction between the genres.  Critics have been trying for decades to define both categories, without much success.  Here is my working definition: Fantasy is something that couldn't happen in the real world (though often you wish it would); Science Fiction is something that really could happen (though often you'd be sorry if it did).

6bionicle video game coming out in spring 05:


7have you heard if/if there's a chance that there'll be a bionicle game 2? 8if so, when? 9if so, will it be for gamecube? 10if so, will it have multiplayer modes?



11I think the next video game comes out next spring and it is based on BIONICLE Adventures #6. I don't think we have one coming out this year. 12Greg

13That's interesting. I'm amazed, that the video game isn't based on the movie. Still, I find it a little hard to believe... I'm going to PM Greg for confirmation.
14-Alien

15Which author said that? I must respectfully disagree....
16How could any of us judge accurately what "could happen"? By that definition, the vast majority of science fiction wouldn't be science fiction. Star Trek and Star Wars are science fiction. There are things that couldn't happen, as far as we know, but who of us knows everything there is to know about this vast universe? Or even more unlikely, who of us knows the vast amount of possibilities of things that could happen? And how many of us would even agree on the details of it?
17I don't think that's a very useful way to classify it, since I have more than once encountered members here, for example, declaring something impossible, when it isn't, and even happens in the real world. That's a big part of the point of my Wacky Physics topic, in fact. Perhaps there are things I think are impossible, that really aren't: Maybe that author you mentioned thinks some things are impossible, that aren't. Hard to prove a negative.
18How I look at it, science fiction is fiction that incorporates some explanation or element that is based on science of some sort. If in the medieval ages, someone wrote a story about an alchemist's invention, it would count as science fiction, because there is some aspect that was based on what limited science they had at the time (though it's certainly not considered good science now ). Star Trek is very much about things, in virtually every episode, that are based on something from science, like antimatter, warp drive technobabble... alien technology, alien lifeform mechanisms for existence... the list goes on and on. But fantasy is more the kinda stuff that does not deal with scientific or scientific sounding explanations, it just makes up whatever. And just accepts it. Like "magic."
19In other words, it's more about the feel of the story than what's possible or not. And I would say it's a spectrum, with Bionicle somewhere in the middle. Bionicle definately has an element of mystery and "magic" to it, but also has some pretty scientific ideas. I'm thinking of the explanation for the Kakama Nuva, that it controls the vibrations of the molecules of the user to dodge the molecules of the thing he's going through. Which has been debated quite a bit in the "Masks as Zero Point Energy Tappers topic. See my recommended topics list. But other things, like the existence of the Matoran, are so far kept mysterious. And things like clockwork mechanisms resulting in near sentience, Greg himself has said works "because it's a fantasy universe."


20And on topic: So the Nuva story planning has happened? Cool.

Leader of the Metru Sep 23, 2004, 5:13 PM

1Whoops. forgot the SPOILER: warning.

2Hi GregF: In LoMN it says that Turaga Lhikan gave the Toa "meaningless tasks", in order to make them activate their mask powers. So is that kind of like in the book Eragon where Brom the Old One says:
3"Elders used to teach youths magic by ordering meaningless tasks done, such a starting a fire on wet wood, or to fill up a draining bucket with water. Eventually, the youths would become so frusterated that their only resource was to use magic to start a fire, or plug the hole."

4Is that kind of what Lhikan was doing? Making them so frusterated that they concentrate enough to use their mask power?
5Thanx:
6-LotM-


7Have no idea, never read the book. I really don't read any fantasy fiction, have never really had a taste for it. I believe the scene is actually based on Asian philosophy, where you are supposed to see beyond the task itself to see the true meaning. But I did not write the scene in the movie, so don't know what the screenwriter had in mind.

8Greg

9If you have read Eragon you know that that is not exactly what Brom said but it's close. Anyway, that wasn't much help. But now we know that GregF doesn't have a taste for Fantasy Fiction, in which I do.

10-LotM-

11Wow, I just read that chapter today for the first time in Eragon. When I read it, it did remind me of LOMN. Crazy coincidences.

