The Original Concept of Hero Factory

[Dr_Chronos]

http://faberfiles.bl...scontinued.html

A few days ago Faber posted a concept poster of Hero Factory during it's early stages of development. The description was later removed as Faber felt it was too emotional and that the development work should remain secret. However, thanks to a 4chan anon and a few board users, we have the full confirmed description which sheds some light on the IFB ending and the original concept of HF.

"The last HF episode "Invasion from below" became the most watched piece of content on LEGO's website the year it came out. At the same time it marked the end of the short life of Hero Factory. It was criticised for a lot of different reasons but here are a few personal views on this battered factory."

"Invasion from Below" was made on a very low budget by Advance and Ghost who made all the original Bionicle animations. The episode was a struggle because the storyline got changed dramatically during production. It was definitely ment to be continued because (of cause) the Queen wasn't gone and the case wasn't closed for HF. The voice actor changes was done for budget reasons because we didn't have budget for the the original voice actors."

"Having worked on both Bionicle and HF from the very beginning I can tell you that the work that went into creating the HF universe was much more deep than the early foundation of Bionicle. We wanted to use all we had learned from Bionicle but make something that was really different from Bionicle yet as epic and big and therefore we created what we called a "realtime IP" meaning that this was not a legend, it was actually happening now somewhere in another galaxy. We wanted to mirror present day but in a tech build-up. In some way inspired by the humor of The Incredibles by Pixar."

"The backstory of HF is extremely deep and epic and hold secrets that were never used. They are still in the huge concept bible that I keep. I hope to get to show them and do a extensive blogpost about HF and it's creation on this blog when the time is right. A last note is that Hero Factory was only meant as a location springboard into this vast story universe and the story was meant to get much more personal when the real truth about the factory was discovered. The idea of a factory that builds cocky heros made to specifications was actually a provocation to the whole legendary hero story we had told in Bionicle. The real hero would be found somewhere else...:) to be continued..."

Here's the poster depicting a rather superhero-esque robot. Personally it gives me a Rachet and Clank vibe for some reason.

Like a lot of other fans I viewed Hero Factory as a mountain of unused potential, and after reading what it *really* could have been those feelings have been amplified by 11. A story and universe that could have been even stronger than Bionicle combined with incredible creative freedom just really hurts as a lost opportunity. I have to wonder if a similar situation happened with Bionicle G2.

Discuss what you think on what HF almost was.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Dr_Chronos
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[Kalhiki]

This makes my heart ache.

I loved Hero Factory as-is probably more-so than I did Bionicle. It was fun, creative, and open to the imagination. But hearing what it could have been. Ouch. So sad that things didn't pan out.

The Factory having a secret truth? The real Hero not being from the Factory? I really hope we hear more of this, but seeing as the description was deleted, I'm not sure if we'll ever get to...

And now I want Hero Factory G2 to be a thing...

On a side note, I'm glad they ditched that Hero design. The sets we got are, like, a bazillion times better.

[BrickJagger]

Furno looks pretty awful in that image, but the text seems to have been removed unfortunately.

The dog is pretty funny.

[DuckBricks]

Wow. HF had so much misused potential.... I don't remember feeling any sadness for the line's end, especially with Gen2 around the corner. Now I do.

[Logan McOwen]

Yeah, this is immeasurably intriguing. I for one am getting somewhat back into HF now.

[DraikNova]

A lot of that actually seems rather boring to me. I mean, I wish they had continued with HF, but not like that.

[Mesonak]

I always figured there had to be more to HF. I had a hard time believing that the successor to BIONICLE would truly feature such an uninteresting storyline. What happened to HF is very sad, but it's also emblematic of the larger issues surrounding Lego's constraction themes nowdays, and it parallels very nicely iwth BIONICLE G2's cancellation.

Think about it: a theme with very cool sets and some excellent designs, but hampered by a very low budget, a small amount of marketing, and a story that was cut down before it had a chance to fully develop. If i had to wager, that may be why Faber initially posted this at this particular time; showing us that history has repeated itself, in a way.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Mesonak

[JekPorkchops]

Would really like to find out that secret.

