User blog:Berrybrick/To Rant Or Not To Rant

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Rejected News Article: Spooky Sexy Scorpio - 7/7/15

You know, if I have one issue with the LEGO community (not so much around here, but in forums) it's a sense of entitlement. People just don't seem to grow up in that area, which, since they (we) are still playing with toys, maybe that isn't unprecedented. Anyway, I especially get annoyed around SDCC time when people complain about how they can't get minifigures based on characters that either they have never heard of or in variations that they have never heard of. There are exceptions, of course, like this year's Arsenal being a reasonable upset, perhaps, but I can still be a little harsh. This is a news article I wrote and decided not to publish. However, since this is the week after Independence Day, I have decided to share it anyway, because people eat up things that are suppressed no matter how distasteful they are (Howard Stern, Confederate Flag, The Interview, etc.) because "AMERICA! JESUS YOU IS CHARLIE BROWN! YEAH! FREE SPEECH, YOU SOCIALIST *censored*" Why should bad journalism be any different? I hope by waiting a whole two seconds and hardly alluding to it before, I have allowed the controversy to brew enough to make a lot of money.

Oh, woe is the life of the collector. What do they get for all of the strange looks they have to endure, perusing supermarket aisles and garage sale lawns. This year, like all of them, has been dreadful, with two Super Heroes minifigures (Arsenal and All New, All Different, All Politically Correct, All Patriotic, All Falcon, All Secret, All Wars, All American Captain America (Sam Wilson)) being exclusive to raffles at San Diego Comic Con. If years past were anything to go by, there would still be two more figures. What could they be? Rainbow Unikitty? Darth Vader with slightly darker skin? Maybe Batman with a white torso? Or even...a generic SHIELD Agent?

Forgive my fun. I know it's ridiculous, but you can't spell "sadism" without "sad." Ahem. Anyway, the good news is that, as it turns out, there are not two more minifigures. There is not even one more minifigure. Or three. Or four. Or five. There are no more exclusive minifigures.

But, just when you thought it was easy to breath easy, there is more. Let your heart pump, your blood boil. Think of the saddest thing you have ever seen (someone dropping their iPod into a puddle, rain during a soccer game, raccoons sipping from Cola bottles, etc.). Let it consume you. Be angry. Let your blood boil until you have reached Human Torch levels. Swallow a thermometer and then pump it back out to check, or until golden brown. Use that feeling, channel that hate. Think of one good reason why they would do this to you. Now another. Nope, that one doesn't count. Or that one. Look, just accept that your LEGO gods will always hold this exclusive over you. Okay, now break down into tears, go into denial, and let that denial consume you. What exclusive? It's that one you really want. But it doesn't exist. Yes it does. Oh really, then why haven't I seen it? Oh, my mistake, I didn't realize I had rambled a text wall without actually showing you what it is you're upset about.

Because LEGO loves BZPower so much, they gave them the privilege of revealing this gem:

Spooky scary bonkles
Send shivers down your spine
Shrieking Scorpio will shock your soul
Seal your doom tonight

Boo.

Don't you recognize it? It's the "Bull Skull Mask" shared by the BIONICLE sets 70793 Skull Basher and 70794 Skull Scorpio in Transparent Neon Green. If your only question is why a Scorpion wears a bull mask, then I'd say that you are coping pretty well. At least, you will be until you imagine how great Skull Scorpio will look when he is wearing that mask:

Sexy.

It's okay, man, it's okay. Let it out.

New Mission Statement: Save the Orcas - 6/16/15

There comes a time in every man's life where he must ask himself, "What would I do for a Klondike bar?" It's not an easy question to answer. The thing doesn't cost much, so really, how much will I do for a bite of that chocolate-shelled ice creamy goodness? Not much.

How much will you pay for a Klondike bar? Berry 2016.

Dimensions: Why the TT formula is (hopefully) getting tweaked - 4/12/15

Edit: New information seems to have proven me wrong. In related news, they say that a cynic is just a brokenhearted idealist. I can confirm this is true.

I'm not a big gamer, so the Skylanders thing has kind of rushed past me. Since I used to be a big Disney and Pixar fan, Disney Infinity has kind of caught my interest, but never enough to actually play. That stuff is expensive. The starter pack is 75 USD (according to Amazon) and additional characters are somewhere around 14. Those prices aren't too far from the upcoming LEGO Dimensions which utilizes a similar formula, but offers toys which are more than just statues and the trailer and press release seem to imply a "build it in real life, play it in the game" aspect, so the deal may not be as terrible as people are making it out to be, if it is targeted at the same people who buy Infinity. It is too expensive for me.

My main concern for the game might be TT Games. For a few years now, it hasn't been all that uncommon to see fans of TT's LEGO games to complain about how formulaic they have become. The gameplay has grown, but not really changed. For me, the characters are about why I play them (when I play them). Rosters have inflated over the last few games, focusing on universes (Harry Potter, DC, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars) which are populated by a ton of personalities. The starter pack offers only three: Wyldstyle, Batman, and Gandalf, and then it costs $15 to add another character. This might not be the worst thing, since it might mean that they spend more time making quality characters, but TT has been terrible at balancing in the past. I think that they might be getting a bit better, because even without any super-suits or fancy gadgets, Batwoman from the DC women DLC for LEGO Batman 3 actually has a pretty rounded out powerset. Throw in some of the gadgets that they gave to the 66 versions of Batman and Robin, and "plainclothes" like Batman and Wyldstyle might actually be able to stand next to Gandalf and the Ninjago characters.

