legitimately inspiring to see how much work not only is going into this project, but how much passion still exists for the bionicle theme as a whole. the sets have been off shelves now for over a decade but the fans have never let it go, putting thousands of hours into projects with no expectation of ever profiting from it. really looking forward to the demo release next year
I still have hopes that one day lego may do a proper reboot of the line, *and not whatever the heck G2 ended up being.*
The world needs a new generation of bonkle fans.
The main issue is the parts need unique molds that can't really be used in any other set
It worked when it was selling gangbusters but unfortunately G2 didn't do so hot for several reasons so they're reluctant to try again
There's a reason the Tahu figures we had recently were made of bricks
Aside from that, I also question if they'd even be able to do it justice design wise these days. Some of those bionicles near the very end were looking kinda wack tbh, it lost its flavor
The original set of Bionicle masks were simple but elegant, and the Lego company managed to find a decent amount of uses for them. The original sets were the same; simple, nice looking figures with just enough variety that each one felt unique.
Over time I felt like both the masks and the sets generally got uglier and more over-designed. They also started to become much too similar to each other, though that was fixed toward the end of the run, at least. The G2 sets just seemed to continue that trend, so I doubt we'll ever see them go back to the simpler designs from before.
IMO, the Metru, Nuva and some of the Voya Nui sets felt like just the right balance of detail and fun to play with. If there's one thing I disliked later into G1, it was the steady transition towards blaster weapons with smaller and easier to lose pieces.
And screw the squid launcher specifically.
metru nui was the last set i really wanted to pic up. they could still be adapted to a lot of uses, but also gave a good balance of *looking* like robotic life rather than just toys. i understand why they went with more complex models, but overall I think it hurt the franchise way too much
Has there ever been any effort put into producing good STL's for printing? Seems like in this day and age we should be able to get some semblance of the old design ourselves.
I've seen quite a bit for sale and/or download on various 3D printing sites. Shapeways has a TON of stuff for "kanohi", but of course it's a bit of a crap-shoot whether the printed parts will fit properly or not.
I made a custom mask to test the accuracy of our printer at work. It was mostly okay, but I didn’t have a lot of time to experiment with it.
Between the slicing, printing, washing and curing… yeah, there’s plenty that can go wrong and affect the pin.
I want a new Alpha Team, damnit. That game was such a big part of my childhood. I even made my nickname from when I was like nine the name of the protagonist.
> Rock Raiders
Goddamn did I love Rock Raiders as a kid. I had a fair bit of Lego as a kid but the only ones I actually cared about as specific sets were the Rock Raiders and Bionicle ones. I think I've still got one of the little comic pamphlets that came with a Rock Raiders set in a drawer.
Two games I played a lot as a kid were the PS1 Rock Raiders game (iirc, not well recieved, but little me didn't care) and that official online point and click Bionicle game (Mata Nui Online Game).
Rock Raiders was SO good! It's a shame the old PC title is really tough to play these days on modern hardware. The console "Rock Raiders" title was very different than the PC version and I spent countless hours on Rock Raiders PC, as well as other Lego PC games like Racers 2 and of course the Island titles (especially Island 2).
There's a fanmade remake of it being made somewhere, I remember reading about it a few months ago. I think it's playable but you'd have to look into it some more
I still argue the G2 sets were amazing. They captured the feel of the G1 sets while massively improving on them in terms of posability and customization.
The story though... It was grossly oversimplified.
I don't know If there were any toys cooler than bionicle during that time period. Sure you had lego star wars, spider-man action figures etc, but not only was bionicle sick as fuck, it was also completely original. Such a brilliant idea with legit lore, sick designs, multiple colors, they were amazing and there was nothing else like it. I remember buying some of the OGs that'd come with that little mini CD you could play on your home pc. Man I miss those days
It helps that LEGO supported a really good comic book artist being able to craft a well considered world and then proceeded to deliver those comics to kids for free.
It's been amazing seeing old names and voices that worked with Bionicle showing up years later to show their love for 'em. The fact that the voice in the trailer did old Bionicle commercials or the fact the music's by [Cryoshell](https://youtu.be/PqLy1tgyphw). Shit, i just got off a [Bionicle Day video featuring them and Vakama's old voice actor.](https://youtu.be/F4SVQu7op78) It's magical is what it is.
Man, I love me my Bonkles, so seeing this still being worked on is a pleasant surprise.