I have recently wondered about the principle of a factory that builds heroes. This cannot be done, a being needs to do something first to become a Hero. I only thought about a moment in the story in which the heroes were faced with this problem (as the public became more skeptical about the organisation) and that they needed to prove that they weren't just designed to be like that, but that they could actually be heroic.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

I always figured there had to be more to HF. I had a hard time believing that the successor to BIONICLE would truly feature such an uninteresting storyline. What happened to HF is very sad, but it's also emblematic of the larger issues surrounding Lego's constraction themes nowdays, and it parallels very nicely iwth BIONICLE G2's cancellation.

Think about it: a theme with very cool sets and some excellent designs, but hampered by a very low budget, a small amount of marketing, and a story that was cut down before it had a chance to fully develop. If i had to wager, that may be why Faber initially posted this at this particular time; showing us that history has repeated itself, in a way.

It is quite concerning how this is a common theme. It would appear LEGO misunderstood the drop in G1's sales and attributed it to story, at least that's how it appears. They've dropped the ball with both HF and G2, biggest problem I had with HF is that they never expanded the story. They'd build up to cliffhangers then drop the plotline by next year rendering the line meaningless.

To paraphrase IDS5621 from good ol' YouTube, the Bohrok sold much better than any villain as a whole wave, despite essentially being six of the exact same set save for colour and shield differences, because the story was compelling enough to warrent it. That and they were cheap, but that's besides the point. You couldn't do that with most other sets like that, so it's not unreasonable to say it's a testament to the strength of G1's early story.

Apologies if this went slightly OT, but I feel it's something important to note down given recent events and information.

[TwistLaw]

As time passes it becomes harder and harder to defend the LEGO company. They had two great IPs for constraction and they really didn't know what to do with them, especially during this decade.

We may very well be living the last year of constraction as an autonomous theme, and LEGO still thinks the fault is in the kids. This makes me sad and angry, but there's really nothing I can do about it.

One thing is sure, without a doubt: if constraction is gone for good, the biggest responsibility is held by LEGO itself.

And by the way the "overcomplicated story" has always been a ridiculously exaggerated fault, in my humble opinion. Europe always got little to no story material and yet the sets sold extremely well here too. We had no MNOLG, no books, no comics, and we still loved the heck out of BIONICLE.

We've all seen how a "simplified story" resonated with kids, two times in a row. If it will ever be given another chance to constraction, they really need to change their priorities.

[Onepu the Protector]

Well, while HF failed to live up to its potential, it didn't exactly fail as a LEGO theme - it lasted for four and half a year, which isn't that bad for a LEGO line.

BIONICLE G2, on the other hand...

Edited August 17, 2016 by Onepu the Protector

[PicnicBasketSam]

That concept art looks like it's for an animated movie rather than a toyline. Still... oh, the wasted potential of this stuff...

However, if they were to do CCBS Exo Force G2, I'd be all over that.

[Leewan]

It's truly a shame to see such a wasted potential (for both HF and BioG2). However, I don't think this apparent lack of investment in the story from Lego is really because they don't have enough faith in constraction. At least not entirely. I rather feel they fear constraction themes would directly compete with their big bang IPs if they had a more developed story. They certainly invest a lot in additional content (commercials, video games / apps, TV shows) for Ninjago, Legends of Chima, or Nexo Knights, and they want a return on investment. Which is logical, and it would be ridiculous to blame a commercial company for wanting to earn money. I wouldn't be surprised it that meant limiting the depth of the stories of other IPs that needed a lesser investment, especially when it's a constraction theme, which belongs to a niche market, and thus wouldn't make profits as easily as a system-based theme.

That concept art looks like it's for an animated movie rather than a toyline.

I think it's intentional. Faber said it himself : " We wanted to mirror present day but in a tech build-up. In some way inspired by the humor of The Incredibles by Pixar."

[Aanchir]

Think about it: a theme with very cool sets and some excellent designs, but hampered by a very low budget, a small amount of marketing, and a story that was cut down before it had a chance to fully develop. If i had to wager, that may be why Faber initially posted this at this particular time; showing us that history has repeated itself, in a way.