Now, I really have very little idea what the play experience is like for Skylanders or Infinity, but reading the Wikipedia article on the latter (that totally counts as research) it seems exactly like the kind of thing I hope (and what signs are pointing towards) they are going to do. In most TT games, you'll play through a story, unlock some characters, and then go back through in freeplay to unlock more characters and other collectables. There comes the balancing issue. You can have well over a hundred characters, but most of them are relatively useless, and, especially in recent games, the free play roster is populated by several characters who have exclusive abilities (for example, only Harry Potter can use an invisibility cloak). This is frustrating enough in normal games when you want to play with a wide variety of characters, but it would be even worse if Dimensions continues to use this model. What if Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf come across a door that can only be opened by the Wicked Witch? Then you have to drop $15 to get her, and it leads into a passageway with a pool of water which only Zane can freeze...see where I'm going with this? The characters will have to feel unique, but they can't be used to exclusively solve puzzles. If alleviated correctly, this could change the dynamic for the better significantly.

At the end of the day, we'll at least have the Wicked Witch

Anyway, according to Wikipedia, Infinity features customizable worlds which are based on locations from Disney movies. For the last few years, LEGO has been working to develop technology which blurs the line between real and virtual play. Previously, this has included the DesignByMe service with LEGO Digital Designer, games like Life of George, or, last year, the Ultra Agents app bricks and Fusion product line. I'm not sure why some people doubt me on this, but Dimensions will take this to the next level, allowing (if it works right, you know) more complex builds to be inserted into the game. All of those mini-builds in the packs that people keep complaining about (or acting like they are a selling point on their own without actually knowing what they are for...) are meant to be rebuilt and then can be scanned into the game. Okay, maybe I am speaking a little too absolutely (which is out of character... :P ) but I think that the trailer makes it pretty clear when that guy rebuilds the Batmobile with "upgrades", Wyldstyle says "not bad", and then it goes back through the portal with them. To be fair, I haven't been able to find any evidence absolutely proves this is the case (though I honestly haven't looked to hard), but the press release also contains hints and another video I found on YouTube makes it pretty clear that the strategy is to keep building relevant as they offer digital experiences like this, and the best way to do that is to integrate them.

So, is this game sounding derivative of both previous TT works and toy to life games? Yep. It's expensive too, and that is ultimately what is going to keep me away from it, but I think that it is too early to write it off as a failure, and, hopefully, as just another TT game. Though, as always, speculation can tell us a lot, it seems that, hopefully, there is more to this game than what meets the eye....

What do you think of Dimensions? Did this change your perspective at all?

A Bit Of A Fixer-Upper: The Color Never Bothered Me Anyway - 1/8/15

Happy snow time (for those of us in the norther hemisphere, anyway)!

I was just reading a review of 41062 Elsa's Sparking Ice Castle and there were the usual complaints, things like stickers, you know, and then more custom tailored ones about how there is an ice cream parlor and how there are bits of green and flowers thrown into the set (which I think actually makes a bit of sense, even if it isn't in the movie. Elsa flash froze everything, so there would be flowers and greenery under the snow.) But one, or several I suppose, that really stuck out to me were that the reviewer was complaining about the set including exclusively colored parts. Admittedly, the castle does seem to have a lot going on with the different colors in a setting that does not accommodate them very well. The staircase is aqua, there are orange flowers around the base, a green tree to the side, pink jewels placed in more orange flowers, there are flames in golden candles, and then the entire thing is topped off with a giant purple snowflake. And this is, of course, in addition to the castle's main scheme of white, transparent blue, and lavender.

This is an issue in sets from time to time, but it seems especially jolting in "girl" sets because the colors are always so pastel. Why is this? And why with this set, especially? Some of the Princesses' worlds really do lend themselves to color, like Ariel's undersea kingdom, the markets and palaces that make up Jasmine's Agrippa, or the Asian gardens Mulan spends time in. Frozen is a beautifully animated movie (there, I said it, I like Frozen. The cold shoulder never bothered me anyway....) and the ice castle is a hard thing to translate. I do kind of like the set for what it is, aside from the color disparity that I mentioned, but when compared to the actual castle from the movies, it does kind of fall short. That's to be expected though, I mean, just look at that thing. The designers did have some sense when selecting the palette though, using lavender as the tertiary color was a good call, even if it might not be in the right places to evoke the shine and sparkle that the movie version has. Aqua was another sensible addition, though it does only appear on the stairs. If I were to add another color, it would probably be azure.

Looking at the movie version of the castle, a strange pudginess becomes apparent. This, again, has kind of become a staple of the girl themes and while Elves appears to mostly steer clear from it (and even some Disney Princess sets) it is pretty prominent in Friends. While I don't personally take issue with this, it isn't a bad aesthetic most of the time (it helps to give Friends buildings some life that the rare City ones often lack) I find it strange that Elsa's Castle got this treatment. The bulbousness appears to me to be a style that would be selected because it is not so rough and almost makes it cute, yet, what I at least thought was so captivating about Elsa's castle in the movie is that it is imposing and powerful, yet beautiful and majestic. It really does capture the imagination and since I was once told that symbolism is more up to the consumer to find and not so much the writer to place, I could even try and make a case to say that it has literary value (just because I'm cruel like that). With the popularity of Elsa, her castle, and all things Frozen really, I do not particularly see why the castle needed this treatment, and perhaps it does remove some value from the setting's translation, more than the candles, flowers, and even ice cream parlor do, I think.