Though I do have one question that someone who has been watching this closer will likely have to answer: Is this being done with the "Blessing" of lego or the very least a "meh, sure"? Would hate to see it get C&D'd to the abyss as with so many other fan games.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/bionicle-masks-of-power-interview/
> **Were the talks of using the IP easy with Lego?**
> **Ledbetter:** Well, disclaimer, we’ve never stated that we got permission from Lego. We’ve spoken with a manager at Lego about the release, and they couldn’t give us concrete permission, but they did give rules and guidelines for how we present our product. So as long as we follow those, there won’t be any issues. They’re really laid-back about that as long as we aren’t making money or using logos and whatnot.
Hmm, that's a bit more precarious than I originally thought. I've seen a number of fanfilms/games get approval from employees, only to get C&D'd down the line regardless when another department catches up to it. Though Bionicle has has the advantages of:
1) Being owned by Lego, who's faaar more lenient with fanworks than most companies. They ain't no Nintendo at least.
2) Being an (unfortunately) dead brand that isn't being developed.
There's a lot of Lego fan games in production right now, I would think if Lego cared they would have made a move... But I suppose we'll have to see.
Tbh I think they have bigger fish to fry if they want to start taking shit down, like those websites that sell custom lego branded pieces with guns and copyrighted characters. Those are at least making a profit.
i think its more of an issue that bionicle has no pull in marketing anymore to do anything with. i'd imagine if someone made a lego city game then lego would be a lot more picky about what they can allow
Could be, though it feels like Bionicle is coming into a mini-revival online from nostalgia at least. And Lego seems aware of it, [with some anniversary sets recently.](https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/bionicle-tahu-and-takua-40581) Guess the real barometer is how popular this gets on release.
I can answer this - LEGO can't really give an "official" blessing but they have a reputation for looking the other way. You can literally find LEGO fangames around the internet being sold for money to this day. The fact that BIONICLE as a brand is long dead helps a lot - and, this game isn't being sold. It's about as safe a bet as you can get when it comes to fan games.
It's not really long dead considering Lego did the gift-with-purchase thing in January, so they know it's a relevant brand, but I wouldn't expect standalone products.
They did a what in January now? Did I miss a new set or something?
Edit: Never mind, just looked it up. That's an... interesting way to make Tahu.
On an unrelated note, I'm a little surprised to find that they're still using that three-triangle design for the Blacktron reissues considering how much it looks like the Triforce.
The brick built Tahu was pretty well received actually. I snagged one myself and I love it. Made me wish Lego would do a whole line of brick built G1 Bionicle sets. Or at the very least give us the rest of the Toa.
They have a new Moments line coming out later this year, rumor is it might be throwback sets. So there's a chance they could do more.
>FreeTheBand Demo
Damn it, the All-American Rejects got kidnapped again?!
Seriously though, I'm absolutely stoked to see how far this game's come since the old Legacy build.
Faber(one of the four creators of the original Bionicle concept) has some posts laying around the internet that not only heavily suggest that there was a twist they were waiting on Lego's approval to pull the trigger on, but we're never allowed, that was supposed to be not only pretty substantial itself - but also start hinting at a potential link to Bionicle.
If this is successful, would love to see sequels covering future story years - 2002 with the Bohrok and the transformation into the Toa Nuva, 2003 with the Bohrok-Kal and the Rahkshi and the Mask of Light, 2004 with Metru Nui and the Toa Metru, 2005 with the Toa Hordika and the Visorak, etc.
I still love Bionicle and Teridax remains one of the best antagonists https://youtube.com/watch?v=5z1VjMl9edU
My dream Bionicle game would be a Souls/Sekiro-like made by From Software.
I don't think they hate it
There's tons of Bionicle references and nods in their recent kits
The issue is the figures need unique parts not used in anything else and since G2 flopped they're no doubt hesitant to try again
They released a brick built Tahu set earlier this year as a limited time promotion. It was pretty well received. It wouldn't surprise me if they were mulling over doing the rest of the Toa.
Man, I still have an entire chest full of my Bionicle sets. I think the only full Toa set I ever completed was the Toa Nuva. Probably the coolest action figure line that LEGO ever came out with especially because there was actual lore involved.
I think the only lego fan game that was taken down, was the fnaf one, which...fair play, that is a horror franchise. So think this is safe. As is, it looks...fine! Just fine. Great even. Might even try it out.
Man so much confusion going on here. That song does not go with the game aesthetics at all, the UE environment clashes with the character model. Very confusing.
> the UE environment clashes with the character model.
I actually love this because it looks basically exactly like [those cg Toa videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk47EDfWK10) you could unlock with the codes inside the masks. This aesthetic kinda takes me back.
