The Wikipedia page about me says that I’m known mostly for my involvement with Lego Bionicle. Obviously I hope one day that will change to ‘author of ‘The Flying Monk’ and ‘The Multiverse of Max Tovey‘, but for now, Bionicle is arguably my biggest ‘claim to fame’. Not that you’d know it if you looked on Lego’s official pages of course, including the Brickipedia Bionicle page. I did try doing an edit to the page a little while back, to give the proper credits, but within days it had been deleted. They did say they’d change it back, but they don’t seem to have done. I’ll have another go one of these days, but in the meantime, if anyone fancies editing it, feel free!
In the early days of Wikipedia, I did a search for everything that I’d been involved with, including Bionicle. Nothing. So I put the proper credits in there too, but again they were removed very quickly. Even the fans joined in with what the Wiki page later called the ‘edit wars’, but to no avail. However, at the time of writing, the proper credits on the Wikipedia Bionicle page seem to be holding. For now. The various forums do credit us though, bless them, particularly BZ Power and BIONICLEsector01.
The ‘proper credits’ go like this. In late 1999, Lego hired in various staff from the broadcasting world to come up with story-based ideas, to counter the all-conquering Pokemon phenomenon. At the time, Pokemon was largely credited with Lego suffering their first annual loss in ’98. Many ideas were brainstormed, to a brief from Erik Kramer, then Technical Director, including one that was at the time called ‘Bone Heads of Voodoo Island’. Secrecy was so tight around Bionicle that this original title was known only to the insiders for many years. The key Lego creators of ‘Bone Heads’ were Bob Thompson, who had become Head of Story, and Martin Riber Andersen, then a ‘mere’ toy designer. He very quickly became Creative Director, thanks to Bionicle. The third of the four ‘official’ co-creators was Christian Faber, Creative Director of Danish advertising agency Advance, who created the amazing graphic look of the whole project. I discovered many many years later (only in 2021 in fact) that the original Boneheads story also originated with him – I’d always been told it had come from Martin. In fact, the story I received came from Bob, via Martin, but it seems actually originated in an idea of Christian’s. So my apologies to Christian for any misconceptions that may have arisen over the years about the origins of Bionicle, and glad we have got the story straight now.
So ‘Bone Heads’ and various other brief concepts were sent out to outside writers. At the time I was one of the directors of a script services company called Skryptonite, and one of our writers, Keith Brumpton, had previously worked with Bob Thompson when he was at the BBC. So the half-dozen or so concepts landed in the Skryptonite inbox. Four or five of us happened to be gathered at the Edinburgh offices at the time, so we took the concepts to the pub, and shared them out. Something about ‘Bone Heads’ caught my eye, so I decided to work on that one. It had a kind of Easter Island vibe to it I felt, and I’d always been fascinated with that subject. The basic story was there – a bunch of characters on an island, not knowing why, or that the ‘island’ was actually a partially submerged giant robot. But that was about it. So I pretty much started again with the concept, introducing the whole Polynesian feel, and changing the names from ‘Hook’, ‘Claw’ etc to real Polynesian names that reflected the characters I’d created. In those days there were no online dictionaries – there was barely any ‘online’ at all to be honest – and we couldn’t find a Rapa Nui dictionary (the Easter Island language), so we went for the next best thing, which was Maori. To be honest we borrowed words from a few other similar languages too, although this many years later I really can’t remember which ones were which language. There are some out there who have put a lot of time into working that out though! What I do know is that the character names meant the same as the words that we borrowed – I figured that if we were going to use a language, we’d better use it properly, and respectfully. The Maoris didn’t see it that way of course, and it cost Lego quite a bit of money in ‘cultural compensation’. But by then Bionicle was selling in its hundreds of millions, so I guess it didn’t hit their pockets too hard. And so my four original main heroes became Tahu (fire), Lewa (air), Gali (water) and Onua (earth). The four elements. It wasn’t exactly an original way to create four heroes, but Lego seemed to like it. Or so I thought.