But hey, the set is only $40, has two amazing mini-dolls, and I even like Olaf and don't think that the set is as bad as the review made it out to be. Perhaps if Disney Princesses because evergreen or at least gets an extended run like Harry Potter we will see more Frozen sets, certainly with the sequel, including a rendition of the ice castle which can hopefully overcome not only the design challenges presented by the budget and color palette, but also the design standards which seem to plague this side of the toy aisle.

Anyway, that wasn't actually what I wanted to talk about, I just sort of did. Complaining about parts in new colors...really? "Back in my day, legos only came in black, white, red, blue, and yellow. We didn't have no fancy colors like 'magenta' or 'transparent chrome orange'. If you wanted color on your legos, you had to paint them, sir. No stupid grays making our castles look boring...."

Resurrections: Jolting energy into a blog that never had life anyway 12/22/14

I'm back, boys (and girl).

I just submitted my essay last minute (with an hour to spare!) and chat is empty but there is stuff to discuss, so wandering the empty desolation of wiki blog land death destruction doom Voya Nui carnage, I ended up back here.

Just2Good has a source that is slowly spilling 2015 information through him. And winter sets haven't even been released yet (and I probably won't even see them on shelves until spring...). I'm not really following them, because some are probably themes I couldn't care less about. Actually, it's Minecraft. If I wanted something blocky, would I buy LEGO? I mean, really. And maybe Star Wars too, I just don't want to navigate that thread on Eurobricks.

Anyway, basically all I saw are "Destiny's Bounty 2.0" and Shadow of Ronin sets for Ninjago, confirmation of Ant-Man sets plus more Spider-Man (with Sandman) for Marvel, and two more Batman sets: A "Jokerland" amusement park and some sort of water chase.

Jokerland, despite sounding like an expanded version of the (lovely) Funhouse set, could offer a lot. Like Batman, and maybe Robin and Harley Quinn. And henchmen, yay. Seriously though, that one I kind of look forward too. Hopefully they actually include villains besides just Joker and Harley (and Riddler). Clayface? Killer Moth? Mad Hatter? Deadshot? Maybe Trickster, if that spiky hairpiece is actually for him? Throw in a new Bat-family member, like comic-based Gordon or Red Hood too, please. The water chase sounds less exciting. It probably includes Killer Croc, but nothing else is too obvious. Worst case scenario: It is Penguin that Batman is chasing, but really, it could be anyone. Hopefully some scenery is included too, I've seen some really nice Gotham harbor MOCs and would like to see one of those docks in an official set. Hopefully the villains and sidekick they throw in are more worthwhile than just Croc. I would really like to see Deadshot and Red Hood show up somewhere....

It's good to hear that Marvel is getting Ant-Man sets, even though we already knew about that, technically. I've written like four rants about Ant-Man before and published none of them, but I am really looking forward to seeing how these sets are executed. (The movie, not so much.) Sandman doesn't pique my interest much, but more Spider-Man sets are welcome. I want to see White Tiger and a comic based Green Goblin....

I won't update this as needed, this blog is probably going to shrivel back up until the February thaw or something.

Resurrections: It's my energy and I want to waste it now! 9/5/14

If there is nothing this overhyped zombie craze has convinced me of, it is that it is better for something to stay dead. But even as someone who generally dislikes resurrections, what fun is that?

I like to think that I am pretty laid back. Sometimes a bad spot of news will spike my blood pressure, but then I get over it pretty quickly so long as it doesn't affect me or someone I care about too directly, because it will just fly over. Is that a bit selfish? Perhaps, but then there are people who dedicate their energy to wallowing in what could be in a their perfect world, and I don't want that for myself.

Alms for the poor?

I once tried to read through a LEGO The Lord of the Rings thread at Eurobricks, and it was pretty painful to say the least. Maybe it's because I'm not so much into army building, but I don't know...it seems like the people there complain about everything. "What, Mines of Moria should have been at least as big as the Death Star! I would buy the heck out of that," or "Oh my Gandalf, why are we getting another Mordor Orc? And he doesn't even have a unique helmet!" Remember when I talked about a sense of entitlement a post or two ago? Yeah, it was a while, but think hard. That isn't to suggest that every or most LOTR fans are like that, but the fans are now facing the fact that the line may be coming to an end, and they some how managed to spend 100 pages in a thread talking about it. Someone even created a petition to save it, which, I'm not going to lie, I found kind of funny. "Please help us raise awareness to save LEGO LotR." It's not like we are losing the Amazon rain forest or a species of talking geckos, this is just a toyline. If you want to sign the petition, go ahead, I won't stop or look down on you (link) but the whole thing is a little silly to me....

So perhaps I should be a little silly. It kind of got me thinking of what themes I could bring back if I could, not necessarily what should be done.

