Invitation to give input to new LEGO Play Themes

[CopMike]

The Ambassadors got this from Tormod Askildsen, Head of LEGO Community Development.

Read this through carefully before answering, use the set-up in red at the bottom of this post !

"Hello LEGO Ambassadors!

My name is Phil McCormick; I am a Senior Designer at the LEGO Group working within a small concept group specializing in new theme generation.

We are looking for new LEGO set opportunities within the Play Themes line-up. Play Themes are sets involving characters and stories, where the minifigure always plays a key role. The big theme this year is Power Miners. Some sets from the past include: Agents, Aqua Raiders, Exoforce, and Mars Mission. Usually the stories are conflict-based (good vs. bad) and revolve around treasures or missions. The stories that accompany Play Theme sets help spark the imaginations of our target group: boys aged 7-9.

Currently we are in an “insight phase,” gathering inspiration for the next big Play Themes opportunity and we would really like your input. We hope to involve you as much as possible for the next few months as we take in the ideas. Please submit ideas for themes as detailed below. Limit your words to a few sentences; we encourage you to submit pictures, drawings, MOCs, to accompany each story. Feel free to involve your greater fan community at this point--the more ideas the better.

Things we do look for:

-Simple, well understood themes (Usually, placing a “twist” on a known universe works well).

-Unique Model expression, or play experience to accompany the set.

Things we do not look for:

-Castle, or IP (Star Wars/ Indiana Jones/ Sponge Bob/ etc…). They each have devoted project teams which are separate from us.

The deadline for submissions is Jan 12, 2009; but we do encourage you to post earlier. Thanks and we look forward to your input!

Create a new, never-before-seen, LEGO Play Theme! (Place words and images under the following categories)

Theme Name (something short and catchy):

Characters (who is good and bad guys?):

Conflict (why do they fight, and what do they fight over?):

Setting (where does the story take place?):

Background Info (if relevant):"

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Use these different categories:

Theme Name (something short and catchy):

Characters (who is good and bad guys?):

Conflict (why do they fight, and what do they fight over?):

Setting (where does the story take place?):

Background Info (if relevant)

Keep to the categories above, keep it short and let your imagination run free !

CopMike

[Ecto]

Theme Name (something short and catchy): LEGO Rome

Characters (who is good and bad guys?): Romans and Gladiators are the Good Guys, the Monsters of Greek/Roman Myths are the bad guys.

Conflict (why do they fight, and what do they fight over?): They can fight in the arena, over treasure, in a labyrinth, etc.

Setting (where does the story take place?): Ancient Rome (with a more magical/mythical setting).

Background Info (if relevant): Gritty sets with warriors and lots of minifigures, treasure, fictional and actual locations.

[kill will]

Theme name: Hot Pursuit

Characters: Police and robbers

Conflict: Robbers stealing cars, robbing banks, etc.

Setting: Lego City

Background Info: Vehicle based theme, from small trike chases to semi-truck pursuit, with small gates or other obstructions to dodge.

Summary: A town subtheme that's vehicle based!

[Snake...SNAKE...SNAAAAKE?!]

theme name: Lego Cowboys (We knew it was going to happen)

Characters: The Bandits, the Sheriff, the town's people, The Town Ghost

Conflict: Justice (and Treasure too!)

Setting: a railway junction town

Background info: The Bandits ruled this town. Justice came. Will it stay?

You decide!

(Klaus Dieter going to love this one)

[VBBN]

Theme Name: The Gladiator Wars

Characters: Fighters of different tribes

Conflict: Battling for power

Setting: The different eras of earth.

Background Info: Basicly, each set has 2 or more figures dressed in armor fighting. They are in the different eras of earth, mainly the jungle, rainforest, volcanic range, ancient Rome, etc. Sets can be from a volcanic base to a Colesium.