So I sent my rewrite of the concept back to Bob Thompson, and he liked it. He liked it so much, in fact, that come February 2000 we were on a plane to Lego HQ in Billund together, along with one of my then partners in Skryptonite, Ken Anderson. It was only when we got into the meeting room that I realised Bob hadn’t actually shown my rewrite to anyone yet. So there were Ken and I, standing at a whiteboard pitching my idea at a whole bunch of Lego executives I thought had already bought into it. It’s not easy pitching big execs when there are two guys playing with prototypes at the back – they turned out to be Martin and Christian, and I got to keep the prototype, which I still have…
It was going OK, but it really clicked when I got onto the Polynesian thing. Erik Kramer’s eyes lit up – they’d been looking for a way to crack the Far East market for ages, and this, he thought, might do it. Job done. I was then commissioned to turn my initial concept into a full blown development ‘bible’, and off we went. By my second visit to Billund, they had come up with the name ‘Bionicle’, as in ‘Bio Chronicle’. This also came from Christian it turned out, but again, I only discovered this last year (2021). I wanted to call it ‘Evoids’, as in ‘Evolving Droids’. They liked the name, but they went with Bionicle. Hey ho – it’s a good name. They also wanted two more heroes, largely because they had six different-coloured production lines, and thus Kopacka and Pohatu were born. And so, I became an official co-creator, although the majority of what emerged as Bionicle came out of this weird old head of mine.
So I wrote the bible, created the world, the characters, and the overall story, hand in hand with Bob of course. I even came up with the idea that the whole of Mata Nui (the world) was actually a giant planetary evacuation ship that had crash landed into an alien ocean, with only its head, knees and feet sticking out of the water. That was Bionicle’s biggest secret, and wasn’t revealed until very near the end of its run. Somewhere there is a JPEG of a partially submerged giant robot called ‘Al’s rubbish sketch.jpg’ or some such that went into the original bible.
I did the same for the next two releases, the Bohrok (2002) and the Toa Nuva (2003), and wrote the core story that became the first movie, ‘Mask Of Light’ (I came up with the idea of The Seventh Toa on another plane ride to Billund). By then, Bionicle was taking over the world, and it was taking over my life. The story team was expanding exponentially, and I was beginning to try to get a Christmas Special away with the BBC, ‘The Tale of Jack Frost.’ I couldn’t do both, so I reluctantly left Bionicle. ‘Jack Frost’ did go on to get a BAFTA nomination, so I guess my decision was justified. To answer a question that many have asked over the years, no, I didn’t get royalties, I was just a contract writer doing a job for Lego. Maybe we should have pressed harder for some kind of cut at the beginning, but you know the cliché about hindsight. Who knew it would be that big? I’m still very proud of it nonetheless.
So there you go, that’s how Bionicle came to be.
Alastair Swinnerton 
And now I am wondering what would’ve happened with the Bionicle if you’d stick to it… And crying in the corner. Thank you for your invaluable input into one of my biggest hobbies.
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Thanks so much for writing this up! You and the rest of the folks on the story team never seemed to get much credit from Lego, so it’s really gratifying to be able to learn more about who did what to build the Bionicle world after all these years. Bionicle was the first (and probably biggest) influence in my life that helped me discover and develop an interest in storytelling – something I’m now working through college in order to make a career of. You’re to thank for that in a big way. So thank you.
The Multiverse of Max Tovey looks really neat and I’m hoping I’ll be able to give it a read soon.
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Thanks – I’m likewise very proud of TMOMT. Most every concept I create has a multi-layered approach, with red herrings, dead ends, characters who may or may not be what they seem and so on. Bionicle certainly did as you know, and the same very much applies to the book, just this one’s about Time Travel in the myths and legends of South West England, and not Bio-Mechanical droids on a tropical island!
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Honestly, you deserve as much credit and fame as Christian and Greg (if not more). Years 01 to 03 were the best ever. And this is coming from a fan who only realised Bionicle existed in 08. Out of all of them, the original story was the most magical, the most intriguing, the most immersive, and the most shiver-enducing (you know, when you boot up MNOG after a long time, or see Vakama’s fire staff sticking out of your pieces pile, and you feel like a tiny Vo-matoran just waltzed down your spine?). It will always hold a special place in my heart, even though I was never actually there to experience it while it was happening.
If I had the money, I would pay a lot for even a copy of the original story bible [:P]
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Reading this has given some more insight on the origins of Bionicle, a theme I still hold dear and, quite frankly, am obsessed about. I can’t thank you enough for writing this, and especially for creating such a fantastic story and setting, that still holds up today. You truly do deserve credit for one of the greatest stories out there, that defined the childhood of many people like me.
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I have to agree with what Bionicle Fanatic said, the early years were by far the best, and it’s a real undertaking developing and starting from scratch. Greg at least had something to work with when he joined. All this time as a pretty hard core fan who was there from day one, and I never knew this. It’s really sad because as you describe it, you’re the father of Bionicle’s story aspect, which was in my opinion what made Bionicle a huge success, and not just another line of toys from Lego. I’ll be sharing this article with as many people as I can so that maybe credit can be given where it is due, and people could eventually come to know that you started Bionicle’s story line and made it what it really was. Thank you so much for your hard work and thankless effort.
