New LEGO interactive digital Building Instructions

[Superkalle]

LEGO is launching the concept of digital interactive building instructions, and first out is the Technic 42022 Hot Rod

Here is the official news from LEGO:

http://www.lego.com/...ng-instructions

It's available for Ipad and Android

And here is a first review/look at Lego Small Potato YouTube site:

So what do you guys think?

[NevynPA]

I think the fact that it was optimized only for specific devices is a bit rude. It may not be the best to be pinch-zooming, but if you're out and about and want to show someone part of the build process, it'd be nice to just pull them up on any device.

[Calabar]

I think that an official application where to find LEGO BI is a great idea, very comfortable when someone need to build his/her sets without search among papery booklets or search and download pdf or images.

The bad thing is that is seems you can install the application only on certified devices.

That's absolutely a senseless choice, because it drastically limits the number possible users.

I was going to install it, but I discovered that my devices are not suitable for it.

[bacem]

wait, is this mean that the set itself won't come witn instruction book?

[legolijntje]

Well, it's not only available on a limited number of devices, it's only available on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and the 1st generation Nexus 7 (not even the second generation, that one could handle it for sure, since it has better hardware and the same screensize). What are they thinking at Lego? I can understand why they want to focus on tablets first, but only 2 devices

This way you won't be able to get a lot of feedback....

wait, is this mean that the set itself won't come witn instruction book?

The set comes with a normal instruction book. You can also download the normal book from the lego site.

[bacem]

ohh, glad to hear that. i was afraid that when i open the box, i only found a couple of plastic bags filled with lego parts and no book at all.

[OzBen]

I just had a bit of a play with it on my ipad.

Thumbs up, very cool.

I like the little animations and the ability to rotate the part that you are building.

The ghosted images are pretty cool too.

[750ACE]

Great I have a surface pro, didn't see that listed on their post.

[TinkerBrick]

I just tried to install it on my 1st generation iPad. Apparently, iOS 6 or later is required which is a great disappointment.

[Balrog]

I just went to the Play Store page for the Android App and it says my tablet device is compatible. I have a Odys Aviator (Dual-Core 1,6GHz Cortex A9, 1GB RAM), which is rather no-name.

I tested the app, but it's not working well. Untextured pieces and it's very laggy.

Edited December 28, 2013 by Balrog

[pbat]

So what do you guys think?

Well, the idea of having animated, interactive building instructions was sort of overdue. Especially larger Technic sets will benefit a lot, when you see how toothed wheels, gears, cogs and crank axels fit together and peu à peu begin to work. Not every set, however, will benefit from interactive building instructions in the same way: Have a closer look at set 1061-1 and you know what I mean . Creator Expert sets or bigger Technic sets are definitely a good point to start this experiment. Maybe even more girls get into Technic, when they can see the beauty of a roaring engine in an animated way...

But - and there is at least one big BUT here: Please don't do it as an app! Apps suck as long as they are platform-dependent: Focusing on iDevices and some two [!] hand-picked Androids is a slap in the face of everyone else, who rather uses a Surface or a classic PC, notebook or netbook. Please do it browser-based, preferably flash-free, with HTML5 and CSS3: We've almost 2014 and IE6 is finally dead, so every current browser should cope well with HTML5 and CSS3. Better yet, make animated interactive 3D building instructions a feature of LDD...

I guess adolescents 14+ (who will most likely be the main target group of interactive building instructions for complex Technic sets) use "gated communites" and "golden cages" like App Store and Google Play too often too carelessley and should be trained to be more sceptical against predatory vendor lock-ins. So please don't use an app when the browser can achieve the same level of functionality!

The other issue with animated interactive digital building instructions is this: Don't they kill imagination? If you see everything visually, you no longer have to imagine it in your mind. Won't LEGO lose some of its fascination if you no longer have to get the picture in your very mind? If you already see the 3D animated engine roaring in the building instruction, will it be as much fun building it as it is when you are using the plain old 2D instruction and have to imagine the 3D image on your very own? I always thought that those kind of mental transformations from 2D instructions to 3D models was the key mechanism that allows LEGO to boost ones spatial senses. Won't that get lost if the building instruction is 3D and rotatable and animated? Are there any cognition scientists around, who have consolidated findings about that topic?