BIONICLE:

Yeah, I know, it's being done, but I couldn't exclude it. Firstly, I kind of miss robotic tribal warriors who control elements and wear super powered masks. Shockingly, nothing really fills that void. Hero Factory is okay, but it isn't really living up to BIONICLE. Actually, BIONICLE might not even live up to itself, but that's nostalgia at work. Ah well. There is always next year.
What I would like to see done? Well, this section kind of ended up too long (even considering my warning that I may ramble) so I'm saving it for another blog post, I guess. I ought to do that before October. Anyway, I want to see the theme return to its roots. For me, that would mean a tropical setting (preferably an island) with an individual biome for each Toa and his or her respective villagers. The Toa and villagers are resisting corruption via a "virus" (we've got to keep the biological analogue in some respect). I despise clone sets, so some variety is welcome among the builds and looks of the characters, and let's please keep unhealthy amounts of gray, silver, or worse, monochrome paint jobs and tacky gimmicks away for a little while, or only use them sparringly. Ignoring the Tahu and Takanuva stars, the last time we had "real" Toa was 2004. Nothing against the Nuva, Hordika, Inika, Mahri, Phantoka, Mistika, and Glatorian (Okay, I do have something against the Hordika, Mistika, and some Glatorian, but I like plenty of the others), but there was just too much "Look at me! I'm different!" Yeah, you are, just like everyone else....

Adventurers / Pharaoh's Quest:

Pharaoh's Quest was all well and good, but it only got one wave. As for Adventurers, though I liked the other three subthemes, Orient Expedition was my Ninjago, if that helps anyone understand. Plenty of unique locations which we haven't seen since, and cool characters. Not all of the sets have aged that great, but all the more reason for more.
What would I like to see? Revisiting Jake Raines, Johnny Thunder, or even a new hero and his friends would be an excellent chance to get some Grecian or Roman sets some of us have been asking for forever. There was that one Atlantis set (which was really hard to get around here; sadly I missed it) but aside from some collectable minifigures, there hasn't been much love for this area. Maybe if Wonder Woman gets a movie. But really, so long as they don't retread Egypt again so soon, I can't say I would care where they go too much.

Yep, I even liked the zombies....

Monster Fighters:

Okay, I only got one set from this theme, but I loved it. And realistically, it would probably be this or Adventurers, but we aren't being realistic. I can't say that I would be able to get much more if it did come back, but the steampunk style was wonderful and it brought about some great minifigures and settings.
What would I like to see? More Victorian steampunk and mad science and castles and oversized fanged hearses...really, this line had it all figured out.

Harry Potter:

The original years' worth of sets were really odd. They came at a time when LEGO was making all sorts of terrible decisions, and when considered in that light, they actually aren't too bad. The revival of the theme a few years ago (2010, was it?) was quite good and brought two pretty solid waves with updates of old and new characters and places. The minifigures are also some of my favorites.
What would I like to see? I never got one of the big Hogwarts sets, so while I am acting entitled, I will ask for it and I would appreciate (term applied loosely; basically I wouldn't complain out loud) if it were delivered to my doorstep for a negligible fee. Otherwise, the retread was unable to cover every important character and location. There was probably enough material left for another wave (sort of like LOTR, I guess): The Shrieking Shack, The Chamber of Secrets, and the Ministry of Magic come to mind as ~~likely~~ candidates. And as for characters: Sirius Black, Mad-Eye Moody, Dolores Umbridge, and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students (in their uniforms) would be musts.

Forestmen:

I'm too young to have gotten any of the original sets, but this is something I would like to see revisited. It would help to break up the monotony of simple castles and knights. Sigh, I was excited to hear of this new Elves theme, figuring it would be something similar, but alas it seems to be "Little Woodland Friends," so....
What would I like to see? I don't really care who the Forestmen are fighting, be it creatures that are threatening their forest or a new generation of the Wolf Pack or Black Falcons, but I just want something different out of the Castle line. I would welcome back Fantasy Era too, since I think it could be marvelous with modern build styles, but this could be even more special by virtue of changing things up.

Everyone else gets this power fantasy too, right?

Galidor:

Because I'm evil. Actually, it is because I like reimagining things, but some people do think that is evil. Or at least pretty close.
What would I like to see? I'm being totally honest, and it would be sort of neat to see LEGO retool their biggest failure into something passable, or even successful, to show how much better they are now. That might mean converting the story and characters from action figures to minifigures, but who cares? I envision something sort of like the 2006 BIONICLE playsets, which was a unique aesthetic that I appreciate (the other two years of them, not so much). Exo-Force might be another line to take a look at, but it had too many magna influences for me.

Honorable mention: Time Cruisers

I'd just like to see how this would be handled. The theme was probably created to get rid of surplus part stock, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be cool, even if I do suspect that is how they design some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Super Heroes sets in a...non-winning manner.

So, as it would seem I am obligated to do so, what themes would you like to see rebooted, reinvented, retreaded, rerun, or rehashed? Atlantis? Rock Raiders? Ben 10? Belville? Indiana Jones? Blacktron? Fabuland? If you could unconditionally comply, commit to commenting.

Psychonicle: The Psychological Chronicle - 8/7/14

I've wanted to talk about things other than BIONICLE, but I suppose we are in a bit of a drought otherwise and I haven't been to great with bringing up old topics. Anyway, I just came across a match-up of BIONICLE elements to Myers-Briggs personality types on BZPower a few days ago and thought it was interesting. I don't put too much stock in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, since it is very generalizing (case in point: I can see bits of myself in all 16 personality types, but some more than others) and can be fairly fluid, but I do think this stuff is good fun. I'd suggest filling out this form where you decide what archetype you are (today) for yourself and then look at the forum post here, so that you don't skew your results. But even if you don't get your favorite element, there are plenty of exceptions and blank slates - a lot of my favorite characters were ones who did not necessarily fit into what you would expect from their tribe, like Takua, Kapura, Tamaru, and Midak - so it is no big deal.

