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Mata Nui Online Game
Developer(s)	Templar Studios
Publisher(s)	The Lego Group
Series	Bionicle
Engine	Adobe Flash
Platform(s)	Web browser
Release	2001
Genre(s)	Point-and-click adventure game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Mata Nui Online Game (also known as Mata Nui Adventure Game or Mata Nui: The Online Game) is a 2001 point-and-click adventure Adobe Flash-based browser game developed by Templar Studios to promote the Lego Bionicle line of constructible action figures. The game follows Takua, a villager on the island of Mata Nui, as he explores the island, encountering other villagers and the Toa, heroic elemental warriors, on their quest to defeat the evil Makuta.

The game was developed and released episodically on the official Bionicle website throughout 2001, launching in January and concluding in December. It was later re-released in 2006 in downloadable form and in 2013 by Templar on their website. Following the cancelation of Lego Bionicle: The Legend of Mata Nui, Mata Nui Online Game became the primary vehicle for the 2001 Bionicle story despite not being wholly within the canon of the Bionicle story. The game was highly popular and is credited with helping to establish the success of the toy line. It received awards from the marketing industry, and retrospective analysis have highlighted its distinctive art style and its expansion of the concept of what Lego-related play can be.

Background and gameplay

Mata Nui Online Game is set on the fictional island of Mata Nui, which is divided into six elementally-themed regions: the aquatic region of Ga-Wahi, the jungle region of Le-Wahi, the icy and mountainous region of Ko-Wahi, the subterranean region of Onu-Wahi, the desert region of Po-Wahi, and the volcanic region of Ta-Wahi. Each of the regions contains a village, known as a koro, and each koro is led by a Turaga, the village elder. A great temple, Kini-Nui, lies near the center of the island. Although Mata Nui was once a paradise in the distant past, its villages have since lived in fear of the evil Makuta, whose dark power dominates the island. A prophesy holds that the Toa, six elemental warriors, will defeat Makuta and restore peace to the island. Some elements of the game are not officially canon to the Bionicle story, as they were not officially approved by the Bionicle story team. However, the game is regarded as one of the major vehicles of the 2001-2003 Bionicle story and became the primary story medium for the 2001 following the cancellation of the planned PC game Lego Bionicle: The Legend of Mata Nui.

Mata Nui Online Game is a browser-based point-and-click adventure game. The player can move throughout the world of Mata Nui by moving their cursor to the left and right side of the screen and clicking when an icon appears. Objects and characters in the world can be interacted with; some items can be presented to non-playable characters or used in the world. The player later gains access to a flute, which allows fast travel to any of the island's villages. Throughout the game, the player interacts with non-playable characters throughout the island. The content of future episodes was teased through an in-game telescope. The player controls Takua, a villager on the island of Mata Nui. Takua was also the playable character in Lego Bionicle: Quest for the Toa, a Game Boy Advance game released in October 2001. The events of Mata Nui Online Game pick up immediately after the events of Quest for the Toa, where Takua summons the Toa and is launched onto the beaches of Ta-Koro, having lost his memories.

Plot

An amnesiac Takua awakens on the beaches of Ta-Wahi where he encounters Maku, a villager from Ga-Koro. He learns the village has been attacked by a Rahi and offers to help. In Ga-Koro, he finds all of the villagers and Turaga Nokama trapped in a submerged hut; he returns the hut to the surface by re-activating a pump. The Rahi returns to attack but is defeated by Gali, the Toa of Water. Takua ventures to Ta-Koro, his home village; although the villagers and Turaga Vakama remember him, he does not.

Takua ventures to Po-Koro to inform Huki, a friend of Maku, that she is safe. When he arrives, he finds the village has been struck by a mysterious disease and that Huki, a star Koli player, is gravely ill. Takua finds a new type of Koli ball, the Comet ball, has become popular. He takes it to Turaga Onewa, who discovers they are infected and are the source of the disease. Takua steals a key from the merchant who sells the Comet balls and heads to the quarry, where he uncovers a cave with a large pile of infected Comet balls guarded by a Rahi. Aided by Pohatu, the Toa of Stone, he collapses the cave. They return to the village to find the merchant has fled and the villagers are recovering. In Ga-Koro, Nokama awards Takua the title and task of Chronicler.

In Onu-Koro, the mining of lightstones has stopped due to a lava break. Using a lava surfboard, Takua crosses the break and activates a pump that disperses the lava, allowing the miners to resume. The lightstones allow the villagers to complete a tunnel to Le-Wahi. In Le-Koro, Takua finds the village mostly deserted. Two villagers, Kongu and Tamaru, explain that the entire village has been abducted by Rahi. Kongu and Takua fly to the Rahi hive, where they find the entire village has been forced into labor and that Toa Lewa, the Toa of Air, has been placed under the control of Makuta by an infected mask. Onua, the Toa of Earth, arrives and battles Lewa. Onua removes the infected mask from Lewa, allowing the Toa and captives to escape the hive. The villagers celebrate their liberation, and Lewa receives a golden mask.

