The Real Indiana Jones

It seems like we are 90% in agreement here, and one of us is being a bit more optimistic, and one of us is being a bit more pessimistic... The argument may be entirely resolved when they make the official announcement about Japanese Old-Style Architecture within a few months time. Also, Hayabusa (and Shinkai) are not necessarily specifically iconic to Japan. They are more squarely in the category of scientific exploration vehicles, like the Curiosity Mars Rover Cuusoo set. It makes more sense to compare Japanese Old-Style Architecture to the popular Ninjago Fire Temple... or perhaps the older Adventurers East Asian sets from the '90s, like the Dragon Fortress set styled after Dynastic China, or the Buddhist-Tibetan-styled Temple of Mount Everest... or more directly, to the entire Ninja versus Samurai theme that came out right before that, including The Emperor's Stronghold and the Flying Ninja Fortress. Simply put, the sales for Ninjas versus Samurai were obviously very strong, because they did 26 sets of it in total... and then they immediately reprised it with 15 more Eastern Asian sets in the Adventurers East Asian sub-theme just a few years later. Ninjas and Samurai are globally popular.

Or, on a more serious note, It is cool that you are worried about TLG's financials, but I think you might be overestimating their risk a bit here. Remember the creator does not participate directly in the business-case phase, and they don't get to make a pitch that could sway the decision-makers. Lego will only produce a set if they coldly calculate that they can break even, or at least gain in terms of good PR, based on real-world focus-group responses. And in the end, even if a Cuusoo set somehow made absolute zero sales, then the entire loss could probably be easily written off on taxes as a promotional expense, and even a total loss would only be a small fraction of the millions of dollars that they give away to charity every single year, purely as a gift to the world. That nanoscopic amount of risk is barely enough to register a blip... And in the worst-case-scenario, Lego might just have to give a slightly smaller gift to UNESCO at Christmas-time! Pacem in Terris! therealindy

Ah, well I get a thrill from facing a challenge! It makes me feel so alive!!

Thanks... I can't promote here, but if you want to see, you'll see a complete chart in post #123 of my thread. I don't think anyone has ever posted that much detail yet, with realistic part-budgets and targeted price-points all laid out right from the start of the design phase. Then the final part counts and price tags are printed on Post #180 of the same thread. I definitely agree with Blondie-Wan, and I think everyone should stick to a part-budget, and post part counts and price tags... But of course, cheaters would underestimate it by 20% or even 50% just to lure kids and casual fans in to vote more. Yes, an $800 sandcrawler is definitely pushing it, but I think they are happy to go up to $150. We will see soon, because Japanese Old-Style Architecture and the UCS Delorean should both pass this quarter, both being potential $150+ sets with no licensing roadblocks, so I think we will all see this question resolved by official announcements, not speculation, soon enough! Plus, I think if people vote for $1, then they probably just trim those votes off the end as outliers, or even just assume it was a simple typo! I'm sure they look at the broad curve of various price-points that people voted for, and snip both tails, including trimming down the kids who say they would pay $1,000,000,000! Thanks for the links! I had never heard of those "Europa" prototypes. Wow, it looks very mid-'90s. When exactly was TLG testing it? I am still reading through all of those links carefully, but I do think the blogger named Dralcax is being a tad bit pessimistic to set $50 or $60 as a hard upper limit... I think TLG is happy to go up to $100 and $150 if people are excited enough about the core idea. And as Blondie-Wan and GlenBricker have said, some people do vehemently insist that a $100 or $150 idea would be impossibly big to ever do, even telling people not to vote for it. That kind of "kill-this-project" talk directly sabotages TLG's marketing initiatives, and it ultimately sabotages TLG's profits. Plus, they they are not relying on imperfect analogies from past-data to do the risk-assessment during the business case. This is the internet age, they so they simply let the voters vote on the appropriate price-point when they click to support, then they build a real prototype in real bricks in that specified size, and then they show it to various focus-groups of kids and AFOLs and just ask them outright, "Hey, do you think this is cool or uncool? Would you buy it? How much would you pay?" Yes, well said... The mass of voters choose the price when they vote, and then the focus groups choose what to make, within certain various flexible limits. And I am glad I got such thoughtful responses. And I'm glad we are talking about the future of Cuusoo, not dwelling on it's past!