As for me? Unexpectedly, I got Light, which is pretty cool. I could go for a new Takanuva set....

SDCC Exclusives: Let Them Eat Cake - 7/25/2014

I'm sorry for wasting "Let Them Eat Cake" on a news article when I had it planned for a blog all along. I love that line, even if Marie Antoinette may not have actually said it. Whether it is an affluent person showing how little they actually know about the peasants, or a mockery of the more fortunate, it does not matter to me. It still has a good meaning about people in different camps not understanding each other, whether the royals or serfs be at fault. Maybe that doesn't quite apply here, but food for thought.

So, we are on the fourth year since LEGO has started handing out exclusive minifigures at SDCC through raffles.

Back in 2011, there were two minifigures; Batman and Green Lantern. Though it took him three years, we are finally getting Green Lantern (albeit in a different costume), so the only things to complain about are "This Batman is better than the one from that BAT/Bane set" and "Why did it take LEGO so long to release Green Lantern?" I thought that both of those were fair back then, and I still do. Actually, I thought that they were preview figures (which Batman kind of was) but once it became obvious they weren't (though I do have a theory about that), I thought it was fair.

Then once the sets came out, I was a little deflated with the line up, at least for DC. Marvel was almost entirely dedicated to a movie that was by nature pretty diverse, so I couldn't complain, but we had one DC set with new characters. I never collected the old Batman sets, so it wasn't too hard to swallow (and I do like most of the sets from that year). We did at least get the Trinity though, and that isn't a terrible start even if I did expect Flash, Green Lantern, and Batgirl, at least, but I figured they would be out next year. Comic Con in 2012 had Black Suit Spider-Man, Phoenix, Bizarro, and Captain Marvel (or Shazam for the kids). Those were admittedly a bit of a slap, but we'll get to that later.

Fittingly, we saw the minifigures for "next year" at 2012 SDCC. They didn't do a lot to instill hope; Aquaman was the only new hero. Not even Batgirl or Nightwing. Anyway, we only had one real comic set that year, I'm not counting Arkham Asylum because it wasn't a regular set (though I probably should), and the fact that Aquaman was in the regular one was good. I thought that if we didn't have the Man of Steel sets that we would have gotten at least two more Leaguers. SDCC exclusives were fancy Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Green Arrow, and "We had Snyder add this suit to the movie to sell more action figures on clearance" Superman.

I know I have been focusing on the DC side of things for this, and there is a reason for that beyond my preference, but let's switch over to Marvel for a bit. As I said, the first year was just things from The Avengers plus one set each for ~~X-Men~~ Wolverine and Spider-Man. That's not much of a problem, since that is nine heroes in one year as opposed to DC's four. Marvel did have a lot less villains though. Neither had the most interesting range in 2013. Actually, DC might have done better in that regard than Marvel that year, but that's just my empirical observation. Marvel compensated for it this year though, I would say, with sets for the Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy. While the sets and minifigures are varying degrees of quality (most are quite good though), that's an impressive range. Incidentally, DC fell behind. We did get Batgirl, Flash, and Nightwing (and Damian Wayne, but bleh) at long last, so them fitting those characters into sets was welcome. But, the villains were all rehashes and most of the sets were too.

Anyway, the problem with SDCC exclusives: Is there one? Or is it that the sets haven't quite delivered? That's why I focused on DC: Really, the only character I think was a bad choice was Phoenix, especially now that Marvel is feuding with Fox and more X-Men sets do not seem too likely. Spider-Woman? She would have been cool, but (I am told) she is pretty minor, so her getting released in a set seems pretty unrealistic, unless she gets a media push. Don't even get me started on the Collector, I can do that myself. Now, correct me if my "Eh, Marvel is alright but not my favorite"-ness is showing, but he seems like a pretty minor villain. Maybe even D-List (in my ranking, D-List means that the character is only recognizable to some - not all - comic fans). I guess that people either fell in love with his cameo in Thor: The Dark World's post-credit scene (I myself sighed that there was another scene, the credits having been my favorite part (seriously, that artwork was cool), and then made a joke to my friend about how excited I was to see the Thor/Santa Clause crossover). Just a reminder: Guardians of the Galaxy has NOT come out yet. You don't know that you will love it, or even that you will like this character. The movie has been getting pretty good reviews apparently, so the odds are in your favor (he also looks like he could be from The Hunter Games...). I did not see a single complaint about the guy not appearing in any sets before this minifigure appeared. There probably would be after the movie comes out - I'm still trying to wrap my mind around complaints that Happy Hogan didn't appear in any Iron Man 3 sets - but those are few and far between.

