The Making of The Mata Nui Online Game

Launched on Jan. 1, 2001, Mata Nui Online Game (or MNOG) quickly became the definitive Bionicle story of 2001. This is the story of its creation, from the people who created it.

[jaketheriault]

Wow, I was certain when I was working on this video that it would be the most niche of anything in our catalog, but seeing all your responses to this video is incredible. Its incredibly cool to see that so many of you feel the same way about MNOG that I do, and so awesome that all of you have responded so well to this video. Y’all are continuing to make my days.

[happycola]

Fun fact: the name "Beach Chant" is not official, it's just a name that I made up when I uploaded my unofficial MNOG soundtrack to this channel. It sure is one my all time favs though!

[Vrahno]

This game was the stuff of legend in the online community back in the mid-2000s, after it had been foolishly taken it down from the website. I missed out on its original release, so seeing mere screencaps and the cutscenes on various websites felt like uncovering parts of an ancient treasure. After it got re-released and I finally got to play it, it lived up to the hype. But beyond the game itself, the behind-the-scenes info the developers have released in the years since, together with all the production details that surfaced from other sources, have become equally intriguing and fascinating to me. They reveal so much about how Lego handled this franchise and how much of what fans love about it were not actually planned for by the company. Templar was one of the brand's biggest assets and it's a woeful shame their influence and their output gradually diminished until they just up and vanished from the franchise. None of the later animation and game creators "got" the franchise as much as they did -- at least Advance and Ghost remained on the team until the series' end, but Templar's absence was sorely felt, much like how many of the memorable characters they've developed were basically phased out of the story.
This is a magnificent video, informative, passionate and superbly put together, perfectly paying respect to MNOG and it creators. Moreover, it's just refreshing and reassuring to see fans are still capable of making this kind of quality content that explore the franchise and bring its positive aspects and the accomplishments of its creators to the forefront so that even non-fans might appreciate it. Bionicle is ripe with plenty of topics that deserve similar exploration.

[SuperODST]

That message about how the Matoran, and us, can be heroes too, always moves me to tears.

[GhabulousGhoti]

While games like Battle for Bikini Bottom hold up quite well among licensed games, having a legacy that exists even 17 years later, there is not a SINGLE licensed game that can hold a candle to MNOG... nor can a lot of non-licensed games for that matter. This game was truly so much better than a browser-based flash game designed to sell action figures to 9-year-olds has any right to be.

[russellstoll]

Very well done. Brings back lots of memories working with the Templar gang.

[Likeitornot]

Peter's words at the end really moved me. You can feel the love they put into this small, "insignificant" game when you play it. They really cared, and it shows.

[ParadoxEngineer]

I'll never forget seeking the Makuta fight for the first time, it was cliche and I'd already read the books so I knew how it ended... but I'll never forget the chills I felt at the line: "I am nothing"

[WOLKsite]

Note on the comics and their place in the narrative:
The comics were written by Greg Farshtey, however this was not the original plan. Basically, what occurred was that Greg, who was actually hired as writer for the LEGO Magazine, started sketching out a script for the fun of it and showed it to his boss who told him to keep working on it, as they needed the first comic done in *3 weeks* and the writer who was originally supposed to write it was unavailable. However, the comics came to impact the story presented in the Legend of Mata Nui game, as seen particularily in the scene where Kopaka and Pohatu first meet.

[gagefisher]

I'm 28, and I cant help but smile when anything Bionicle is brought up. It defined my childhood and had such a lasting impact on me. I still have some of the sets on display, I still read the comics that came in the mail with my LEGO magazines, and I still have conversations about it with friends who were also captivated by Bionicle.

My brother in law came to hang out once, saw my 2004 collection on the shelf, and we ended up talking for hours about it. How awesome MNOG was, who our favorite characters were, what our favorite arcs were. I don't think I've done that for any other franchise, aside from Star Wars or LOTR, which says a lot about Bionicle if it's world can hang with the big dogs.

[shonenbag]

I maintain my stance that if G2 had made Okoto Online Game it would have worked.

[max-rdj]

It's funny that the fact that computers were a lot slower back then added to how big the world of Mata Nui felt in MNOG. Bionicle's world-building is very introspective, but I remember having a lot of time to think ('meditate' almost, if that word isn't too pretentious) when waiting for a good 30 seconds to several minutes for the next screen in the Ta-Koro/Onu-Koro caves to load.

[peterhoeller]

No one talks about the timing of 9/11 and this game enough. “The people of the world are builders. But look into their hearts … and you will find that they also have the power to destroy. I am that power. I am destruction. And I WILL destroy you.”

[ShankMods]

Superb video. I remember playing the game as a kid, and how immersive it was at the time. It was and still is a great game that has age surprisingly well. I love how much research you put into this, even reaching out to the original developers and their logs. These guys put an insane amount of love into a free online flash game made to promote toys, and were able to turn it into an immersive world with an engaging story. Thank you for making this video and bringing a new perspective on the games development.

[tahunuva]

Damn, thank you so much for making this. I just can't get enough of this game.

I discovered Bionicle in *2008*. To me, it was an epic saga about larger than life heroes fighting impossible odds at the core of the universe. Big stakes, big battles, big heroes.

All that changed when, three years later, I found MNOG.

It was like stepping into another world. I'd played adventure games before, but this was different. It drew you in so thoroughly, taught you so much about that world without making it obvious that it was teaching you. People often say that to them, Bionicle was more than a toyline, or even a story - it was a place, a place that had found it's way into our hearts. That's what MNOG embodied.

That single game moved me so profoundly, that pretty much every creative endeavour I embarked on after finishing it was inspired by it. As a gamedev, I can't count how many times I've tried to make something that captures that same sense of wonderment, of character, of *real*. I actually succeeded in sorts, and now regularly play a tabletop RPG on a strangely familiar elemental-themed island..

Before MNOG, Bionicle's early years were these strange, far off stories that seems almost trivial in comparison to the magnitude of 2008. After MNOG, they became my favourite. I don't think it's hyperbole to say that the people at Templar shaped not only my childhood, but who I am today. Even my love for Maori culture stems from that one little flash game. That masterpiece from the time, before time...

[petrus]

This is an excellent piece. Well scripted, well researched, well produced, and it perfectly illustrates why MNOG remains one of the most universally-praised parts of the franchise. Good work.

[shonenbag]

I actually came onto the Bionicle fandom long after it died, but boy am I glad I got to experience the Online Game on BMP. It truly is a work of art. Lego has not managed to find a developer to make something like this since.

[muhammadgheith]

I will be mad if this video doesnt become super popular

[DJKCP]

So glad that Biomedia Project saved this priceless media, got it downloaded before the flash apocalypse! Also I'm impressed how much Peter talks about it like it's a passion project, and not just another gig, and it truly turned into something amazing.

[Acrosurge]

I was not into Bionicle in the 2000s and I didn't play MNOG until 2018, yet I still come back to this game for the atmosphere. Every node is lovingly crafted. I've introduced two friends to it as well and I never get tired of watching others get drawn into the beauty and mystery of the setting.