Hi, Here is a good Cuusoo question I want to ask everyone... Where did people get the idea that Cuusoo would never do a set above $50? They would have been overjoyed to do Modular Western Town for $150-$180, if it hadn't been a tragic victim of licensing conflict... And I think it's pretty certain that they will do Japanese Old-Style Architecture as a modular style building for about $180... And if that happens, then the debate will be resolved, and for the best, because I'd like to see bigger ideas win! So again, where do people get the idea that a batch of 10,000 units of a $100 or $150 set would be a risky venture for a $4,300,000,000 per year company? If my math is correct, then that is about 1/3000 of their total. Plus, I think that TLG gives several times that amount to charity at the end of every year, purely as a gift to the world!

Hey, thanks again! Glad you like it! I think that the building phase is officially complete now, so it's just a matter of doing those last few minifigs, and then doing the sleek glossy renderings with the LDraw and POV-Ray software. If the sets start to rise in the ranks on Cuusoo, then later on I might design wall modules for Troy / Egypt / Babylon / Israel, together with a Temple of Solomon playset in the same style, purely as a fun "free-instructions-available-online" bonus... In the meantime, here are some questions I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on... 1) In total, how many Ancient World sets do you think there is a demand for? (I'd definitely say easily 5 or 6 or more, at least a normal one-wave-theme. They could be mine, or they could be anybody else's...) 2) What's the maximum number of times you think they would let one competitor win on Cuusoo? (I'd say at least 2, just to incentivize good builders, and to get good ideas out there, but then maybe not 3 times or more...) 3) What do you think of the front-runner's chances? (In particular, "mminnitt" officially gave up in a huff over a year ago, making random veiled-accusations of fraud against TLG right there on his project page for everyone in the world to see...!) Is TLG really going to want to sign a legally-binding business-contract with someone who does that? Would you want to sign a contract with someone like that?