1i got some answers from gregF about stuff:

2hey greg, i have some questions:
31. you said that a twist about the toa metru past will be in adventures books 8-10. you also said that a new bionicle movie will be in bionicle adventures 9. so does that means the movie is going to be a part of the twist?
42. when will bionicle 3 be out? 2005, 2006 or later?
53. will 2006 still focus on the toa metru?
64. what was your inspiration to create krahka?
75. how many more bionicle movies will there be?
86. I heard somewhere that the stuff matoran, toa, and turaga are made of is protodermis. Is that true?
97. if the answer to 6 is yes, then does makuta also made out of protodermis?
108. will we ever learn about what happened to lhikan's companions? (if he had any)
119. if dume was a toa in the past, then will we learn about how he become turaga?
1210. how much time does the whole metru nui saga took? I mean, after vakama and co. became a toa, everything they done was pretty fast (finding the disks, destroying the morbuzak, etc), so I guess it couldn't taken more then a month, right?
1311. will ahkmou play an important part of the storyline?
1412. will there be new collectibles in 2005?
15thanks in advance for answering these questions:

161) The attitudes of some of the characters in the movie may have a connection to it, but the twist itself is only explored in the books.
172) 2005
183) I can't discuss future storyline
194) Hmmmm, hard to say. I wanted to create a female villain, and I have always liked the idea of shapeshifters because they have a built-in identity crisis.
205) That depends completely on how well they do. Also on whether at some point there is a TV series.
216) Yes. Everything in BIONICLE is made of protodermis.
227) Yup
238) That depends on if we ever flash further back into the past
249) Again, I don't know. A lot of people seem to want us to get back to the Toa Nuva as soon as possible, which would make it hard to tell past stories.
2510) The 2004 storyline I would say is probably six weeks to two months, yes
2611) Well, he already has, being the comet ball trader in MNOLG and being the betrayer in 2004. And he will appear again next year
2712) Yes

taka-tahu-nuva Sep 27, 2004, 1:24 PM

14. what was your inspiration to create krahka?
24) Hmmmm, hard to say. I wanted to create a female villain, and I have always liked the idea of shapeshifters because they have a built-in identity crisis.
36. I heard somewhere that the stuff matoran, toa, and turaga are made of is protodermis. Is that true?
46) Yes. Everything in BIONICLE is made of protodermis.

5Hmm those are interessting answers of GregF. 6I always wanted to know what his insperation is to created Krahka. 7That is an interessting look at it. Didn't know they had a built in crisis.
8Everything out of Protodermis? That is really interssting. 9It is getting more important and impotanter. 10Cool Bionicle 3 is coming out in 2005

dinoman82 Sep 27, 2004, 10:35 AM

taka-tahu-nuva Sep 27, 2004, 1:24 PM

14. what was your inspiration to create krahka?
24) Hmmmm, hard to say. I wanted to create a female villain, and I have always liked the idea of shapeshifters because they have a built-in identity crisis.
36. I heard somewhere that the stuff matoran, toa, and turaga are made of is protodermis. Is that true?
46) Yes. Everything in BIONICLE is made of protodermis.

5Hmm those are interessting answers of GregF. 6I always wanted to know what his insperation is to created Krahka. 7That is an interessting look at it. Didn't know they had a built in crisis.
8Everything out of Protodermis? That is really interssting. 9It is getting more important and impotanter. 10Cool Bionicle 3 is coming out in 2005

11Those of you who aren't clear on what's made of proto, and its involvement in general, should check out the Official Protodermis Topic in S&T, link in sig. It lists facts about it.
12Yes, I actually have answers today:

• 13Was Nidhiki ever supposed to be able to shoot Kanoka from his mouth? In this topic, the starter points out that in the set version, he can, but not in the movie version. I assume that the set only can because those are the pieces LEGO happened to use; he's never, to my knowledge, been portrayed as shooting Kanoka from his mouth in any story. Am I correct?
  141) Yes, that's correct
  
• 15Was just reading Shadrahk's topic on the fourth Comic Con movie clip. He says:
  

  16*Vakama brings out his disk launcher and a disk. Vakama looks at the disk, shakes his head, and pulls out another one.*
  17*Vakama loads the disk and shoots it at the base of the statue, just as the vahki are a few feet away.*

  
  
  18Any idea what disk Vakama decided not to use? (Just curious...)
  192) Yes. He had pulled out a Great Disk and then changed his mind about using it.
  
  

• 20*The vahki suddenly shoot their heads upward, only to see a huge Lhikan statue fall right on top of them, knocking them off their feet and into the sandstorm whirlwind. The Sandstorm is suddenly filled with flying vahkis and three toa.*

  
  
  21I take it that's what you meant in your answer once to the question "do Vahki fly in the movie," (paraphrased) and you replied, "not on purpose"?
  223) Yes
  
  

• 23Dume: The new toa must not interfere with the plan.
  24Nidhiki: They are mere Matoran in Toa Armor. As of our duty, we shall not fail.

  
  25Is Nidhiki simply insulting them meaninglessly there? Because it seems to imply that possibly previous Toa didn't become Toa from Matoran, or perhaps that most people didn't know that they did, or something...
  
  264) No, he's insulting them. In the November comic, he refers to them as "Matoran with delusions of adequacy." Remember, the Toa Metru have been Toa for all of, what, a couple days at that point? They are novices, who can't use their mask powers yet and still think too much like Matoran.
  