[Light Light]

Theme name: Monster Mayhem

Characters: Monsters (Made up creatures, not like Vampires or Mummies) and The Hunters

Conflict: Monsters terrorizing villages

Setting: The Middle Ages

Background Info: More playset based, with one or 2 vehicles (like a carriage). Nothing like the Monster Studio sets. A plot would be a mysterious rise in sitings and attacks of strange creatures, which are eventually linked to a warlock who is controlling them in order to conquer. The Hunters, who are each equipped with different weapons (like a sword, crossbow, or spells), set out to capture the creatures and put an end to the evil warlock's plans.

[hollisbrick]

target group: boys aged 7-9.

Yet they ask us Yay

I got a couple of Greek ideas. Mainly to do with Mythology

Theme Name (something short and catchy): Greek adventures!, Monsters Vs. Man

Characters (who is good and bad guys?): The Good guys would be the men. And the monsters would be the monsters. The monsters would be Greek Mythological (is that a word?) creatures like the Hydra, Centaurs, Cyclopes, Medusa, Dragons and the Cerberus (three headed dog) etc.

Conflict (why do they fight, and what do they fight over?): The men/heroes try to get all the secret treasure thats all over the land of Greece. But the Monsters are garding these treasures.

Setting (where does the story take place?):Ancient Greece

Background Info (if relevant):

Theme Name (something short and catchy):Gods of Greece

Characters (who is good and bad guys?): Bit similar to my last idea, except the Bad Greek gods or maybe just hades. Hades

In Greek mythology, Hades (the "unseen"), the god of the underworld, was a son of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea. He had three sisters, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera, as well as two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon his older brothers, the six of them were Olympian gods.

The titans and the sisters could also be the sub-bad guys (like henchmen almost) Anyway these bad guys will be the ones controlling the monsters which I mentioned before.

Conflict (why do they fight, and what do they fight over?): Treasure and or the controll of Greece

Setting (where does the story take place?):Greece and the under world

Background Info (if relevant):

But really any mythology theme would be great, I just have a soft spot for that europe type

[hollisbrick]

Edit: Sorry about that, can some one delete please

Edited December 17, 2008 by hollisbrick

[Adam]

Theme Name (something short and catchy): Steampunk (can vary)

Characters (who is good and bad guys?): Good: The various [lumberjacks] mechanics, pilots, and engineers that run the machinery; bad: mythical monsters, like the Vikings monsters on a smaller, more "brick built" scale

Conflict (why do they fight, and what do they fight over?): 1) Mines, and the various treasures inside them cause baddies to invade 2) they protect a sort of sky city as these monster things invade

Setting (where does the story take place?): Rough terrain and open sky, forests where lumberjacks reside

Background Info (if relevant): This theme goes along the lines of the Adventurers and Johnny Thunder play themes, but with that steam and lumber jacking aspect that so many like to MOC about

Theme Name (something short and catchy): Mythology

Characters (who is good and bad guys?): Good: gladiators, Greek/Roman heroes + demigods, sometimes the kings of areas and "good" gods; bad: the evil monsters that roam mythology, such as the Minotoar and Cerberus (including some of the "bad" gods and soldiers)

Conflict (why do they fight, and what do they fight over?): Control of Mt. Olympus

Setting (where does the story take place?): Mt. Olympus and surrounding areas (Greece and Rome)

Background Info (if relevant)

hollisbrick, we heard you the first time.

[Darth_Dracus]

Theme Name: Lego Future Agents

Characters: The same villains as the recent Agents sets, but with a new generation of Agents.

Conflict: Dr. Inferno and his old minions (and a few new ones) come back from seclusion to plan their revenge. Now it's up to an aged Agent Chase to train the new recruits and save the city.

Setting: All around the world, but mainly in a futuristic city. The weapons are more high tech and there are hovering cars, robots, etc.

Backround Info: Focusing on vehicles, new minifig faces and a new color scheme for the Agents (I like black).

Edited December 17, 2008 by Darth_Dracus

[dewback]

Theme Name (something short and catchy): LEGOLYMPIC

Characters (who is good and bad guys?): Athletes from different villages (eg. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow...)