When I started, it was just the UCS set, but I wanted "more horses in the race". Based on suggestions, I added to it, and soon it grew into a Saga unto itself! It's fine by me if they don't do it all. I'm assuming they won't let anyone win more than a few times, and I think there will be a few that are the runaway favorites. Remember that you can vote to support all of them totally for free at Lego Cuussoo. You can vote for a few favorites to push them up, or just support them all. To bring things up to speed, I'll re-post all the latest updates of the set collages, all together with their latest minifig concept art here. There are 96 minifigure concepts in all now. If I left a couple of deities out, then it's just because some of them like Hermes would need custom-molded accessories to be recognizable, and so they can always do those as CMF minifigs later. Considering the fact that the featured all of the ancient gods with their real names in a mainstream Disney movie and a spin-off TV series on the Disney Channel, with no problems at all, then there is no reason to shy away from real world mythology, just like kids learn in school, especially if they are clearly named along with their Greco-Roman equivalents. So let's begin... "Sing the Rage, Goddess"!! Part I - The Troop Building Set - Sparta and Xerxes: Minifigs include Leonidas, Spartans, Xerxes, The Immortals Royal Guards with Naptha-Grenades, and an Indian Elephant Trainer. The set includes a battering-ram, catapult, and ballista, as well as a fully-equipped war-elephant. (440 pieces grand total) Part II - Caesar Defends the Roman Forum: Minifigs include Julius Caesar, Scipio Africanus, a Roman Legionary, a Female Aristocrat, two Senators, Hannibal, a Carthaginian Warrior, plus Mars / Ares, and Bacchus / Dionysus. The set includes a Carthaginian war-elephant, three smashable Forum monuments, a Roman battering-ram, catapult, and ballista, Caesar's chariot, Caesar's rostra, and a Triumphal Arch to celebrate the true Glory of Rome! (1391 pieces grand total) Part III - The Odyssey Begins: Minifigs include Zeus, Athena, Odysseus, Spartan Greek Soldiers, The Cyclops, The Sirens, Charon, and Hades the Ruler of the Underworld. The set includes Odysseus's Ship, an epically-accurate Trojan Horse, the Cyclops's Island, The SIrens' Island, a variety of sea-life, Charon's ferryboat, Cerberus, the Gates of Hades, and the Shrine of Athena. (1485 pieces grand total) Part IV - Cleopatra Rallies the Alliance: Minifigs include Cleopatra, Ramesses II, Egyptian Soldiers, Egyptian Scribes, The Nubian King, a Nubian Warrior, plus Isis / Demeter, and Anubis. The set includes Cleopatra's Royal Embassy Sail-Barge, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, a variety of Nile safari wildlife, a Nubian tower, a Nubian war-elephant, Ramesses's chariot, and Egyptian modular fortifications with multiple possible configurations. (1339 pieces grand total) Part V - The Titans Unleash the Kraken: Minifigs include Perseus, Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Andromeda, a doubly-upgraded Medusa, the Stygian Witches, and a Minotaur Foot Soldier. The set includes the Colossus of Rhodes, Andromeda's royal carriage that converts in to a sedan-chair, black and white Pegasus with full-sized wings, the Witches' Lair, Medusa's Temple, and an eight-eyed Kraken Hexapus Titanicus Mediterraneensis, easily able to swallow up to 12 minifigures through its articulated mouth and directly into its cavernous belly. His transparent-blue side-membranes pop open when he is ready to go to the vomitorium! (1508 pieces grand total) Part VI - Boudicca Unites the Celts at Stonehenge: Minifigs include Boudicca, a Celtic Chieftan, two Druid Astrologers, two Celtic Swordsmen, Titus Germanicus, a Byzantine Cataphract, plus Belenus / Apollo, and Brigantia / Artemis. The set includes a modular Stonehenge system with multiple possible configurations, a hexagonal dolmen and extra standing stones, a Roman ballista-elephant, Titus Germanicus's cavalry, Boudicca's chariot, and a Celtic modular fort also with multiple possible configurations. (1220 pieces grand total) Part VII - Nebuchadnezzar Joins Forces at Babylon: Minifigs include Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian Queen, two Mesopotamian Astrologers, two Babylonian Bowmen, Alexander the Great, the Hetairoi Cavalry, plus Marduk / Kratos, and Inanna / Aphrodite. The set includes The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and The Ishtar Gate, with multiple possible Ziggurat configurations, griffon statues, a Babylonian battering-ram, Nebuchadnezzar's chariot, Alexander's the Great's cavalry, and a Helepolis siege tower armed with a Greek-Fire siphon, and armored with 16 Spartan shields for your troops. (1230 pieces grand total) Part VIII - Leif Eriksson Enters the Nexus of Bifrost: Minifigs include Leif Eriksson of Midgard, a Valkyrie from Valhalla, Dark-Elves from Svartalfheim, Light-Elves from Alfheim, A Frost Giant from Jotunheim, a Fire Giant from Muspelheim, plus Sif and Heimdall of Asgard. The set includes modular Viking-Asgardian Valhalla architecture units with multiple possible configurations, the Portal of Bifrost with a real mechanized opening double-aperture gateway, leading to Yggdrasil and worlds beyond, and enough troops to start Ragnarok versus the Titans. (approximately 1600 pieces grand total) Part IX - The World Builds Anew - The Infinitely Modular Classical Temple Building Set (UCS): Minifigs include Augustus Caesar in Toga Picta, a Roman Empress, Senators, and Centurions for Rome... Pericles, a Greek Empress, Philosophers, and Hoplites for the Greeks... Plus Zeus / Jupiter, Hera / Juno, Apollo / Sol Invictus, Athena / Minerva, Hephaestus / Vulcan, and Aphrodite / Venus. So in total, you get all the major Gods of Olympus, and every major god in Legolympus too. Plus this set includes over seven alternate models, including seven real-world temples, many of which can be built simultaneously... Plus you can use this set to build and play more than seven real authentic Ancient and Medieval games with your minifigures, including Senet, Battle-Chess, and Go. You can play as the Greeks versus the Romans, or you can let the Gods of Olympus get involved... The fate of the world hangs in the balance... You decide what gets built! (3280 pieces grand total) And remember you can vote to support them all totally for free at Lego Cuusoo... Ah, and to add a touch of realism and pageantry, each civilization has a standard vexillum banner emblazoned with the name of their country or king in their original script and team colors. I had to research half of these from primary sources and linguistic databases, so let me know if I made any transcription errors... I'm a field archaeologist and a remote sensing technician, not a linguist... Thanks! therealindy