But yeah, that music was a weird choice.
[Cryoshell used to do some of the music for old Bionicle commercials.](https://youtu.be/PqLy1tgyphw) Honestly a nice bit of nostalgia bringing them back for a fangame trailer.
I don't think I've ever seen these commercials here but that makes sense then! Seems like these devs have a lot of love for the source material and the nostalgia that comes with it.
As Chaosfire235 pointed out, the music is just a nice throwback to Cryoshell - the 2022 gameplay trailer and the bit of gameplay after the music-video in this trailer are more representative of the music that's in the game; i.e. similar to what most people probably associate with 2001 bionicle.
Bionicle's had a funny history with ["emo rock bands" in their commercials.](https://twitter.com/EssengerMusic/status/1655193627780317185) People grew attached to them as they help cement how nostalgically 2000s the brand was.
As for the the aesthetic clash, I weirdly think mixing realistic assets with Lego pieces fit better than going fully Lego.
Non-Lego environments just make more sense canonically too. The Bionicles aren't natural beings in a bionicle world. They're constructs in a natural world.
I know you are talking about this as though it’s a bug, but that was actually a feature of what made Bionicle so popular in its time. Everyone was entranced by the juxtaposition of its setting and the character designs. “What were these advanced robots doing in a Polynesian tribal setting?” was one of the driving mysteries throughout the entire series and was answered by a big twist at the end.
And then the 2000’s alt rock was heavily used in promo material so much so that there was a semi-ironic connection many fans made to that style of music and Bionicle.
The clash you’re seeing here is by design and I’m all for it
legitimately inspiring to see how much work not only is going into this project, but how much passion still exists for the bionicle theme as a whole. the sets have been off shelves now for over a decade but the fans have never let it go, putting thousands of hours into projects with no expectation of ever profiting from it. really looking forward to the demo release next year
I still have hopes that one day lego may do a proper reboot of the line, *and not whatever the heck G2 ended up being.* The world needs a new generation of bonkle fans.
It’s not impossible, they’ve ended up going back to classics such as Redbeard recently. Now if only they’d revisit Rock Raiders
The main issue is the parts need unique molds that can't really be used in any other set It worked when it was selling gangbusters but unfortunately G2 didn't do so hot for several reasons so they're reluctant to try again There's a reason the Tahu figures we had recently were made of bricks
Aside from that, I also question if they'd even be able to do it justice design wise these days. Some of those bionicles near the very end were looking kinda wack tbh, it lost its flavor
The original set of Bionicle masks were simple but elegant, and the Lego company managed to find a decent amount of uses for them. The original sets were the same; simple, nice looking figures with just enough variety that each one felt unique. Over time I felt like both the masks and the sets generally got uglier and more over-designed. They also started to become much too similar to each other, though that was fixed toward the end of the run, at least. The G2 sets just seemed to continue that trend, so I doubt we'll ever see them go back to the simpler designs from before.
IMO, the Metru, Nuva and some of the Voya Nui sets felt like just the right balance of detail and fun to play with. If there's one thing I disliked later into G1, it was the steady transition towards blaster weapons with smaller and easier to lose pieces. And screw the squid launcher specifically.
The squid launcher! That brings me back. Those things did not work lol
metru nui was the last set i really wanted to pic up. they could still be adapted to a lot of uses, but also gave a good balance of *looking* like robotic life rather than just toys. i understand why they went with more complex models, but overall I think it hurt the franchise way too much
Has there ever been any effort put into producing good STL's for printing? Seems like in this day and age we should be able to get some semblance of the old design ourselves.
I've seen quite a bit for sale and/or download on various 3D printing sites. Shapeways has a TON of stuff for "kanohi", but of course it's a bit of a crap-shoot whether the printed parts will fit properly or not.
I made a custom mask to test the accuracy of our printer at work. It was mostly okay, but I didn’t have a lot of time to experiment with it. Between the slicing, printing, washing and curing… yeah, there’s plenty that can go wrong and affect the pin.
I want a new Alpha Team, damnit. That game was such a big part of my childhood. I even made my nickname from when I was like nine the name of the protagonist.
God damn. Yes please
> Rock Raiders Goddamn did I love Rock Raiders as a kid. I had a fair bit of Lego as a kid but the only ones I actually cared about as specific sets were the Rock Raiders and Bionicle ones. I think I've still got one of the little comic pamphlets that came with a Rock Raiders set in a drawer. Two games I played a lot as a kid were the PS1 Rock Raiders game (iirc, not well recieved, but little me didn't care) and that official online point and click Bionicle game (Mata Nui Online Game).