Takua visits Ko-Koro to speak to Turaga Nuju, but learns that he cannot do so until the villager Matoro, his interpreter, returns. He sets out for the snow drifts to find him; Matoro is attacked by a Rahi but is saved by Kopaka, the Toa of Ice. Back in Ko-Koro, Takua is told by Nuju that the Toa will confront Makuta and that the villages will need to unite to defend themselves in their absence. Takua travels to the other villages, each of which offers one villager to accompany him. He and his company set out to Kini-Nui, where the underground lair of Makuta lies. The Toa task them with protecting the temple so that they will not be ambushed as they face Makuta. Gali creates a mental link between herself and Takua, allowing him to witness the events below.

As the company repels multiple waves of Rahi, the six Toa merge into two Toa Kaita are confronted by Manas crabs. The company is nearly overwhelmed by the Rahi while the Toa Kaita are seemingly outmatched by the Manas. However, the military forces of the other villages arrive to reinforce the company and the Toa Kaita defeat the Manas by deactivating their control towers. The Toa Kaita are forcibly unmerged by Makuta; before their mental link breaks, Gali urges Takua to find a way into Makuta's lair.

Using a gateway in Onu-Koro, Takua enters Makuta's lair. The Toa confront Makuta, who first appears in the form of a corrupted villager before transforming into a swirling vortex. The Toa each unsuccessfully attempt to fight Makuta individually; after working together and combining their powers, Makuta is defeated and the Toa are teleported away. Takua attempts to flee and encounters a hive; insectoid beings emerge from it. Takua escapes to the beach, where he finds Vakama, who declares him as one of the great heroes of Mata Nui. The two return to Ta-Koro to celebrate.

Background and release

Development

According to Peter Mack, the President of Templar Studios, LEGO had contacted the team in 1999 to develop material for their upcoming Bionicle line. The two companies had worked together on previous projects, including a game based on the Lego Mindstorms line. In July 2000, Templar pitched the idea of an adventure game similar to Myst that would be set on the island of Mata Nui. Because the story of the main heroes of the line - the Toa - was to be told in other outlets, the game utilized and was based around the Tohunga villagers packaged with McDonalds Happy Meals. The decision by Lego to split the story across different platforms was an intentional one. Splitting the story across multiple platforms made it so kids could always learn something new about the story - the focal point of Lego's promotional efforts. Mata Nui Online game was a key part of Lego's aggressive multimedia campaign, as it introduced players to the world and allowed them to explore it. Following the cancellation of The Legend of Mata Nui in October 2001, the 2001 Bionicle story was left to be resolved in other outlets, including the Mata Nui Online Game.

The first episode of the game was released in January 2001. The game was updated monthly with new story content; By adopting an episodic approach, Lego hoped to maintain interest throughout the first year of the Bionicle line. Templar referred to these updates internally as "programs"; the game initially featured only the beach area, but expanded to include all villages on the island of Mata Nui and culminate with the Toa's battle with Makuta. The final update was released in December 2001.

Māori controversy

The story and setting of Bionicle took inspiration from Polynesian culture and languages, with Māori language and influence being especially prominent through character names, myths, tribal symbols, and rituals. Māori representatives were not pleased with this, finding it to be inappropriate and a "trivialization" of their culture. Māori groups had taken particular offense to the use of the word Tohunga, which in the Bionicle story referred to the island's ordinary villagers; in the Māori language, the term referred to experts in a specific field. The Māori groups sought to have Lego remove these terms from the toy line and games. Lego denied claims of cultural appropriation, with spokeswoman Eva Lykkegaard noting that the company had not attempted to trademark any Māori terms and had only sought a trademark for the word Bionicle, which Lego had created. However, Lego ultimately agreed to stop using Tohunga, along with several other words. References to the Polynesian gods Rangi and Papa were removed as the game was updated, while re-releases of Mata Nui Online Game removed and replaced "Tohunga" with "Matoran", along with the names for several characters.

Re-releases

Mata Nui Online Game was re-released in 2006 in downloadable form on the official Bionicle website, with an accompanying narrative guide written by Mark Durham of the Bionicle forum Mask of Destiny. The game was later removed from the Bionicle website, but Templar Studios uploaded an official version to their site in April 2013. Prior to the discontinuation of Adobe Flash in December 2020, the game was archived by Flashpoint, a project which aimed to preserve Flash and Shockwave-based games. The BioMediaProject also released browser-based and downloadable versions of the game that can function without Flash.

Reception and legacy

Mata Nui Online Game received awards from the marketing industry. In 2001, the Web Marketing Association awarded the game the "Best of Industry" WebAward in the "Best Toy and/or Hobby Web Site" category. At the 2002 Summit Awards, it received the Silver Award in the "Consumer Informational Site" category.

Leah Weston, the senior developer of Bionicle.com, said that LEGO was “highly pleased” with Templar’s work and noted the site had averaged 500,000 views a month. In 2003, Fast Company highlighted the game as a key part of helping Bionicle become a leader in the toy market. At the 2011 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media in Transition 7: Unstable Platforms conference, Aaron Smith cited the game's episodic structure as a reason for the success of the Bionicle website, as it kept players returning for additional content. A sequel, Mata Nui Online Game II, was developed and released in 2003.