  
• 27Oh, what do they call the Le-Metru slang in Metru Nui? Le Metru slang? Treespeak? Tall-buildingspeak? (This's the question of this topic: Tree Speak, On Metru-Nui.)
  
  285) Far as I know, there is no special name for it in Metru Nui. If you guys want to have a contest to name it, I would try to work the winning name into a story.
  29Greg

30Thanks as always. Nice avatar, BTW.

1Minor spoilers regarding the 2005 collectible:

2Hi Greg, only a few questions:
31. Are the Rhotuka Spinners the new 2005 collectible?
41) Yes
52. If so, will they be the collectible for the entire 2005, like the Kanoka were in 2004?
62) Yes
73. Nice avatar you got... did you make it yourself?
83) No, I have no artistic talent.
9I'll be getting LoMN and VoF during the next week, so look forward to more questions.
10Thanks in advance
11Ikki

11. Are the rhotuka the 05 collectible?
22. In the sets, do the Rahaga use them exclusively, or do the hordika and visorak also use them?
33.Do the visorak come out in febuary, and hordika in june?
44. In 05 does Vakama learn that the rahkshi are the "sons of makuta" as he called them in MoL?
55. Does Krahka have a prominent role or a cameo in book 8?




61) Yes 72) No, all the sets, including the big sets, use them next year. 83) Only in Europe is that the case. In the US, the Hordika come out first, the Visorak later on. 94) Yes, I think so 105) Well, Book 8 is not done yet ... but I do plan to have a scene of her riding the Tahtorak, so yes, the plans are for her not to be a driver of the action, not just a cameo.

1Drat. There go my hopes for a GOOD collectible in '05... I mean, they're little tiny spinners... how can they add any variety or flair to them other than color (which they probably won't even do, since they didn't for the Kanoka... )
2*Sigh*... Looks like the days of wonderous anticipation upon popping open a Kanohi box (AFTER you have purchased it, of course...) and marvelling at the colorful, beautifully-crafted masks inside are long gone... Now it's more same old same old... more slugs... more glow-in-the-dark frisbees... more Rotato spinnamajig dealies. Kanohi were useful for MOCs, at least... much more than can be said for these.

Rahi Zaku Sep 27, 2004, 9:18 PM

1Kanohi were useful for MOCs, at least... much more than can be said for these.

2The Rhotuka do look more MOC-usable than Kanoka. Hopefully, that hub will be able to connect to an axle or connector peg. 3Actually, the thing I dislike most about the spinners is the name. The first letter isn't K, it's the end of an era.
4- ToP

1Here's something:
2about the collectible in 2005:
3I actually got the reply sept. 25 4but I only read it now,

5Hello, just a few questions;
61. What is the disk the rahaga uses called?(please, just the name, no harm done)
72. can you answer 2005 questions now?
83. If yes to above, how many sets is planned for 2005?


9Thanks alot,
10Juan_CD

111) I think it's Rhotuka
122-3) No, I can't. Movie's not out yet.
13Greg

14Juan_CD

1Well there goes all the collectibiles beginning with the letter K. cause next years collectible starts with a R
2

Raptordx1 Sep 27, 2004, 11:22 PM

13.Do the visorak come out in febuary, and hordika in june?
23) Only in Europe is that the case. In the US, the Hordika come out first, the Visorak later on.

3So, if we get the Visorak first, and US gets Hordika first...I'm buying two sets of Visorak, one for keeps and one for Hordika trading, depending on what my parents say about it though...

1More Q's
21id Nihdiki & Kreeka know what matoran Lihkan was going to go to?I onlyask becuse Nihdiki seemd to find Vakama's forge so fast...
32:Will the Rahaga be in this upcoming movie?(My mom wants to know)
43:Are you guys at Lego seriasly thinking about doing a TV series with Bionicle?I Just cant Imagine it working,just to mutch to pull I think...
5thanks in advance...

61) Yes.
72) No, Rahaga are in the 2005 movie, not the 2004 movie.
83) It's being talked about. There are certainly issues with it, story-wise, which is why no decision has been made on it yet. It would also be really expensive to do right. But it is on the table along with the theatrical movie and a lot of other stuff -- we want to be able to keep giving BIONICLE shots in the arm every couple years to keep people interested and bring in new audience.
9Greg

10Wonder what the "other stuff" options are?

1Questin's. . .
2- - - -
31) When you say that the Kahu can't be mentioned anymore, does that mean that in the storyline they never existed or that they exist but can no longer be mentioned? In other words, is Lego acting as though the Kahu never existed or as though it's no longer used by the Matoran?
4Far as I know, it still exists. We simply can't use that name anymore, so it is sort of hard to work it into stories if I don't have anything to call it. 5Yes: Perfect answer:
62) More of those questions you hate to hate:

7Why did the Kahu/Gukko change shape? (i.e. The Air Katana on the wings, head, etc.) Is this the process of growing older like the Ussal? 8Yes, and I am sure part of it too is the demands of CGI animation for the movie as opposed to the 2D animation used for the web. That dictated a lot of look changes.