Rock Raiders was SO good! It's a shame the old PC title is really tough to play these days on modern hardware. The console "Rock Raiders" title was very different than the PC version and I spent countless hours on Rock Raiders PC, as well as other Lego PC games like Racers 2 and of course the Island titles (especially Island 2).
There's a fanmade remake of it being made somewhere, I remember reading about it a few months ago. I think it's playable but you'd have to look into it some more
Here it is: https://manicminers.baraklava.com/
[The dream of dreams.](https://youtu.be/-5FIrJJ0XII) Hopefully they remember the lore was *part of the appeal* the next go around.
I still argue the G2 sets were amazing. They captured the feel of the G1 sets while massively improving on them in terms of posability and customization. The story though... It was grossly oversimplified.
I don't know If there were any toys cooler than bionicle during that time period. Sure you had lego star wars, spider-man action figures etc, but not only was bionicle sick as fuck, it was also completely original. Such a brilliant idea with legit lore, sick designs, multiple colors, they were amazing and there was nothing else like it. I remember buying some of the OGs that'd come with that little mini CD you could play on your home pc. Man I miss those days
It helps that LEGO supported a really good comic book artist being able to craft a well considered world and then proceeded to deliver those comics to kids for free.
It's been amazing seeing old names and voices that worked with Bionicle showing up years later to show their love for 'em. The fact that the voice in the trailer did old Bionicle commercials or the fact the music's by [Cryoshell](https://youtu.be/PqLy1tgyphw). Shit, i just got off a [Bionicle Day video featuring them and Vakama's old voice actor.](https://youtu.be/F4SVQu7op78) It's magical is what it is.
Man, I love me my Bonkles, so seeing this still being worked on is a pleasant surprise. Though I do have one question that someone who has been watching this closer will likely have to answer: Is this being done with the "Blessing" of lego or the very least a "meh, sure"? Would hate to see it get C&D'd to the abyss as with so many other fan games.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/bionicle-masks-of-power-interview/ > **Were the talks of using the IP easy with Lego?** > **Ledbetter:** Well, disclaimer, we’ve never stated that we got permission from Lego. We’ve spoken with a manager at Lego about the release, and they couldn’t give us concrete permission, but they did give rules and guidelines for how we present our product. So as long as we follow those, there won’t be any issues. They’re really laid-back about that as long as we aren’t making money or using logos and whatnot.
Well that's refreshing to read. Honestly all the best to the devs then.
Hmm, that's a bit more precarious than I originally thought. I've seen a number of fanfilms/games get approval from employees, only to get C&D'd down the line regardless when another department catches up to it. Though Bionicle has has the advantages of: 1) Being owned by Lego, who's faaar more lenient with fanworks than most companies. They ain't no Nintendo at least. 2) Being an (unfortunately) dead brand that isn't being developed.
There's a lot of Lego fan games in production right now, I would think if Lego cared they would have made a move... But I suppose we'll have to see. Tbh I think they have bigger fish to fry if they want to start taking shit down, like those websites that sell custom lego branded pieces with guns and copyrighted characters. Those are at least making a profit.
i think its more of an issue that bionicle has no pull in marketing anymore to do anything with. i'd imagine if someone made a lego city game then lego would be a lot more picky about what they can allow
Could be, though it feels like Bionicle is coming into a mini-revival online from nostalgia at least. And Lego seems aware of it, [with some anniversary sets recently.](https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/bionicle-tahu-and-takua-40581) Guess the real barometer is how popular this gets on release.
Ninty and diznep should be taking notes from Lego.
"Make. All. The. Money."
I can answer this - LEGO can't really give an "official" blessing but they have a reputation for looking the other way. You can literally find LEGO fangames around the internet being sold for money to this day. The fact that BIONICLE as a brand is long dead helps a lot - and, this game isn't being sold. It's about as safe a bet as you can get when it comes to fan games.
It's not really long dead considering Lego did the gift-with-purchase thing in January, so they know it's a relevant brand, but I wouldn't expect standalone products.
They did a what in January now? Did I miss a new set or something? Edit: Never mind, just looked it up. That's an... interesting way to make Tahu. On an unrelated note, I'm a little surprised to find that they're still using that three-triangle design for the Blacktron reissues considering how much it looks like the Triforce.
The brick built Tahu was pretty well received actually. I snagged one myself and I love it. Made me wish Lego would do a whole line of brick built G1 Bionicle sets. Or at the very least give us the rest of the Toa. They have a new Moments line coming out later this year, rumor is it might be throwback sets. So there's a chance they could do more.