Conflict (why do they fight, and what do they fight over?): They are battling for trophies and medals.

Setting (where does the story take place?): Not like the Real life Olympic Games, they will play events in the wild conditions like jungles, ocean, cliff...

Background Info (if relevant): The athletes from different ancient villages will play 10 events like "Throwing boulders", "Diving Cliffs", "Climbing Palm trees", "Falling trees", "Digging holes"... whatever you can think of which is competitive. And the player costumes will be Tarzan like or Island types, just as raw as possible.

[AgentRick]

Theme name: Space Fleet Empires

Characters(more or less teams/armies):Avalons, Extracts, Invaders, Optricts, Univents

Conflict: five different armies across space must battle it out using fierce fighters and battleships!

Setting:The final frontier

Background Info: Could be dumbed down to have two warring armies if minifigs are included with just minifig fighters, or just a general space theme.

[LEGOMAN132]

Theme name:Air power

Conflict: None

Background A mini figure scale theme showing the history of flight there are tons of Aircraft that could be done and as a bonus you get a fact card with each set. And some exclusive sets could be a Zeppelin Or Russian Ekraneplan also known as the Caspian sea monster.

Edited December 17, 2008 by LEGOMAN132

[phillip]

Theme Name: Lego alien

Characters: Alien commander aliens humans leeches FBI Agents

Conflict: In space the aliens want to come to destroy the planet and the humans must fight back

Setting: Space lego eaRTH

Background: MARS Jungles Citys

[Mocha]

Theme Name: Wild West

Characters : Sheriff, Outlaws, cowboys

Conflict: the Outlaws have broken out of jail and the Sheriff and the colonial soldiers (Guys in blue coats) have to stop them.

Setting: old wooden buildings, dessert, small town

Theme Name: Amazon

Characters: A team of researchers, A team of grave robbers and Achu (from earlyer adventurer sets)

Conflict:the reseachers are tying to find the sun disc before the grave robbers unlock its secret power.

Setting: Jungle, aztec pyramids, secret rooms and doors

Background Info: the good guys try and get the sun disc before the grave robbers. the good guys have to dodge traps, escape the ancient undead aztecs, and save the ancient treasures from the grave robbers.

Theme Name: Aztecs

Characters: Aztec chief, aztec civilians, and aztec warriars

Conflict: aztecs vs wild animals

Setting: jungle/ aztec city, aztec pyrimids,

Background Info: The aztecs fight off wild animals and other groups of people (mians?) and also search for tresure.

Too much?

[M'Kyuun]

Theme name: Terra-Formers

Characters: Terra-Formers, galactic "green thumbs" making space rocks habitable for eons / Cy-Bergs, cybernetic humanoids who will collect and haul anything, for a price

Conflict: The Terra-Formers and Cy-Bergs battle for control of Vernare, a planet made of Legonium 17 , a powerful bio-crystal. The Cy-Bergs are determined to get it using their high-tech "realistic" transforming vehicles (ex: shuttle, jet, cargo truck to humanoid robots). Determined to protect this resource, the Terra-Formers create biomechanical transforming vehicles (ex: tank to rhinocerous, fighter jet to wasp, etc). Pushed to the edge, will the Terra-Formers become cold hearted Cy-Bergs themselves?

Setting: Earth-like and rocky planets (crater plates) with habitat domes, atmospheric generators for the Terra-Formers, greenhouses, etc / Industrial or Gothic spire like towers on an icy planet, everything non-organic and mechanical, centered around cargo processing and transport.

Background: The Terra-Formers use Legonium 17, transluscent red, green, and blue crystals discovered eons ago on a secret planet, to power their vehicles and machines to create atmosphere and plant life on dead planets. But now their secret has been discovered by the Cy-Bergs, who want to plunder the crystals to make their planet, Frigidus, lush again, as well as powering their machines. The peaceful Terra-Formers, in combatting this threat, begin to cyberize themselves to pilot their new transformable machines to fight the Cybergs' own.