Haha, Wowsers, Thanks!! That's pretty extreme!! I think I will settle for "Best ancient world sets" in the "Cheap enough to sell on the shelf at Target or Wal-Mart" category. Ah, well I wanted to do something to give her some specific "added value" versus the standard CMF version and what my competitors are doing. And It's only $2 of bricks, and you also get legs and a normal tail. I also like the notion of giving her the Queen Amidala Royal Gown base. Is there a specific change you want to see with Medusa? Just tell me what you'd like to see, and I can redo it in 10 minutes. See that's another great benefit of LDD. Oh, and the reason I didn't do the walls of Troy is just because it would be fairly easy for someone to do that themselves through BrickLink orders, or just by grabbing a big bulk-batch of tan 2x4 bricks off of the Pick-a-Brick-Wall in the Lego Store. Plus the horse is very tall, and building a gate high enough for the horse to get under would be way more expensive than you might be guessing. I want to zero in on the most unique, the most iconic, the most must-have, and most difficult-to-do things, and then people can build the plain tan walls of Troy or Babylon with basic bricks however they like. And no worries... Like any Cuusoo project, if people vote for a lower price point, then TLG will just make a certain number of the objects shown for each set, based on whichever ones get the best comments when people cast their vote. That's why I made all of the set concepts include several different smallish-to-medium-sized-ish things. So it's perfectly easy for TLG to scale the concept upwards or downwards based on whatever people vote for. Oh, no problem. They definitely did agitate me a bit for a while, but I think we've seen there are always "colorful debates" like that on "teh interwebz!!111!!" I hope this little image makes their day...! :laugh: I just found this online somewhere when I was doing my research. I remember I laughed for about 5 minutes non-stop. "Hey guys, do you hate memes? Say so in the comments section!!11!!!11" OK, cool, seriously... So feel free to go ahead and talk about exactly what specific things you think would stop these sets from getting through the business case / feasibility / focus groups. Where specifically do you think I made a mistake? As I said, feel free to make a quick bullet-point-list of the issues, and we can all discuss them together, and then fix it all right up.

OK, and this is the new upgraded design for "Medusa 3.0". She can shape-shift her body into legs, or a normal-sized Ninjago snake-tail, or a giant brick-built snake-tail. With this design, she'll have no problems standing up, or holding a pose, or curling very tightly, or gripping onto pillars, which were all problems with the Pharaoh's Quest Cobra. Plus I've updated a lot of the minifig images up at the very top of this page. There are still some more to add, for a minimum of 80 in total, and I'll do it as soon as I can. Have Fun! therealindy

Hmm? Julius Caesar appears in the Roman Forum set, right where he always was. You get a small legion for him to lead, plus two senators with swords in case you want to do the Ides of March scene. Anyway, why not go ahead and distill a bullet-point-list like I suggested, so we can bring more people into the discussion, and whoever might want to discuss the pros and cons of each possible course of action. The last few pages got lost in waves of vicious vitriol and personal attacks, so this is definitely the absolute best way to move forward now! Go ahead and distill a bullet-point-list, and then we'll let everyone here comment openly. Again, I promise I won't form any opinions until we've all heard at least several people share their thoughts! In the meantime, I'm eager to finish that audio-book Faefrost recommended, and I may fill in the minifig images above via BrickShelf.