In a 2005 article for the journal Kritikos, Thorsten Botz-Bornstein noted the game's depiction redefined the traditional expectation of Lego play as the "simplest thing in the world". He cited the confrontation with Makuta, who declares himself incapable of being destroyed as he is "nothing", as an example of the more spatially abstract, postmodern approach that Bionicle took to the concept of play. In February 2020, Eric Van Allen of USgamer cited the Mata Nui Online Game as a "classic" Flash game. In April 2020 J. Brodie Shirey of Screen Rant noted that the game has become regarded by many as the "definitive Bionicle experience".

References

1. Farshtey, Greg (April 27, 2010). Makuta's Guide to the Universe. Papercutz. p. 18-19. ISBN 1597072036.
2. Saffire (October 2002). Lego Bionicle: Quest for the Toa (Game Boy Advance). Lego Software. Scene: Introduction. Narrator: 'In a time before time, the island of Mata Nui was a tropical paradise. Then a shadow fell across the island - a shadow known as Makuta. In the dark years that followed, the islanders put their faith in a legend... a legend that foresaw the arrival of six mighty heroes: the Toa. For only the Toa will have the strength and courage to bring peace and light back to the world.'
3. "Chat with Greg Farshtey". The Great Archives. December 20, 2014. p. 591. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
4. Langlet, Irène (June 21, 2011). "Fictions industrielles et apprentissage du temps : les jeux LEGO Bionicles". Strenæ (in French). Retrieved May 9, 2021.
5. ^ Gerencser, Aron (September 15, 2018). "The 17 Year Long Story Behind Bionicle: The Legend of Mata Nui's Creation, Cancellation And Revival". Quillstreak. Archived from the original on December 28, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
6. ^ Durham, Mark (2006). "Mata Nui Walkthrough". p. 100-105. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
7. ^ Smith, Aaron (May 8, 2021). "Beyond the Brick: Narrativizing LEGO in the Digital Age" (PDF). MIT7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 14. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
8. Saffire Corporation (October 2001). Lego Bionicle: Quest for the Toa (Game Boy Advance). Lego Software.
9. Theriault, Jake (April 13, 2020). "The Making of The Mata Nui Online Game". Medium. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
10. ^ Lumb, David (June 21, 2020). "LEGO Almost Went Bankrupt. These Heroes Saved Our Bricks". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
11. ^ Cuthbert, Wendy (November 1, 2003). "The tale behind the toy finds a new niche beyond the tube". Kidscreen. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
12. ^ Robertson, Liam (May 12, 2018). Lego's Cancelled Bionicle Game for PC & GameCube (Video). Did You Know Gaming?. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
13. Fonnesbaek, Jeppe; Melbye Andersen, Morten (June 1, 2005). "Story selling: how LEGO told a story and sold a toy". Young Consumers. 6 (3): 38.
14. Templar Games. "Templar Games Inc". Tumblr. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
15. "The Last Issue". BZPower. December 15, 2001. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
16. Antons, Christoph (April 25, 2011). Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions and Intellectual Property Law in the Asia-Pacific Region. Kluwer Law International. p. 261. ISBN 978-9041127211. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
17. "Lego game irks Maoris". BBC News. May 31, 2001. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
18. Swinnerton, Alastair (April 20, 2017). "Bionicle – my actual part in its origins". AlastairSwinnerton.com. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
19. "Mata Nui Online". Bionicle.com. March 16, 2006. Archived from the original on March 16, 2006. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
20. Andrew (April 5, 2013). "The Mata Nui Online Game Returns". BZPower. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
21. ^ Van Allen, Eric (February 3, 2020). "Thousands of Flash Games Have Been Made Available Offline to Preserve Internet History". USgamer. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
22. "Mata Nui Online Game". BioMediaProject.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
23. "Web Marketing Association Names Best Toy and Hobby Industry Web Sites Following the 2006 WebAward Competition". PRWeb. October 6, 2006. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
24. "Bionicle.com Wins 3rd Award". ToyMania. April 25, 2002. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
25. Block, Valerie (August 12, 2002). "Web veterans make hard lessons pay off". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
26. "Peter Mack – Fast 50 2003". Fast Company. February 28, 2003. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
27. "Bionicle Games". Lego.com. December 4, 2003. Archived from the original on December 4, 2003. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
28. Botz-Bornstein, Thorsten (February 2005). "Overcoming the Logos – Overcoming Lego: From Imagined Space to the Spatial Imagination of the Bionicle World". Kritikos. 2. Intertheory Press. ISSN 1552-5112. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
29. Shirey, J. Brodie (April 22, 2020). "Bionicle: Quest for Mata Nui Is A Free Fan-Made Lego RPG & It Looks Awesome". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 9, 2021.

External links

• Mata Nui Online Game at BioMedia Project

• 2001 video games
• Bionicle video games
• Browser games
• Video games developed in the United States
• Single-player video games
• Point-and-click adventure games
• Flash games
• Video games set on fictional islands