Dave.
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Dave, thank you. It wasn’t thankless however, far from it, and I did get paid quite well for the time. No percentages, obviously, but then I was just a writer for hire on another job. Who knew it would get that big? Lego were very grateful, and I even got a round of applause from the big execs when I went to Billund after the first release. I also got a free invite onto their yacht parties at Mipcom and MipTV in Cannes twice a year. Just no credits, except on the film, obviously. But I don’t blame Lego for that – they just weren’t used to dealing with outside contractors. I just blame the autobots on the wiki sites. But really, it was pretty good, while it lasted. I hope the post didn’t come off as me being sad – I’m not, and never was. It was an incredible thing to be a part of, and I’m still very proud of what we achieved. But hey, maybe one day they’ll be making ‘Max Tovey’ sets, huh?
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All this time, you played a huge role in creating one of the most important parts of my entire childhood, and I never knew! I loke giving credit where credit is due so… I just wanted to say “thank you”!
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Wow. Thank you all so much! I hadn’t posted this as a ‘pity me’ thing, I promise. Just every now and then you get to thinking, you know what, it’s time I actually told this story, but you never do. So I did. However, while, yes, I did turn the original idea into what became Bionicle, that is absolutely not to take away from the achievements of what became a vast story team spread out over numerous media, and without them it wouldn’t have become what it did. Bob especially, obviously – once we got going, it was his world vision for the thing that really made it a phenomenon – but also Martin, Christian, and of course Greg and Leah, all of whom brought their own special genius to the story. I just thought the stories up, they ran with them and made them real. But thank you all again – it’s very heartwarming to get such a response.
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Dude, Bionicle was a big formative hobby for me. I’ve been following it for years! And you’re the guy that got the ball rolling! Thanks, man! Cool to know that Ice and Stone weren’t there from the start, ’cause those did always seem the odd ones out to me (moreso Stone than Ice).
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By the way, if anyone’s interested in my book, the best place to get it is here: http://www.europeangeeks.com/store/p7/The_Multiverse_of_Max_Tovey_%28Print%29.html. You can get it from Amazon too, but this way you’re not giving your hard-earned money to big corporations!
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The Maori/Polynesian aspect remains to be one of my favorite parts of BIONICLE, I really wish they had kept that similar feel later on, in regards to names and places anyway. I’m still satisfied with where the story went, but it is great to learn where one of my favorite aspects to the line came from.
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Mr. Swinnerton,
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’ve been a huge fan of the first 3 years of BIONICLE. I was so thankful that Christian Faber and the folks at Templar Studios had shared their artwork from the early days with the fans, but I always craved some early story treatment. I had searched for you and Bob Thompson for years on any info about the 2001 story. The Maori/Polynesian mystical island themes mixed with scifi technology was what drew me in. It reminded me of Star Wars, particularly the art of Doug Chiang (Robota). I’ve heard that your script and Bob’s script for the Mask of Light movie differed, could you share with us how? Also, is the original ‘story bible’ still around? I know a lot of fans who would love to read/hear it. Thanks again for everything and I’ll be sure to check out your book!
– Matt
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Hey Matt, thanks for seeking me out! The beginnings of Bionicle were fast and strange times indeed. The whole two story thing with Mask of Light, however, wasn’t about Bob and myself, but Henry Gilroy and myself. Bob was the director, not the other writer. Henry and I both put in story pitches, and we both went to treatment, but ultimately the Americans wanted a known writer, I.e., one with screenwriting credits, and at the time I only had TV credits. But, Henry did use a lot of my story ideas in his script, which I was very happy about. Unfortunately, I don’t have the original Bionicle story bible. I wish I did, but a bad backup a few years ago erased all the wrong things, including my entire Bionicle directory. Bob still has it all, I’m sure, but I’m also sure he’s not allowed to share it!
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Mr. Swinnerton, I too wish to offer my sincere and deep thanks. You, and the others, created an absolutely amazing world that’s meant an awful lot to many, many people, and I think the responses here show that. Bionicle is a truly amazing property, and I think it’s entirely because of those early story years.Certainly it’s something I still love to this day.
Thank you, Mr. Swinnerton, for creating something truly spectacular, and I hope your current projects bring you all the best.
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Thank you, means a lot.
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Incidentally, the first three years of Bionicle were the best.