Edited December 17, 2008 by M'Kyuun

[Captain Green Hair]

Theme Name: industrial warriors

Characters: Proffesor warwick and henchman(bad guy), gearhead and friends (good guys)

Conflict: Proffesor Warwick is making machines and plans to take over the world, Gearhead and his friends try to stop him.

Setting: the industrial age, this would be a steampunkish theme, but could also fit in the wild west and what not. (difference in settings possible.)

Background Info: think about movies like the leageu of extra ordinary gentleman and wild west with Will Smith.

[Whittleberry]

Theme Name : LEGO Aviators

Characters : Good guys: peaceful sky-merchants, sky-police and civillians Bad guys:Evil sky-pirates who pillage and plunder for riches

Conflict The pirates try to steal the merchants' goods and gold, while the Sky Police try to capture the pirates to bring them to justice

Setting In the skies above a futuristic Earth

Background Info : This will be a steampunk-style theme, with futuristic flying vehicles like these:http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3037/2680580990_e7088a51f5_o.jpg

[legokuate]

Theme Name: Dino-Wars

Characters: Kull the bad caveman. Balla and Lipo the good guys.

Conflict: Kull want to rule the world and dominate all the Dinosaurs. He needs to take control of the Kiltro Stone that made the Dinosaurs obey humans. He still manage to control some carnivorous Dinosaurs using hostage manners.

Setting: It's a time were it takes future machinery and technology in a prehistoric world.

Background Info: Humans and Dinosaurs live in peace together. Dinousars are used as vehicules of war. Triceratop with exo-eskeleton armour and plasma cannons. T-Rex with tyrydium claws and laser guns.

Just imagine it!!!! , remember UTOPIA???

[Paulie]

Theme Name: Halo or Halo Wars

Character:Good guys the humans and the Bad guys just the grunts and the elites

Conflict: The Coventant(grunts and elites) have attacked earth. The humans are there to defend it.

Setting: It is on earth in the future.

Background info: The coventant are looking for something on earth so the humans have to stop the coventant and kick them off there planet. No flood or brutes it needs to be as simply as you can make it.

[Oswald the Rabbit]

Theme Name: Animal Protectors

Characters:Good: An Elite Squad sworn to Protect the safety of animals all over earth. Bad: Poachers and those that capture the animals for profit.And of course the animals which would be MOLDED!!!

Conflict: Poachers have abducted animals all over the world for the mysterious collector. It is up to the good guys to save them and release them.

Setting: All over the world, Asia, Africa, South America, North America, Australia...etc.Bac

Backgroud info: The squad noticed animals missing over the globe and have sworn to return them to safety and take down the culprits. Animals could help out the people, Have cool poacher vehicles and sets to catch things.

[gylman]

Theme Name: Adventurers in the Old West

Characters: Johnny Thunder, Pippin Reed, Professor whathisname, Senor Palomar, Sam Sinister, assorted good guy Indian dudes who help Johnny, various henchmen

Conflict: The map to the Lost Dutchman Gold mine has to be found, and then the mine entered and explored to find some golden treasure.

Justification for this theme:

1) Adventurers is a known LEGO theme that has some very loyal fans.

2) It is play and humor based, and appeals to girls more than most LEGO themes because of the strong female character, as well as the humor. My two girls LOVED the Adventurers and still play with them more than any other themes

3) Use of these characters and a Western theme will minimize the number of new molds that have to be created because you have lots of elements to use from past Adventurers and past Western sets.

4) Licensing and gear production for Adventurers is well established and would not require rolling out a whole new line

5) Old West is a classic play theme that has been neglected by TLC in the past decade.

6) It would be easy to incorporate a train into this series.

7) A mine set is one that has not been made by TLC before, and might somehow mesh with elements used in "power miners".

8) No licensing fees

Bottom line is you don't have to reinvent the wheel, it's probably the lowest cost-to-start-up new theme you could make because it recycles lots of LEGO history, and the product would appeal to a broad spectrum of kids (and AFOLs) including girls.

