Some Questions about the future of LEGO and Castle

[SavaTheAggie]

1. What do you think LEGO would never do that you?d love to see?

Easy. The Kingdom of Ikros in LEGO. I'm not a huge fan of LEGO using stories, but hey, I gotta say that would be really really cool

On top of that... a build your own castle army set. 30+ figs in one of three colors, identical accessories between, and a small floppy disk with enough software and die-cut sticker paper to customize the figs with whatever design, logo, or faction you'd like.

2. What types of themes/concepts should LEGO stay away from?

Anything that strays away from LEGO's original trinity of creativity - Duplo, System, Technic.

3. Are there any community projects/products that you?d like to see turn into a LEGO set?

CCC sets come to mind, but since they're based on actual LEGO product standards anyway, go figure, huh?

4. Are there any projects/products that we should stay away from?

(Non Ikros) Story themes, anything with a distinct plot. Once you get a plot, you get unique characters. Once you get unique characters, you get one, main unique character in every single set (*cough* Harry Parter *cough* luke skywalker/darth vader)

5. What types of products/themes/concepts do you think are missing from the assortment over the years?

Realism. I don't have a problem with fantasy in the least, and no LEGO set has every been 'realistic' (minifigs != human being). But I cannot stand fantasy that doesn't at least have a foot planted in realism.

6. Are there things we?re missing in general? On box? In the instructions? In the box materials?

Boxes are too big, instructions don't need comics.

So.... missing? Neat flip top boxes with a window showing you the parts and.... parts. Too few parts in sets for their price point. Get rid of the huge all-in-once pieces, stick with bricks, its what your'e good at.

[Bricksidge]

1. What do you think LEGO would never do that you’d love to see?

Taking the castle line away from the cliche battle-monsters or fight-evil-guy storyline and take it a more unique direction, while keeping the action and fun. My personal fave would be "fantasy tech" aka "steampunk", but really, anything new and creative would be killer.

2. What types of themes/concepts should LEGO stay away from?

Realistic castle sets. I just don't see them having a good market outside of us nerdy CCers... and they just aren't that interesting, as we've seen in our own community. Tudor shops are only interesting for so long, and there's not much playability in a bunch of green plants sticking out of the ground and a man with a pitchfork...

3. Are there any community projects/products that you’d like to see turn into a LEGO set?

No, not particularly. I suppose the non-overdone fantasy stuff like I mentioned above, but I'd rather see cool designs by LEGO than a bunch of rehashes of things the community done things.

4. Are there any projects/products that we should stay away from?

Stay away from the licensing, although I believe LEGO has learned that the hard way. License items are like fads, and the strength of the LEGO Brand is based on longevity, not fads. LEGO has to make lines that stand strong on their own, but leave room for expansion into new realms and concepts.

Hard to explain exactly what I mean here, but basically, "castle" is forever, "Harry Potter" is not (although some of the Episode 4 sets are extraordinarily well designed), "space" is greater than "Star Wars", "town" is stronger than "Spiderman" (although I love those sets)

Minifig packs, although sometimes useful, should not be a focus. Same with minifig accessories. LEGO's strength is in bricks and associated pieces, not mini-action figures.

5. What types of products/themes/concepts do you think are missing from the assortment over the years?

Newer lines seem shallower then older ones, that have more depth. I remember pictures and fold-out-posters from my youth where currently available products (I believe it was Forestmen and Black Knights) formed a complete landscape, with the forestmen living on the outside in the trees and them robbing the carriage that was traveling over the bridge towards the castle... can't really do that with today's line


6. Are there things we’re missing in general? On box? In the instructions? In the box materials?

The Designer sets have some of the coolest instructions I've ever seen. All those alternate models and ideas. Brilliant work there.

The X-Pods are also super hip, simple pieces with loads of possibiities. Theme-specific ones would rock my socks. Not sure how LEGO could make theme specific X-Pods, but then, I'm not a paid product designer!


There you go, my own thoughts. Reading other peoples thoughts, mine seem rather "out-there", but do what you want with them, Lenny.

[architect]

2. What types of themes/concepts should LEGO stay away from?

Realistic castle sets. I just don't see them having a good market outside of us nerdy CCers... and they just aren't that interesting, as we've seen in our own community. Tudor shops are only interesting for so long, and there's not much playability in a bunch of green plants sticking out of the ground and a man with a pitchfork...

I think many members want more realistic looking sets, not completely historically accurate sets. If KK2 can sell, then nearly any castle line can. I think kids will like more realistic castle sets just as much as kk2. Either way the sets should look like LEGO by having basic colors; and as you said have a good selection of bricks so kids can build other stuff. I imagine many of us would be less opposed to kk2 if the sets were brick intensive and did not have so many poops and burps.

A farm set can be interesting with a variety of things to play with such as a well, field, barn, house, carts, plow, and animals. It has been done with duplo successfully so why not system? Plus many other toy companies like Playmobil, Ertl, and Fisher Price made farm sets. Of course certain types of sets are not for everyone.

Some kids/adults prefer to play with more action oriented sets while others like more everyday life sets (people like my little sister). LEGO could make both types of sets: siege weapons for some and farms for others.

Minifig packs, although sometimes useful, should not be a focus. Same with minifig accessories. LEGO's strength is in bricks and associated pieces, not mini-action figures.