You’re like a real-world Toa, a true hero. I sincerely hope your current and future projects bring you the kind of renown someone of your vision deserves!
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That’s very kind of you to say.
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Hi sir ! I’ve always been a huge BIONICLE fan but when I was a child, I couldn’t get neither the books, nor the comics, but only toys and the few movies, because none of the books and comics (except like 4 books and three comics but not the whole story at all) have ever been released in France, so my interest in the overall story came when I began high school because I could read english easily. And I became a complete fanboy even though I already loved the toys prior ! And now, seeing how you participated on the story with all the team, how the world of BIONICLE has been created, the things that were scratched, the things that remained, the things that were added… all this work has become this universe that I’ve been loving more and more over the years ! So thanks to you and the others !
I also have a question since I’m studying the origins of some of the concepts in BIONICLE, and was wandering who were supposed to be Rangi and Papu who were mentioned in Mata Nui Online Game ? If you don’t remember or you haven’t heard of it with these being mentioned in a game that wasn’t canon back then, I would totally understand but I was wondering since they divinities from the maori mythology they might have been important in the creation of some other characters or concepts in the BIONICLE lore.
At least, thanks for all you did !
Sincerely.
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Thankyou. Yes, Rangi and Papu were derived from Maori myths, and thus quickly removed when the controversy started!
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Hey Mr. Swinnerton,
Thanks for keeping active, your posts have been interesting to read. It has me curious, how big of an impact do you recall the controversy having on Bionicle from there on in terms of its storyline? Was Maori mythology just more of a base inspiration for the setting and names, or did it play an even bigger role?
Seeing you are still active, I’ll be watching your blog for future posts, whatever they might be, and shall take a look at Max Tovey. I was first introduced to Bionicle back in 2005, but I always found myself interested in the first three years, it stood out as the most distinct and well done part of the storyline. Now I know one of the main factors behind that, thank you for your work!
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Thanks James. The whole Maori thing really did get blown out of all proportion, and we only really used the language as a base for the names, as you said. But changing them didn’t really have much of an effect on the storylines – the world we created was always a self-contained one, and independent of their mythology.
Cheers,
Alastair
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Hello Mr. Swinnerton. I am uncertain if you still check in on this blog at all, and I am very aware this post is quite old now, but I just wanted to make an attempt thank you for all the fantastic information you’ve provided here on Bionicle’s creation and your involvement in it (and all gathered neatly in a single source)! This is a great help for a research paper I’m putting together about the series, and it feels much easier to get info on what was happening in the background straight from someone who was involved in it, rather than scouring every random old news article I can that mentions some little scrap of information I can cite (at least for the portions where I’m talking about the series’ creation). Thank you again for not only this post, but your early work on a series that has continued to inspire my own creative work for over a decade of my life. I hope your own endeavors, whatever they all may be nowadays, have continued to find you a proper measure of success that you deserve.
– Oswald
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Thanks Oswald, sorry it took so long to approve your comment. It was an extraordinary time in hindsight, with so many amazing creatives all working on the same project. Of course, we had no idea at the beginning that it would be so big, and for a while it was just one of many projects on the boil at Lego. After the first release we began to realize something was happening, and by the second, it was obvious it was going to be big. Twenty plus years later, I’m still very proud to have been a part of it all.
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This was interesting to read! Sadly I only found the post now. But better late than never.
I must say that Bionicle in 2001 was really an important part of my childhood, and to this day I sometimes revisit the Mata Nui Online Game. It took me 18 years, but in 2018 I even completed my collection of the whole 2001 line-up when I found the (then way too expensive for me) Manas Crabs being sold by someone.
I have a general question, if you allow it.
How much (and what) of the original story was retconned in the later years? One of the main offenders being that Makuta was not a single mystic entity but later turned into an order of individuals, I guess, but what else is there? I’m always super interested in original visions (or even explicit lack thereof) and the retroactive changes made by later publications.
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Hi Jonathan, thanks for the comment. I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you exactly what was retconned, as I didn’t really follow the project’s progress after I left. It’s probably a question for Greg Farshtey more than me, as he was and remains the fount of all knowledge on Bionicle. I know there was some resistance to the Makuta becoming a series of figures, both from fans and from within, but you know what, there was a demand for them, so Lego supplied, quite rightly. The world we created was constantly evolvimg, and Bob and the team did an amazing job with the ever-expanding Bionicle Universe. I shall always be proud of my involvement – it’s amazing that it still has so many fans, some now well into their 30s.
Cheers,
Alastair
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