[winbrant]

Theme Name: Civilizations

Characters: One or two time travelers and, dependent on the civilization of the release, thinking Aztecs, Egyptians, Cavepeople, Babylonians, Vikings, etc...

Conflict: If there needs to be one rather than exploratory, maybe a race (against evil guys) to collect items from different civilizations to bring back to the future to unlock "a great truth"

Setting: All over...and dependent on release...maybe Ancient Egypt sets for one release, Ancient Rome for another...

Background Info: This would need to be tied into some ongoing comic or something for backstory but the general premise is that 2 individuals have come upon the means to travel through time. Initially I'm envisioning a exploratory adventure (i.e. visit new civilizations and dress the part) but a sub-theme could be added where they must collect items from the past to unlock "something".

Ancient Egypt could include sets ranging from small chariots and bazaar stands to temples or small pyramids...the artifact here could be a golden cat or something, which could be randomly distributed among the sets...(ratio 4 out of 5) to add a hunt component. The next release could be sets surrounding Ancient Rome with small shops and temples...

Yes, needs some more work but I think you can get the idea!

PS. and not like that Time-twisters theme back in the 90s...the concentration here would be on the Civilizations visited and not vehicles.

PPS. And when those are covered they can move forward and visit other Cultures....Oriental, Wild West,...

[jansued]

Theme Name: Eco Force

Characters:

Good guys: Paramilitary Organisation somewhere between Greenpeace, National Guard and Fire Department

Bad Guys: Pollutors, illegal hunter/fisher, all kind of eco-terrorists

Conflict:

In the sign of the climate change, the UN mobilized an multinational force to fight against all symptoms of global warming: forest fires, flooding, pollution, etc.

Sets:

Eco Force:

Ship to contain oil spills

Water bomber and fire fighting tank for forest fires

amphibiuos truck for floodings

ATV with guards to protect animal wildlife

etc.

Bad guys:

Very old oil tanker

Amored Dump trucks w Weapons

Pyro-Quad

Background:

Politcally very correct....

Greetings., Jan

[Tenoch]

Theme Name : THE NEW WORLD

Characters : Incas or Aztecs vs Conquistadors.

Incas/Aztecs : king, priests, villagers, and warriors.

Conquistadors : leaders and their soldiers, horses and cannons.

Conflict : the conquistadors are fighting for fortune and power but the natives, protected by the nature spirits are ready to counter-attack and to defend their land and treasures.

Setting : the natives' land (coast, jungle, mountains...)

Background : the conquistadors assault villages and cities, looking for gold, but the Incas/Aztecs' treasures have been hidden in many places. The conquistadors will have to cross the land through a hostile nature : jungle, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, to find pyramids, secret temples, hidden sanctuaries and lakeside villages where the treasures are protected...

Theme Name : TROY or THE GREEK EXPEDITION

Characters : Trojans & Amazons vs Greeks.

Trojans and allies : king Priam and his sons, princes Pâris & Hector, princess prophetess Cassandra, warrior Aeneas, trojan army, and the Amazons led by their queen Hippolyta.

Greeks : king Agamemnon, the heroes Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax, Diomedes, and the greek army.

Conflict : Greeks want to set free or kidnap Helen and they want to grab Troy's treasures. They plunder villages and temples on the coast, the Trojans try to stop them before they head to Troy, Amazons are called in as reinforcements.

Setting : the Troad (the coast where the Greeks landed, the city of Troy and its high walls).

Background : The Greeks assault Troy, the Trojans and their allies resist but their are weaker on the battle field, the ramparts are they best defense. Trojan and Amazons are very good archers. Greeks and Trojans have chariots. The Greeks have a plan, they build a wooden horse...Will the trap work ?

The theme could be extended to all that the Greeks consider barbarian and so they have to fight, like Trojans, Amazons, Centaurs... And it could also include gods and others mythical creatures...