[Zulithe]

Thought for sure when it said Android that it would work on my Nexus 5. Nope! Only wants to install on tablets :( Kinda a bummer, a 5 inch screen is pretty big, should be fine.

In any case the video looks fantastic. Glad they are moving in this direction.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Zulithe

[Jim]

Superkalle,

Nice topic

I really do like the idea of having instructions like these. Being able to rotate, pinch and zoom during the build pleases me a lot.

However, I do agree to some extend with Pbat that an HTML5 version would be better, since I am almost always using a desktop computer and PDF while building.

It's good to see that TLG is making progress in the interactive instructions section!

[Calabar]

I'm not so sure that a webapp would be a good idea.

In this kind of applications, performances are critical. In this kind of devices, the use of resources is critical (a battery-draining application would be not a good result).

HTML5 is often good, but in this cases native code could be the only available choice.

Anyway I Agree, so few supported devices is a senseless choice. I hope that this is only an experiment, and the compatibility would be extended to all suitable devices (iOS, Android, WP/WinRT at least) soon.

[legolijntje]

I'm not so sure that a webapp would be a good idea.

In this kind of applications, performances are critical. In this kind of devices, the use of resources is critical (a battery-draining application would be not a good result).

HTML5 is often good, but in this cases native code could be the only available choice.

Anyway I Agree, so few supported devices is a senseless choice. I hope that this is only an experiment, and the compatibility would be extended to all suitable devices (iOS, Android, WP/WinRT at least) soon.

Well, the web has come a long way these days. e.g, have you seen this unreal-engine version for browsers?

It useser WebGL, you can create suberb graphics with it, right in the browser.

Ok, maybe that's a wrong example, that one is so new and modern it won't work in most browsers, but you get the point

[Calabar]

It is not important what you can do, but the resources you need to do it.

HTML5 + JS webapp solution is not much efficient. Surely not efficient as native code.

Maybe in TLG already examined possibilities and decided that a Web App would not be adequate for this reason. Or maybe not.

What I want to say is that you can't choose the platform without take account of performances, especially for this kind of devices.

[Superkalle]

I'm wondering if this is the beginning of the end of paper instructions? Kids today don't have the same attachment to paper as we adults do. And when you think about it...why does an instruction even have to be on paper?

Actually, I'm being bold here and throwing a daring prediction on the table: In 10 years, TLG wont' distribute any paper instructions in the sets anymore.

Scary thought isn't it

Having said that, a negative thing about interactive digital instructions is that they don't allow for much imagination...which is kind of a core value for LEGO.

With a paper instruction there is only one view, and it's like a 3D puzzle from which you have to figure out how the bricks should go together. If you animate and detail every little step you take away the sweet reward of having managed to dechiffer the instruction.

[Jim]

I don't think having interactive instructions does damage to the imagination. The building instructions are.....building instructions. So being able to rotate etc, just increases the quality and clarity.

Being able to rotate resembles rotating the actual model. I don't have a problem with that.

Just my two cents.

[lego2lego]

I don't think having interactive instructions does damage to the imagination. The building instructions are.....building instructions. So being able to rotate etc, just increases the quality and clarity.

Being able to rotate resembles rotating the actual model. I don't have a problem with that.

Just my two cents.

But it goes beyond zooming and rotating, it actually shows you, with an animation, were the parts go. I recently rebuilt my Galaxy Explorer and I found that the difficulty of the instructions is way more challenging than say, 42009 Mobile crane MKII which is a three parts per step affair. I exaggerate only slightly, but LEGO is simplifying their instructions to the point a three year old can build a flagship technic set.

I agree with Superkalle that this takes away from the building experience.

[Jim]

I understand and appreciate your opinion and I know there are basically two opinions about instructions getting less difficult (maybe three, like, don't like and don't care). I for one, like the overall building experience, whether the instructions are easy or not. Others think easy instructions take the fun out of building. I reckon it's an agree to disagree situation

[Calabar]

I agree with Superkalle that this takes away from the building experience.