I don't see how anybody could claim that Hero Factory had a low budget, let alone a small amount of marketing? I mean, maybe by the end it did. But for its first wave in 2010 — which was not even a full year of sets — it got four twelve-page comics (drawn by the same artist as the first Bionicle comics, no less), 15 sets with 31 new parts, at least two online games, a twelve-episode "Hero Factory FM" podcast, and a four-episode TV series. That's 88 minutes of animation, longer than ANY of the Bionicle movies, and twice the length of the 2011 LEGO Ninjago TV special! They even set up a call center to take live phone calls from Hero Factory fans, some of which they then featured in the podcast.

It's true that there were no books for Hero Factory in its first two years (in the United States, at least — I think Poland may have had a couple), but the same could be said for G1 Bionicle. Hero Factory got a pretty substantial promotional campaign prior to its launch, including a detailed teaser site and a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. And Hero Factory was supported with contributions from some of the same people and agencies who made Bionicle G1 what it was: artists like Christian Faber, writers like Greg Farshtey and designers like Christoffer Raundahl.

LEGO clearly invested a huge amount in Hero Factory. And that huge investment was apparently not rewarded the way they hoped it would be. I guarantee you it was no accident that Hero Factory's marketing profile and number of sets per wave got smaller in year two (and each year after that), instead of bigger as happened with Bionicle G1, LEGO Ninjago, or LEGO Friends. 88 minutes of TV episodes in 2010 to 66 minutes in 2011 to 44 minutes in 2012 to 22 minutes in 2013. Four comic issues written and drawn in 2010 to three in 2011 to two in 2012 (some of which didn't even see hard-copy publication). Fifteen sets per wave in 2010 to eleven per wave in 2011 to nine per wave in 2012 to seven and a half per wave in 2013 and 2014. This is not a theme that LEGO never invested sufficiently in — it's a theme that, in spite of a huge upfront investment, never performed well enough to justify the same investment each year as the year prior.

Honestly, I often hear people say things about how G2 Bionicle should have been handled — more people from the original Bionicle team, a broadcast TV series starting in year one, detailed character bios and backstories, a series of free comics in the LEGO Club Magazine, more story-driven online games, less marketing targeted toward adult nostalgia, impulse-priced sets for the main protagonists, etc. — and all I can think is "Hero Factory. You literally just described Hero Factory." But it didn't work the way LEGO hoped back then, so is it any surprise that LEGO was in no hurry to promote Bionicle G2 using the exact same strategies? Is it any surprise they decided to go back to the drawing board and approach the Bionicle reboot from a decidedly different direction? As much as some people would like to believe Bionicle G2 failed due to being "Hero Factory by a different name", many people's best suggestions for what Bionicle G2 should have done differently are the exact same strategies that Hero Factory used in the first place!

Edited August 18, 2016 by Aanchir

[Mesonak]

I don't see how anybody could claim that Hero Factory had a low budget, let alone a small amount of marketing? I mean, maybe by the end it did.

Well, the current discussion is revolving around HF's end and the mistakes that were made with the theme, so yes, the state of theme upon its cancellation is what I tend to focus on during that conversation. HF wasn't unsuccessful; it lasted for five years, and a lot of that can likely be attributed to the strong media push that you speak of in your post at the start. Every year, though, the amount of advertising got smaller and smaller. Set waves decreased in size, comics stopped being produced, the TV specials decreased in length every year, sets stopped being pushed as heavily in Lego magazines, etc. Sure, as you point out, that likely happened becuase the return was not proportional to the amount of money invested, but one could argue that had HF remained consistent with its advertising and kept its original budget, it perhaps could have elevated itself to a greater quality standard and left more of a lasting impression on people instead of going out with a somewhat unmemorable finale and the feeling that the theme had been gutted (which, per Faber's own admission, is basically what happened considering the low budget surrounding Invasion from Below.)

Edited August 18, 2016 by Mesonak

[The Outsider]

Would really like to find out that secret.

I have recently wondered about the principle of a factory that builds heroes. This cannot be done, a being needs to do something first to become a Hero. I only thought about a moment in the story in which the heroes were faced with this problem (as the public became more skeptical about the organisation) and that they needed to prove that they weren't just designed to be like that, but that they could actually be heroic.