9You said that Kewa and Kahu are the same being. So is it like that? 10Kewa (chick) ->Kahu (2nd Stage???) -> Gukko (Fully grown) 11No, the change of name was for legal reasons.

12I tend to go with the second - are there only three Rahi bird species ever mentioned? (Kahu/Gukko/Kewa, Mata Nui Fishing Bird, and Taku?) It seems strange that three completely different ones are related - I believe the Kahu was described as a hawk, the Gukko a robin, and the Kewa a vulture. So are they all the same general species, or individual species? I promise I'll stop with the Gukko questions after this answer.
13My information on this is extremely limited. All I know is that in MOL, the line originally said the Toa were squabbling like Kewa birds, and it was changed to Gukko. Why, I do not know, since I didn't work on the movie, and no one has discussed the various bird species with me. 14Ah, good. That was probably just done because no Kewa were in the movie, and they wanted watchers to be familiar with the terms. The real sticker is when Takua says "I've been a second." Perhaps some undocumented escapade?
153)

16Do the borohk-va have powers? 17Yes, minimal powers.

18Is that true? I don't remember that bit of info. I know it must be if you said it, but I just can't believe I didn't know of it. . .
19Yes, it is true. Just that the powers are so minimal, they didn't get used much (neither did the Va, in the comics). 20Cooool.
214)

22When a Kraata is born, is it already colored and with powers or does Makuta have to power them and color them? 23No, they already have colors and powers.

24Can Makuta choose the power? I believe you said the power was random. If Makuta invests more power in creating a kraata, does it come out a higher level?
25I would guess Makuta does choose the power, yes, but probably not the level. 26But that doesn't make any sense: I'd think the opposite, if any. But it's not fact, so I guess my opinion is just as good as his. Though it feels somehow wrong to say that.
27- - - -
28I sent him an earlier PM and didn't get a reply for nearly a week, so I resent those. He said:
29Yes, I got those questions and sent back answers, but BZP ate them -- so here they are again --
30And here they are.
31- - - -
321. "He had been concentrating intensely on a creature that looked something like a Tarakava, only with multiple flippers that might evolve into feet one day." (75) 33What? I thought it was established that there was no evolution in Bionicle: You can't evolve without reproducing. Or did you mean turn into feet as the creature grows older?
34Only EARTH creatures evolve by biological reproduction. BIONICLE creatures have a little thing called energized protodermis. 35Isn't that more mutation? Unless one of my old Rahi-growing-with-protodermis theories was correct. Because who would say "flippers that might someday be submersed in energized protodermis and turned into feet?" The idea is odd.
362. Any info yet on whether the short-stories-for-the-web idea might go through? I remembered that you said you were lobbying for short stories on Bionicle.com. I submitted that idea to Lego in one of the polls, and shortly after I went back and saw it as one of the top-ten most wanted things on Bionicle.com (look here, at #7. That was my suggestion). Hope that helps in your persuasion:
37Haven't heard anything. We are going to be transitioning to a new web producer, so I will have to discuss it with whoever takes over. 38Best of luck:
393. Does the word "bone" in Bionicle refer to an individual piece of a creature?
40Yes
414. If so, do Bionicle character bones correspond to the parts of the Lego sets? 42Probably
435. Was the bone that Nokama made her trident out of roughly trident-like in shape originally, or was it shaped from scratch? I just wonder because I might have to rebuild the tail of my earlier Makuta Fish MOC.
44No, she carved it into a trident 45Noooooo. . .
466. Does "lava bones" mean "killed by lava," "Makuta bones" "killed by Makuta," etc.?
47Yes
487. In the commentary on Mask of Light, one of the speakers said that a fish showed that "the island wildlife was slowly becoming more mechanical," or something along those lines. Is that accurate? I'm pretty sure it was the same guy who called Kopaka Pohatu, so I'm somewhat skeptical. EDIT: In writing my more recent questions, I found you said to "take this with a grain of salt." Any new clarification?
49No, that is totally bogus. Unfortunately, there were things in that commentary that just made no sense in the BIONICLE universe.
508. Do some Rahi naturally wear masks, or are they always placed there by other beings?
51Rahi wear masks because we usually use masks in their construction. In some cases, they lose them .. in some cases they mutate past the point of needing them ... if it is an infected mask, then removing it removes Makuta's influence, but in general, Rahi seem to be able to function without their masks if need be. 52Big info for for S&T.
53- - - -
54Hope ye liked.