True, I can be fairly obtuse sometimes! OK, so how about making a bullet-point-list of all of the specific changes you would make. In fact, everyone else can go ahead and do the same thing too, and that would be the best. Be specific about what you would change, and how you would like to see it implemented. I promise not to say anything until we've all heard at least several other people weigh in with their thoughts first. Everyone go ahead and discuss the pros and cons of each possibility. It'll be easier for everyone to discuss things if we talk in terms of specific things we might do. In the meantime, I am listening to the audiobook version of the book Faefrost recommended. It lasts about 10 hours in total... Also, I'm trying a new avatar... It looks like that now...

Ah, well nobody has to read this thread if they do not like it... You are in control of your own mind, and in control of your own decisions, yes?

Yes, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let any one single person win more than twice anyway, and I'd definitely presumed that from the start. Naturally, I'll do clean white glossy renderings of them all, without any chapter numbers, just letting each set stand on it's own merits, and then let the subsequent voting decide which ones might win. It is really tricky to try to predict the success curve, since all unlicensed Cuusoo sets always have a brutal struggle through "The Desert of 300", meaning getting those first 300 critical votes without a popular character to help draw people in. After that, projects normally tend to accelerate dramatically, even geometrically, and sometimes even doing a real and sudden "hockey-stick" pattern. Over the last three weeks, Sparta and Rome are definitely moving the fastest, with The Odyssey, Real-Historical-Egypt, and Babylon close behind. I love the Stonehenge, but perhaps Competitor GOR will beat me to become the official Celts-versus-Romans set. Competitor LO might also win if they redesign it a lot. If so, then that might just be perfectly fine, since I think it will just stimulate people's appetite for a few more cool Ancient World sets, and that is why I am putting "many irons in the fire" and giving myself several backup plans. The whole point of uniting all of them into an overarching story was so that it would be clear to Lego that even though we are setting up the thrilling possibility of human-versus-human battles in the sets, that in the official storyline at least, those human-versus-human battles will be set aside in a dramatic and fragile alliance, so that humankind can band together to fight a symbolic common enemy of massive monsters. Kids who want a war can play it however they want, and parents who want an uplifting message get what they want. So it's a "win-win", and I am thinking very squarely in terms of Lego's business needs and PR needs. Oh, and I'm not trying to use this thread for publicity at all. Every vote absolutely helps, but that is not my goal here. I need feedback before I finalize things, and perhaps even more important, I need to make sure I get all my designs posted in a permanent and public forum, with a publicly visible datestamp, in case any more vicious plagiarism scandals pop up... The last one resulted in the banning of a competitor, and a flurry of bad PR for Lego! In fact, now that the minifigs are up, this thread is essentially done, and I am glad because it was a ton of work, knowing that I could only win once or twice anyway, plus the fighting got really fierce towards the end, didn't it?

Hmm? A "corporations are evil" attitude? Right at the top of this page I talked about how much I am enjoying contributing to a corporation I love. It sounds like you are talking about other people you've worked with, not me. And you're right, I have to render the images on a plain white background using POV-Ray. I've been talking about doing exactly that for a while. I was planning on reading all the tutorials for it as soon as I have more time.

Nope. Since I can't see the stats for individual viewers, I am forced to extrapolate. And what I said was, "I would have to conclude that a minimum of 300+ people really like it, then about 5 people say they don't, and then the vast majority [i.e., at least 1,000 people] haven't voiced an opinion." Probably a lot of them would just be neutral, and then the rest would probably break down in line with the numbers known so far. At this point, you are obviously not really reading, you're just ranting on about imagined ego trips, and pretending to be able to read TLG's mind, when you have no more basis for your assertions than anyone else. Also, your biggest objection seems to be that my images are still incomplete and experimental, even though they are clearly labeled as "prototypes" and "under construction" on various pages, and they will be fixed soon enough... So thank you again for that implied vote of confidence! And dude, you can ad hominem me all you like, but don't insult all of the non-tech majors in the Forum, That is just plain rude. So what did you do in college?