I think that this thing can have its positive implications.

It happens (and not rarely) that I decided to buy a set I was not particularly interested in, only after I've seen in some review or looking at the real set, discovering some element or functionality I found interesting. The digital instructions could highlight this kind of things to promote a set.

I don't think that digital instructions will replace the physical booklets, probably in the future sets we will have a QR code on the box (and why not... on a single special brick!) that will allow your smartphone or tablet to immediately load the digital instructions for that set.

Very useful to test sets in a toy store and to build sets at home without look for physical instructions.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Calabar

[NevynPA]

Can anyone take a backup of the APK for Android and post somewhere for download? It's a free app, so it shouldn't be any kind of violation to do that. I wonder if it can be installed manually on a "non-supported" Android device? I'd like to try.

[Lyichir]

I'm wondering if this is the beginning of the end of paper instructions? Kids today don't have the same attachment to paper as we adults do. And when you think about it...why does an instruction even have to be on paper?

Actually, I'm being bold here and throwing a daring prediction on the table: In 10 years, TLG wont' distribute any paper instructions in the sets anymore.

Scary thought isn't it

Having said that, a negative thing about interactive digital instructions is that they don't allow for much imagination...which is kind of a core value for LEGO.

With a paper instruction there is only one view, and it's like a 3D puzzle from which you have to figure out how the bricks should go together. If you animate and detail every little step you take away the sweet reward of having managed to dechiffer the instruction.

Not a chance. The internet isn't nearly as universally available as it may seem from a privileged perspective, let alone smartphones, tablets, and other devices. As it stands currently, if you were on a desert island with nothing but a Lego set, you could at least rest easy knowing that, excepting the miniscule potential for a lost or broken piece, you'd have everything necessary to enjoy the set you have right there in the box. By eliminating paper instructions, you would be writing off anyone who didn't have access to a computer or smartphone or tablet, or who had those but didn't have access to the internet. Believe it or not, that's still a huge number of people; perhaps even more than half of Lego's audience.

People have been fortelling the dawn of a paperless society since personal computers first began to take off, but the truth is we use more paper now than ever. It's true that some electronics have begun shipping without manuals (especially those which can include the manuals or other information digitally by default, like software or smart devices), but for a non-digital product meant to be easily accessible to kids, like Lego, a shift to digital-only manuals would be corporate suicide.

[dr_spock]

Paper still works during a power failure. We had an ice storm here and lots of downed power lines. Electricity was out over a week for some people. You can build by candlelight with paper. Or burn the paper instructions for heat.

[Superkalle]

I'm not sure I would be so definite as you Lyichir.

Just a few things to consider.

1) LEGO is an expensive toy and you have to look at their target customers and whether they have access to smart phones and I-pads - which the most likely have already today to a large extent

2) The amount of smartphones in the world is today 1.4 billion. Only Ipads alone have sold 100 million copies. Imagine in 10 years. Just a quick Google search gave me a report that estimates of 270 million device users in the US alone in 6 years.

3) Paper for instructions is on the decrease. And not only for electronics such as computers. In the automotive industry where I work we are slowly replacing instruction and service manuals with digital versions.

4) Yes, paper usage in general may be increasing. But I believe you have to view that in perspective of increased standard of living in the world and the number of people using paper.

5) Where I live, the libraries are tripling the amount of lent e-books every year.

6) Already today TLG is not distributing all instructions on paper. Some B-models and extra builds are only available on the net.

7) Technology evolution. You can get an Android pad for a 200 USD today. Tomorrow they will cost 50 USD - less then your average LEGO set. Maybe LEGO will even include them in the box in the future

8) There is much money to be saved. Producing and printing the manuals is a big cost for TLG.

But naturally TLG will not switch from paper faster then the average consumer is prepared to accept it, so I'm sure they won't do anything irrational.

And you're right about one thing - LEGO is an all analog experience...which is pretty great actually. Heck, maybe that is what will be the selling point in the future...you don't need an Ipad to play with LEGO

Anyway, my initial thought when putting the question here was more about the building satisfaction; does it matter if it's on paper or on screen? I don't know. Personally I crave print, but do kids in 10 years?