LEGO's character variety in sets is worse than Lex Luthor stealing 40 Collector figures. And that's terrible; particularly on the DC side. Marvel has gotten better, though there are still a few characters missing (Ant-Man, Wasp, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther, Fantastic Four, nearly every notable X-Man, etc.), I am positive that they will show up as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow, or in the case of the last two, chances of seeing them will wane as that happens. DC also appears like it might step up next year, but this isn't next year yet. I think that the minifigures most people have gotten upset about being SDCC exclusives are Phoenix, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Shazam, and Bizarro. In my classification, they are all B-Listers (recognizable to the general public) or high-end C-Listers (recognizable to the vast majority of comic fans and anyone else familiar with the cartoons/video games/etc.). Those were characters we were expecting to get in sets. Now, I don't believe that any of them aside from Green Lantern and maybe Phoenix or Bizarro (depends how Superman heavy people had predicted) were really believed to be seen in the first year. Now, going back to my "Yay" mindset three years ago, I would have expected DC's big seven to be complete within the first two years, and then Green Arrow and Shazam would be in the next wave (2014). It has basically taken us three years to get where I thought we would be in half. And as for Phoenix, it really is hard to juggle all of Marvel's properties with so few sets, but talking to any X-Men fan on a forum it is clear that they thought there would be more than one set every other year.

My hopes may have been a little high, but really I don't think so. If you are going to announce a "DC Super Heroes" line which focuses predominantly on Batman, there is a bit of an issue. I like Batman, and his rogues and allies are among some of the best characters around, so I won't complain about getting them at all, but when we just get rehashes and a minor villain like Man-Bat, something has to change. Marvel has mostly been better, which is why I think that their only slip up was with Phoenix. I remember both Spider-Man variants being handled well by disgruntled fans (even though the one from last year is far superior - reference intended - to the one we have been getting). I could have understood complaints about Spider-Woman, she must have fans too after all. The Collector reaction is premature, but I am a little perplexed that people are up in arms about him when they never were as much with the Spiders. I guess part of it is because Spider-Woman hasn't had a cameo in a scene people only saw if they stayed through the credits?

So, one reason would be that it is because we thought we would be able to get these minifigures, and then when we see them in such limited quantities, it is disappointing. There really isn't anything to prevent LEGO from releasing those characters again, but seeing an SDCC exclusive has so far meant "Yeah, you may get them in two or three years. At least." This one I think is understandable, and this year I think that LEGO has done a good job. Of the four, Collector is actually the one I most understand being upset about. Hobbit? A variant. The LEGO Movie? A variant. DC? A variant.

Oh, and for the record, I understand the discontempt over the Rocket Raccoon variant too, but it reminds me of the Darth Maul from a few years ago. The tooling on that minifigure is really suspicious, so keep your shirt on and see if that does turn up somewhere else. And even if it doesn't, you can still have Rocket. No, he may not match the others, but you could just order an extra Star-Lord torso and find some dark red short legs to make a passable outfit. Or you can live with it. But, again, being upset over this one I can understand.

Yet, despite cries of "Make more exclusives like Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman!" in previous years, people are still taking paint by number Batman, crayon box Bard, and "I have printing on all two sides of my head!" Unikitty pretty poorly. At least the ones who are speaking up about it. It's hard to say how large the silent "majority" is though, with them being silent and all. And maybe the ones complaining about Batman, Bard, and Unikitty are not the same people who were asking for more variants if nothing at all, but that voice seemed louder in years past. Now that 3/4 are just that, people are still pretty angry. I would love to have Unikitty and that Batman (and I wouldn't say no to Bard or Collector either, because why not?) but it is hard for me to have sympathy for completionists. To be frank, I think it is a good thing if they cannot pay the exorbitant prices for <insert variant / minor character here> because trying to collect everything is rather unhealthy. I can understand the appeal of wanting to have it all, but there is an element of addiction in there too. Nobody is going to think less of someone else because they do not own Bard in a blue coat. But if they do own that variant, it is a cool exclusive for someone to own. Honestly, it is embarrassing as a LEGO fan. Being upset over Collector makes sense to a certain degree, but the reaction is still a lot more violent than I feel comfortable with, even there. And because I love the irony of Collector as a SDCC figure, I would like to end this with a bit of background from Wikipedia: "[... The] Collector realized he would need a hobby to maintain his own sanity, and began collecting interesting artifacts and life forms from around the universe. Eventually, his obsession reached such heights he collected anything he considered rare or valuable often just for the sake of collecting." Interesting.

Even LEGO cake is a choking hazard; you cannot eat it.

Again, I am sure that there are plenty of people out there who do not care about exclusives, or have at least gotten over them, and some of the blame does fall on LEGO for not including popular characters in sets. That isn't so much SDCC's fault though, that is because important and popular characters are being neglected elsewhere. Had we gotten Green Arrow in a set last year and then saw that a variant was a SDCC exclusive, I doubt many people would care too much. There does seem to be a sense of entitlement, too, and really that is just a less holy form of the first reason. I know that there is more to this issue, like the scalpers, but that may be the subject for another blog, and really, the scalpers charge skyhigh prices not only because of supply, but also demand. There isn't a reason that demand will, or even should, go down, because these minifigures are special, even simple variants like Bard, TDK Batman, and Black Superman. People just need to take a step back and enjoy the other five dozen or so minifigures they can get, they do have their bread, their butter, their meat, and their potatoes. And for the sake of forcing another idiom in here; you can't have your cake and eat it too. Who wins by getting rid of SDCC figures? We are still no closer to Phoenix or Green Arrow getting sets, you are simply denying a lucky few from getting a little something extra. And we all want something extra. Again, I am pretty disappointed that some of my favorite characters are relegated to batches of 1000 or so at a convention I won't be attending any time soon, but the real issue for me and hopefully most is just that LEGO has been bad about releasing those characters in the sets.