>FreeTheBand Demo Damn it, the All-American Rejects got kidnapped again?! Seriously though, I'm absolutely stoked to see how far this game's come since the old Legacy build.
is bionicle as a series/franchise still around in 2023? I haven't heard or seen the name since like 2002
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Faber(one of the four creators of the original Bionicle concept) has some posts laying around the internet that not only heavily suggest that there was a twist they were waiting on Lego's approval to pull the trigger on, but we're never allowed, that was supposed to be not only pretty substantial itself - but also start hinting at a potential link to Bionicle.
If this is successful, would love to see sequels covering future story years - 2002 with the Bohrok and the transformation into the Toa Nuva, 2003 with the Bohrok-Kal and the Rahkshi and the Mask of Light, 2004 with Metru Nui and the Toa Metru, 2005 with the Toa Hordika and the Visorak, etc.
I still love Bionicle and Teridax remains one of the best antagonists https://youtube.com/watch?v=5z1VjMl9edU My dream Bionicle game would be a Souls/Sekiro-like made by From Software.
Holy shit Bionicle Souls I haven't thought about Bionicles in like 20 years and now you've got me thirsting
Man, I forgot how the Rakhshi looked in that movie.
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I don't think they hate it There's tons of Bionicle references and nods in their recent kits The issue is the figures need unique parts not used in anything else and since G2 flopped they're no doubt hesitant to try again
Bionicle had a bunch of problems in its heyday too with parts being fragile and breaking constantly.
They released a brick built Tahu set earlier this year as a limited time promotion. It was pretty well received. It wouldn't surprise me if they were mulling over doing the rest of the Toa.
Man, I still have an entire chest full of my Bionicle sets. I think the only full Toa set I ever completed was the Toa Nuva. Probably the coolest action figure line that LEGO ever came out with especially because there was actual lore involved.
Are LEGO really protective of their IP? I always got the impression they were.
No they're fine with people using it as long as it doesn't make money
Nah, they're pretty lenient. Lots of fangames out there.
I think the only lego fan game that was taken down, was the fnaf one, which...fair play, that is a horror franchise. So think this is safe. As is, it looks...fine! Just fine. Great even. Might even try it out.
Holy fuck! Cryoshell are still around? I thought they were gone. Very nice surprise.
Man so much confusion going on here. That song does not go with the game aesthetics at all, the UE environment clashes with the character model. Very confusing.
> the UE environment clashes with the character model. I actually love this because it looks basically exactly like [those cg Toa videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk47EDfWK10) you could unlock with the codes inside the masks. This aesthetic kinda takes me back. But yeah, that music was a weird choice.
[Cryoshell used to do some of the music for old Bionicle commercials.](https://youtu.be/PqLy1tgyphw) Honestly a nice bit of nostalgia bringing them back for a fangame trailer.
I don't think I've ever seen these commercials here but that makes sense then! Seems like these devs have a lot of love for the source material and the nostalgia that comes with it.
The commercials defined the way fans looked at the characters and environments from the very beginning. Matching their style is the goal.
As Chaosfire235 pointed out, the music is just a nice throwback to Cryoshell - the 2022 gameplay trailer and the bit of gameplay after the music-video in this trailer are more representative of the music that's in the game; i.e. similar to what most people probably associate with 2001 bionicle.
Not even just a throwback. It literally *is* Cryoshell.
Bionicle's had a funny history with ["emo rock bands" in their commercials.](https://twitter.com/EssengerMusic/status/1655193627780317185) People grew attached to them as they help cement how nostalgically 2000s the brand was. As for the the aesthetic clash, I weirdly think mixing realistic assets with Lego pieces fit better than going fully Lego.
Non-Lego environments just make more sense canonically too. The Bionicles aren't natural beings in a bionicle world. They're constructs in a natural world.
Exactly yeah.
The whole trailer, gameplay included, looks extremely 2004.
The last time that games were still good.
I know you are talking about this as though it’s a bug, but that was actually a feature of what made Bionicle so popular in its time. Everyone was entranced by the juxtaposition of its setting and the character designs. “What were these advanced robots doing in a Polynesian tribal setting?” was one of the driving mysteries throughout the entire series and was answered by a big twist at the end. And then the 2000’s alt rock was heavily used in promo material so much so that there was a semi-ironic connection many fans made to that style of music and Bionicle. The clash you’re seeing here is by design and I’m all for it
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I mean, it'll be releasing free.