Ah-ha, there is where you are exactly wrong. The top-ranked set on Cuusoo right now is the beautiful "Japanese Old-Style Architecture" with almost 8,400 votes. I've been supporting it since the start... Go vote for it now, because I can't wait to buy it! It will almost certainly pass this quarter, it is an obvious green-light, and it will become a historical-civ-themed modular-style-building for right about $180 just like the other existing modulars. And it will probably have 6-8 minifigs in it, even if he only shows 3-4. After that, everyone will start rushing to submit larger-sized sets, and this temporary trend of $50 sets that everyone seems to be mentally locked into will be shattered for good. More ambitious sets will become standard in the future. Congratulations to Taxon55 for the inevitable win!

These are all interesting debates... I am zeroing in on some factual errors and bad logic, but at this point I really want to hear from the VOX POPULI. I'd love to hear from all the people who have come to look at this 8,200 times so far, and just not chimed in yet. Do those 8,000+ people think this is cool or uncool? And do those 8,000+ people think that your objections are valid or frivolous? Going by my overall ratios on Cuusoo, I would have to conclude that a minimum of 300+ people really like it, then about 5 people say they don't, and then the vast majority haven't voiced an opinion. So at this point, if only 5 people out of 8,000+ viewers are vocally unhappy, then that's a stellar satisfaction rate. It's totally normal for at least 1% or 2% or more of the customers in any business to be just terminally un-satisfiable. And so in the end, if you can't get more than 0.0625% of the other readers here to agree with you, then it may just be that they think that your assertions are off-base, or blatantly factually incorrect, or perhaps just personally motivated in some unique way. And if they do not think that the points you are raising are really all that important, or worth responding to, or even worth reading, then I am going to have to conclude that they are not mission-critical issues. I'll be able to say a bit more after I've listed to the audio-book you've recommended. In the meantime, "I call on the VOX POPULI."

Oh, absolutely... I'm obsessed with creating top-quality freelance design work for the experimental crowdsourcing initiative of a major global corporation that promotes education, helps children learn, and gives millions to wonderful charitable causes worldwide every year! Woo hoo!! Lovin' it!! Plus, it is a contest I am trying to win...! :laugh:

I almost forgot to do the minifigures... There's enough brick-building to justify at least 80 of them total... They'll all have a minimum of 8, or possibly 10. I'll fill in the missing ones as soon as I have a chance. The grey spaces are for additional suggested minifigs, in case they are willing to add a few more. If you have suggestions for any that you want to see, go ahead and shout 'em out now! It might be especially fun to add more Non-Greco-Roman gods!

Ah, well it's just that the rainbow stripes have come to represent a very controversial social issue over the past two decades or so...! And the runes say "BIFROST AF WALHOLL" or "Bifrost of Valhalla" in Old Norse.

Hmm... Also, one more thing that strikes me immediately is that the author of that book you mention specifically calls Bionicle "the toy that saved Lego"... And yet, if there are two things that distinguish Bionicle, then those are: 1) It had an outrageously complex back-story that spanned over many years, and across several sub-themes, prompting entire wikis dedicated to the back-story. 2) Each set unto itself had just one robot in it, and so it had no immediate story-telling capacity right out of the box. So then why was Bionicle so successful? In fact, it continues with Hero Factory, so it's still a successful money-maker after well over a decade, even though it breaks all of your self-imposed rules. Another perfect example here is Chima. It has a very complex back story, spanning at least 10 different factions just so far, and many of the sets are just "physical challenge" type sets with names like "whirling vines" or "target practice" with no story angle whatsoever. And yet it is successful, with a TV show, and more sets this year than any other theme including Star Wars. So again, Chima has a huge back-story, and the individual sets usually only have a limited story-telling capacity right out of the box. Again, it breaks all of the self-imposed rules you assert, but it is very successful. Explain yourself. Hmm, and speaking of "self-imposed rules", Pogie, I think that you are one of the people who think that an Ancient World theme can only be about Greece and Rome, and going anywhere beyond those imaginary boundaries in your head is going "off-topic" or "going too far". Plus if you go back and read and take a tally, you will see that I have taken over 80% of the advice that people have given me here, up to an including deleting two entire project pages with over 100 votes, and creating one new project by request, which is now my fastest moving set. Oh, and between each and every one of those posts, over 300 people came to look, so I guess a lot of people must be driven by the same sort of "morbid curiosity" you mention! I think my posts are enlightening and fun, so if you do not like them, then why not go read someone else's thread. And yes, shield designs are "like cowbell"... "more cowbell!" Who else is with me on this?