BIONICLE: TAKE TWO - 7/13/14

Yes, that date is American. Deal with it.

I've been toying with the idea of starting this blog a whole twelve people read at Brickia so maybe three can start reading it again here, but there really hasn't been much in the way of LEGO stuff I've wanted to talk about. Today that has changed because after a grainy image popping up earlier in the week, it has finally been confirmed that LEGO is in fact rebooting BIONICLE.

I was pretty angry when it was cancelled, but I did get over it pretty fast and with a low number of bruises compared to some forum members. Hero Factory really wasn't for me. I did like the CCBS, but none of the sets really spoke to me until the Breakout wave, and even then I would have rather spent my money on other things. I do sort of regret not picking up one or two, but also not really. My first Hero Factory set just came this year, ##### Rocka's Stealth Machine, because the minifigure gimmick attracted me.

Hero Factory isn't the only theme that needs mentioning here; I want to remind everybody yet again that Ninjago is more of a spiritual successor to BIONICLE than Hero Factory is. I do like some of Ninjago's sets, particularly the more Asian temples and such, but I'm not overly fond of the theme nor its show. Some of the criticism I hear about them does bother me though. I never got into it because I really couldn't take it seriously, which is fine, just not for me, but through working here for...many years (like middle-aged women, admins sometimes lie about how long they have been here) I have noticed that people have really been enthralled by the story. Which is great, but when they start to complain about how rumored and hypothetical plot points wouldn't make sense or how stupid it is that Ninja are flying planes. Apparently they missed the undead WWII biker skeletons driving tanks in the first episode, but whatever.numbersignramble

"I bet you smell as good as you taste..."

And then Legends of Chima deserves notice. It doesn't seem to have attracted very many fans, and the episodes are hilariously bad at times. I still laugh at Lavertus sleeping with a piece of Cragger's mother's clothing, and then Cragger waking up to have Lavertus hanging over him and breathing heavily. I'm not sure if they were implying that Lavertus, the surfer lion, is Cragger's father, or Lavertus...has a thing for all crocodiles. And that was just one episode. Sometimes I wonder what else I miss. Anyway, to be fair, or at least give the show creators the benefit of the doubt, Chima is probably aimed at a younger audience, so they didn't think things through too well. Either way, it's a lot of wasted potential. That may be another blog.

Between BIONICLE being canned back in 2010, introducing and experimenting with a great new system in Hero Factory, and learning what does and does not work in a story through BIONICLE, Ninjago, and Chima, I think that we could be in for something quite good. BIONICLE's story got pretty messy unless you were able to keep up with the movies, books, comics, serials, and podcasts, (and who was?) so I think that there will more than likely be a media tie-in, but it will be more concise, with the story being told through one or more of the following four things keep it easier to follow:

Online games: MNOG was a great tool for introducing fans into the world, and forums make me think it was pretty successful. More games like this could be a good way to keep the story in a single place which is easily accessible (LEGO.com). This could include other things on LEGO.com, but when LEGO includes story elements there, they haven't been too high quality in the past. Perhaps a series of web comics like on the old Orient Expedition site could work though.
A series of video games: This isn't something that LEGO has really done, but I think it could work. And besides, playing as the Toa would be amazing, even if it is with TT's regular mechanics.
A new TV show: Again, since Chima and Ninjago can coexist because of seemingly different targets, a BIONICLE cartoon could possibly be aimed at slightly older kids, not that Ninjago doesn't have adult appeal. Avatar: The Last Airbender and the DCAU come to mind as things I would like them to take influence from, especially the former. It doesn't have to be too dark, but I definitely want a strong story and well developed characters.
A theatrical movie: After the success of The LEGO Movie, a Ninjago film has been green lit. As a DC fan, I have been keeping an eye on Warner Bro's tent pole projects, and I know that since Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy and the Harry Potter saga have ended, WB is on the look out for new properties, and next to Ninjago, BIONICLE is probably their best bet from LEGO without making something new, or reinventing something else. There is no way a theatrical movie would be released in 2015, but LEGO and WB may want people thinking about BIONICLE again. Kind of like how Disney is releasing Rebels before Episode VI.

Through the telephone game, (so take this with a grain of salt) I heard that sometime before BIONICLE ended (though not too far before) LEGO received a pitch from some studio for a BIONICLE movie, but because of their contract with Tinsel Town studios, they would have to wait for the contract to expire before the movie could be released on DVD, so the deal fell through. I'll try and track down the origination of this (probably in some 300+ page thread on the LMBs or BZP), but I thought it seemed like an interesting note.

I assume this was a different pitch than the one which would have included Toa and Matoran meeting real children, because it seemed like LEGO was actually interested in pursuing this one, but again, that is just an assumption.

Anyway, it seems as though the 2015 release will be a reboot, which is the option I wanted most. I've never been a fan of distant sequels. Though I do want them to hit some familiar beats, like transforming the Toa Mata into the Toa Nuva and Takua into Takanuva, I don't care how they do it as long as it is enjoyable. Though I did like some of the developments in later years, I wasn't a big fan of a lot of them. Something never felt right about Jaller, Nuparu, Matoro, and the others becoming Toa. It probably didn't help that their masks were awful.