Personally, that was always an issue I had with that line: the fact that these were Heroes because they were built to be heroes, and likewise for the villains. It didn't help matters that a few later villains were somewhat justified in their actions (the Fire Villains were driven insane by a poorly-designed upgrade - from Hero Factory, no less! - and the Beasts were defending their territory like any normal animal) while the Heroes would sometimes have rather unheroic behavior (Evo wondering if he should destroy eggs from Toxic Reapa's species - which Furno stopped because he could hatch them - and Alpha Team celebrating bringing the Beasts to near-extinction).

Some of the books, however, seemed to be on to something: showing that Heroes could sometimes go bad, and that there's more to what you are than where and how you're made.

EDIT: from re-reading the original post, it seems that was the idea all along:

"A last note is that Hero Factory was only meant as a location springboard into this vast story universe and the story was meant to get much more personal when the real truth about the factory was discovered. The idea of a factory that builds cocky heros made to specifications was actually a provocation to the whole legendary hero story we had told in Bionicle. The real hero would be found somewhere else...:)"

Edited August 18, 2016 by The Outsider

[JekPorkchops]

What if the secret was the semi-typical 'good person/organisation was bad all along'. Not that original, but it would give HF a lot more depth.

What if Mr Makuro was actually evil? He could plan to get the entire galaxy under his authorisation over time. Assisting in this task would be the seemingly good Heroes, as they could be considered as a galactic police force. Secretly, they could be designed to be Makuro's army to stop any rival groups and tribes (the other Villains). It could explain why Furno and Evo, while programmed to be nice guys, have no real sense of morality, as The Outsider stated.

Also, the Fire Villains could have been purposefully created by the HF, instead of it being an accident, so that the Heroes could stop them and seem heroic (and it would warrant the Upgrade).

[Lyichir]

What if the secret was the semi-typical 'good person/organisation was bad all along'. Not that original, but it would give HF a lot more depth.

What if Mr Makuro was actually evil? He could plan to get the entire galaxy under his authorisation over time. Assisting in this task would be the seemingly good Heroes, as they could be considered as a galactic police force. Secretly, they could be designed to be Makuro's army to stop any rival groups and tribes (the other Villains). It could explain why Furno and Evo, while programmed to be nice guys, have no real sense of morality, as The Outsider stated.

Also, the Fire Villains could have been purposefully created by the HF, instead of it being an accident, so that the Heroes could stop them and seem heroic (and it would warrant the Upgrade).

See, not only does that sort of storyline lack originality, I would dispute the idea that it would add any substantial depth. It's a cheap twist, nothing more, substituting shock value for any sort of meaningful revelation or nuanced storytelling.

If anything, the actual books we DID get explored things with a great deal more depth and nuance. The question typically raised was not whether the Factory was "good" or "evil" but rather whether the Factory's goals were achievable and realistic—was a centralized peacekeeping force a practical goal, or did directly engaging the lawless elements of the galaxy directly create more chaos and uncertainty than there had been in the first place?

Edited August 19, 2016 by Lyichir

[Aanchir]

What if the secret was the semi-typical 'good person/organisation was bad all along'. Not that original, but it would give HF a lot more depth.

What if Mr Makuro was actually evil? He could plan to get the entire galaxy under his authorisation over time. Assisting in this task would be the seemingly good Heroes, as they could be considered as a galactic police force. Secretly, they could be designed to be Makuro's army to stop any rival groups and tribes (the other Villains). It could explain why Furno and Evo, while programmed to be nice guys, have no real sense of morality, as The Outsider stated.

Also, the Fire Villains could have been purposefully created by the HF, instead of it being an accident, so that the Heroes could stop them and seem heroic (and it would warrant the Upgrade).

IMO that's basically the most obnoxious kind of plot twist out there: the kind that gives you time to get to know and like a cast of characters before revealing that everything you liked about them was a ruse. Sort of like the stupid "Velika is an immoral mass murderer" plot twist from Bionicle G1. More than anything else, inviting fans to like and root for a character then having a reveal like that is just an easy way to make those fans feel like garbage. Frankly, Hero Factory is a far superior story if one-off gaffes like that exchange between Furno and Evo are just what they are at face value: sloppy writing, not sadistic writing.