Ah, well if you are responding within twenty minutes, then you are obviously following this thread with great fascination...! And so tell me, what would you do if this were your project? And better hurry, I'll be going to bed soon! Hmm, I might just check that book out later... But for starters, a $20 set would be too tiny for Cuusoo. No one would even look at it, realizing that you could just get those 200 parts from BrickLink in three or four orders. A $20 set with Theseus and the Minotaur would essentially just be a re-release of two recent CMF figs, with only a vignette to sell it. No go. To make Daedalus and Icarus, anyone could just get a pair of Horus wings or Chima wings for a dollar on BrickLink and add them to a Greek fig. Too easy. People would just BrickLink it rather than buy it, or just grab some wings from another fig they already have. Hmm, and then you mention Perseus and Andromeda, when you see I already have a $120 set dedicated to that exact story. It seems like you are not really paying attention! Ah, and just like I said, I'm an archaeologist and a research scientist, not a professional toy-maker. I develop software databases, not toys. And even so, I think what I've done here is better than 95% of the things on Cuusoo, so I might win with one or two sets, maybe even three. Also, I have 7 story-telling sets here, then 1 army-builder, and 1 UCS set. So again, there it seems like you're not totally paying attention! More to the point... The two fastest-moving Ancient World sets on Cuusoo both have essentially no real clear story-telling components in them at all, and yet they are getting tons of votes just because people like the general idea... It also helps that they had an outrageously unfair head-start, because they are kinda lack-luster set ideas with essentially no story-telling effort... And yet they are winning at a fairly brisk pace, so that proves that you are being drastically pessimistic in your earlier assessment. And the next question is "Why?"

A while ago, someone was saying I needed more story-telling. As you can see, I take that sort of feedback as a fun challenge...! This is built directly on Joseph Campbell's famous conception of the single global "Monomyth" from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. It was one of the most important influences behind the original Star Wars Trilogy, and it is one of the iconic canons of narrative structure. [EDIT: A FEW CLARIFICATIONS: THE ORIGINAL DIAGRAM IS IN BLACK, THE SET NAMES ARE IN BLUE, AND THE STORY POINTS ARE IN RED.] The basis of it is laid out pretty well on the Wikipedia page for "The Hero's Journey", et al., and as always, feel free to say anything you like! See you on the flip-side, Indy Out!

Just in time! I'm glad you are all here. All 8,000 of you... I need your help! I am back from my travels, and I have discovered something shocking... These crude inscriptions are unlike any ancient language I have seen. It seems to be the hypothetical common ancestor of all proto-historic languages and mark-making systems from across the Mediterranean, and all neighboring regions, and so I will have to give them the tentative name "Proto-Proto" Glyphs. I have done my best to match these glyphs with their corresponding antecedents and meanings, but they still remain mysterious and undeciphered. The format seems quite similar to the banner inscriptions I showed you last week, seen above on this page. I believe these to be the monumental inscriptions of an army of primordial quasi-immortal beings, who have only a limited need for writing, and an unlimited appetite for destruction! Let me know if you have any clues! I am just an archaeologist... That is all I can do for now! Indy Out

Oh, and speaking of Superhero sets, here is a new Gothic modular layout for you! What is it? Read the runes by the light of the moon to find out...! P.S. - Remember that Batman always writes in Elder Futhark Runes, not Anglo-Frisian, because he's The Dark Knight, and he loves The Dark Ages!