Once the story moved away from Mata Nui, it seemed to forget the Matoran. Though most of them were only developed through Mata Nui Online Game, that was probably the best thing to ever come out of LEGO.com this side of the shop. There were so many characters with untapped potential who we didn't get to see much of; Macku, Hafu, Kopeke, Taipu, Tamaru, Kapura (my new avatar), Onepu, Midak, and many others. Around half of those didn't even get sets, unfortunately. The Toa are cool, but the Matoran added a whole new layer to the story.

Setting the story on the island of Mata Nui was the best too. I did think that Voya Nui was kind of interesting and there wasn't anything wrong with Metru Nui, but nothing else really captured that cool tribal feel which really made the Toa and their world feel mystical. Maybe part of it was because the island really took the time to get fleshed out, being the setting for three years rather than just one. They could even stay there in this retelling, for all I care. The Matoran Universe secretly being Mata Nui's body isn't going to work a second time, so I say they should embrace the reboot and actually explore new directions. The Agori and Glatorian shouldn't appear either. That soft reboot did not work and really, did anyone care about them? I do want to feel familiar with things like the Toa, Matoran, and Mata Nui island, and would it be BIONICLE without Makuta showing up? But I say that they should not let the previous story hold them back; why else reboot it? I want them to go ahead and try new things. I won't care if Pohatu is black and yellow as long as he looks good, or if they desegregate Matoran genders (I don't want to get into this topic, but if Matoran gender is purely psychological, then why are entire tribes male and female? And why were there genders if the Matoran are asexual; the non-canon Macku/Hewkii relationship was adorable....), or if Metru Nui never existed and the Matoran actually came from the Red Star, or whatever. I don't write the story, and I'm not looking to, but I don't want to be like, Oh, BIONICLE 2017: Rahkshi, cool. I can't wait for the Toa Metru next year....

If we are going to get more police anyway, can it at least be like this?

I don't want to lay out a list of what a BIONICLE reboot should be, though I could probably be so specific that I would be disappointed when it turns out that these are Hero Factory characters trapped on Planet Halloween, but I do have expectations. Overall, those expectations are for this to be good. Yes, as a fan I might be a little disappointed if we don't see the Chronicler's Company or the setting actually isn't Mata Nui, but I believe that LEGO has learned some great things from their successes and failures with BIONICLE, Ninjago, Hero Factory, Legends of Chima, and The LEGO Movie, and I am thrilled that they are choosing to rechronicle the most epic and unique thing they have ever devised.* I think that LEGO has been pretty good about giving people what they don't know they want, unless we are talking about City, so I say gimme. And Mata Nui forbid it be bad, but I think that I am creative enough to design my own stories and plot threads for my favorite characters.

I would ask you what you are looking forward to, or what you hope LEGO does or does not do, but try to keep from levitating your expectations higher than Hafu's ego. Expectations are made to be broken.

*Besides Galidor, of course.

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CJCBricktastic

114 months ago

Score 0

Saddest thing you've ever seen is it raining during a soccer match? You must be living the dream Berry. And how is a raccoon drinking Coke sad? As long as its not my Coke, its cute surely.

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CJCBricktastic

114 months ago

Score 0

what's a klondike bar

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CJCBricktastic

117 months ago

Score 0

Well, if you consider its predecessors, at least Dimensions may sell more than 10 copies.

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BrickfilmNutBuilding Bigger

117 months ago

Score 0

Dang, I didn't realize you were updating this relatively regularly. I should check back more often. Glad I'm not the only one who thinks it'd be neat to see LEGO try and improve Time Cruisers and Galidor, and of course it'd be great to have Adventurers brought back. I still feel silly for how strong I insisted that Legends of Chima was going to be the equivalent of the Amazon subtheme, following Dino and Pharaoh's Quest.

On the topic of Dimensions, I'd love it if you can actually put original creations inside the game, and you are correct, the trailer did seem to imply that with the rebuilt Batmobile. I just don't want to get my hopes up because I don't see how it's technologically possible for the game to recognize it. There's no scanning feature like in Fusions, and though I could understand if the bricks were chipped or something, I believe someone said it was confirmed they are regular bricks. Now, this could be miscommunication of some sort, but otherwise, I'm not sure how it'd be done. Be sure to let me know if you have any theories, though. :P

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NovaHawkLegendary Brickipedian

117 months ago

Score 1

@Dimensions... huh. Honestly, I didn't even think of the Dimensions game itself being anything other than just another typical TT Games game, with the figures/mini-models being very expensive DLC character/vehicle add-ons. If it's something different, I might actually give this a look. I've only gotten last few LEGO games just see what all the minifigures could look like if they existed in real life, I'm so bored with the gameplay. Definitely won't be buying all the figures though.

(useless techincal note- if you change your Table of Contents links to remove the first bit, ie *[[User blog:Berrybrick/To Rant Or Not To Rant#Resurrections: It's my energy and I want to waste it now! 9/5/14|Resurrections: It's my money and I want to waste it now! - 9/5/14]] to just *[[#Resurrections: It's my energy and I want to waste it now! 9/5/14|Resurrections: It's my money and I want to waste it now! - 9/5/14]], it works as an actual skip link without having to reload the page when you click it. Or you could just use __TOC__ to place the table of contents in a specific place)

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BerrybrickLegendary Brickipedian

117 months ago

Score 0

Eh, if that's what you're into (me too, for the most part) I doubt that it will be worth it, since the number of playable characters seems so limited. I guess that they will need someone to populate the worlds though....

(Okay. I'll do that later.)