Moreover, setting up clues for years before having a plot twist can be made to work. However, it shouldn't be done in a way that makes everything that led up to it feel like a waste. The 2008 reveal that Mata Nui was a giant robot cast some previous things in a different light, but it didn't make the small messages or the big messages of the previous story arcs any less authentic. If the 2008 story ended with the revelation that the events of all the previous years were "all just a dream" and that none of it had actually happened, the audience would understandably feel cheated. And if it had ended by revealing that every good thing that had ever happened in the story was actually bad and every bad thing that had happened was actually good… then that would be just gross disrespect to the audience.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Aanchir

[JekPorkchops]

Very good points about the cheap shock value. I know it isn't original and I stated that. I meant that it could've added a lot more depth than the existing 'heroic heroes battling villanous villains' (though I was unaware of the dilemma's in the books).

It's just that there wasn't really a linear story after a while, with all of the unsolved cliffhangers and what not, and that's why such a sporadic twist might be a thing. It doesn't really take a dump on existing material.

In my version, the heroes of Alpha team are going up against the other teams and Makuro. There isn't really anything in the show that makes you root for Makuro. He just seems like a good ol' guy who founded it all, but this could be deceiving (not that it has to).

Just throwing out some ideas.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Very good points about the cheap shock value. I know it isn't original and I stated that. I meant that it could've added a lot more depth than the existing 'heroic heroes battling villanous villains' (though I was unaware of the dilemma's in the books).

It's just that there wasn't really a linear story after a while, with all of the unsolved cliffhangers and what not, and that's why such a sporadic twist might be a thing. It doesn't really take a dump on existing material.

In my version, the heroes of Alpha team are going up against the other teams and Makuro. There isn't really anything in the show that makes you root for Makuro.

Hate to beat a dead horse but the whole point of Hero Factory was to sorta dial things back a notch in terms of that stuff. Granted the neverending cliffhangers were an issue in my opinion which seem to have stemmed from LEGO's fear of any sizeable narrative since G1. Thing is Hero Factory's weakness in terms of story can also be seen as a strength where any character is canon seeing as sky's the limit.

In terms of twists, something like that would just invalidate fan's purchases and foster bitterness and cynicism for future projects, kinda like another ending we know, but hey, that's that.

[Onepu the Protector]

Why does Bionicle fanbase seem so obsessed with the idea of the 'archetypical elderly mentor being secretly evil all along' revelation? I can't help feeling like they imply this kind of twist every time a local mentor figure happens to be harsh or secretive...

[Lord-Vorahk]

Probably because Dume being Makuta in disguise was a pretty big thing in 04.

Also, the Ekimu theory spawned because Makuta's jealously was pretty well-justified. Ekimu got mountains of praise and adoration for, basically, using his magic mask to make the same identical villager mask over and over again, while Makuta used his actual skills to make different ones and got ignored. He then gets possessed and corrupted by the MoUP, but Ekimu spends all of 2015's latter half talking about how it's all definitely Makuta's fault and he is super-duper evil.

[Onepu the Protector]

Dume was a red and black jerk who owned a giant vulture and used it as a pet/spy. There's hardly any twist to him being evil in one way or another. I'd even go as far as to say that the only thing that was remotely surprising in this case was the fact that he was being impersonated, instead of being flat-out evil. The actual twist here was that a character who seemed obviously evil was revealed to be a good guy.

And while Makuta's jealousy might've been justified, it doesn't make unleashing bloodthirsty monsters to attack innocent villagers any more forgivable. Ekimu might've seemed somewhat morally ambigous due to the bad writing but at least he didn't command an army of sick abominations like Makuta did. I know Bionicle always seemed to have that unwritten rule saying that most of the time when there's some kind of conflict, war or danger, everyone is fine, unless stated otherwise... But I find it hard to believe the Skull Spiders and the Beasts were so utterly ineffectual that there weren't any casualties among the Okotans.

To me, it seems that the Bionicle fans are just being desperate for any kind of shocking revelation. There's nothing wrong with wanting the story to be deeper but unpredictability alone doesn't make for a good plot twist.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Onepu the Protector

[Quisoves Pugnat]

Why does Bionicle fanbase seem so obsessed with the idea of the 'archetypical elderly mentor being secretly evil all along' revelation? I can't help feeling like they imply this kind of twist every time a local mentor figure happens to be harsh or secretive...

Methinks it's to do with a thinness of character where Ekimu and Makuhero are concerned. It makes them more interesting, if only by suggesting hidden depths.