I agree that they shouldn't be the focus but they shouldn't be completely eliminated for 8 years in a row...

The Designer sets have some of the coolest instructions I've ever seen. All those alternate models and ideas. Brilliant work there.

I also love the extra models and instructions for these sets. Wouldn't a "designer castle" or "Univeral Castle Builder" line of sets be great? A cart pack could make 10 different carts or a shop set could make 4-5 shops.

There you go, my own thoughts. Reading other peoples thoughts, mine seem rather "out-there", but do what you want with them, Lenny.

Way out there but good to have a different perspective.

Ben

[Nick]

1. What do you think LEGO would never do that you’d love to see?

Return to the good old days.

2. What types of themes/concepts should LEGO stay away from?

None, the world is the limit.

3. Are there any community projects/products that you’d like to see turn into a LEGO set?

Quite a few, actually. there are many, many excellent MOCs.

4. Are there any projects/products that we should stay away from?

No.

5. What types of products/themes/concepts do you think are missing from the assortment over the years?

Mostly, Lego has avoided historical themes.

6. Are there things we’re missing in general? On box? In the instructions? In the box materials?

It would help if Lego actually gave instructions for alternative models, the ones they just show on the back of their boxes. Also, catalogues with ALL sets for a particular theme, with no exception for small sets etc.

[Drucifer]

1. What do you think LEGO would never do that you’d love to see?
I'd love to see gothic horror sets. I enjoyed the monster sets in the Studio line, but they were pretty simple and were made to look like movie sets. More detailed sets like Dracula's castle, or Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory would be excellent. An angry peasant mob or the streets of Victorian London as sets would complement these nicely.

2. What types of themes/concepts should LEGO stay away from?
Apart from anything obviously controversial, I don't think there are any themes LEGO should avoid. Obviously some people will prefer certain themes over others, but I think one of the things I enjoy most is how people take elements from other themes and incorporate them into the ones they enjoy.

3. Are there any community projects/products that you’d like to see turn into a LEGO set?
I'll echo many others by saying CCC. I think the Moonbase standard would also be good. And of course, the Technic ball machine idea. There's something about being able to take your individual sets and combine them into something larger that I find very appealing.

4. Are there any projects/products that we should stay away from?
A lot of people have mentioned licensed products. I've enjoyed the various licensed product lines, but I think they could be improved. Harry Potter, for example, has some very well done sets in my opinion, but I do have an army of Harry Potter minifigs. It would be nice to diversify the minifigs within the licensed line. If each set is going to have a Harry minifig, then maybe they could come with different faces (i.e. facial expressions) or torso designs. Basically, anything that would keep me from have a large number of indentical non-generic minifigs.

5. What types of products/themes/concepts do you think are missing from the assortment over the years?
I really miss idea books. A minifig scale pirate ship that would really float would be great too.

6. Are there things we’re missing in general? On box? In the instructions? In the box materials?
Digital instructions would be really nice. The Spybotics instructions seemed to be a step in this direction. I think some sort of digital instructions could be very useful. Especially in the case of large sets, like Death Star II, where the instructions could be enhanced through multimedia presentation. PDF instructions are nice, but I'm talking about using the digital medium to enhance the instruction presentation (piece highlighting, piece check lists where you could tick off what pieces you've pulled out, 3D model views that you can manipulate, fun building soundtrack, etc.). This would probably best be suited to things like the UCS sets and complex Technic constructions, so it might not be appropriate for all sets. You could package these as a CD included with the set or make them available for download, I think either way would work.

[Azaghal]

1. Taking the castle line away from the cliche battle-monsters or fight-evil-guy storyline and take it a more unique direction, while keeping the action and fun. My personal fave would be "fantasy tech" aka "steampunk", but really, anything new and creative would be killer.

Mine too.

2. Avoid lines with large storylines, knights kingdom accessories such as swords and helmets, lead characters (unless popular ones which have already been made like Robin Hood in the 80's), lines without generic soldiers (soldiers with smiley heads and generic armor such as plate mail), trading cards, games, comics, large bulky pieces and poops, juniorization, poor sub-models.

and

Fads, put simply.

3. Like many have already said, modular stuff is something that is big in the community and would make some great product lines.

4. Bionicle and anything to do with huge mega-figs.

5. I think that LEGO is missing a Roman theme... The closest we've gotten were those Egyptian temples with the Adventurers- and they were really cool. More along those lines would be awesome.

Any timeperiod not already covered would be cool, really. Speaking of Adventurers, they introduced Indy-inspired 30's style equiptment alongside the ancients stuff, which was cool. Stuff in the Pirate era - 17th and 18th century - but not neccessarily nautical would be cool too. Finally,

6. There is too much material. All one needs are the instructions and perhaps an advertising slip or something.

Apparently a great number of minds think alike. Or something like that.

[wlister]

1. What do you think LEGO would never do that you’d love to see?

A real Crusades theme, with Various Types of Knights, Saracens etc... as well as historical buildings from that time period.

2. What types of themes/concepts should LEGO stay away from?

Sports & Alpha Team. These themes are taking up shelf space that could be better used for themes that will sell better EX: Vikings, World City, Designer, KKII, Trains

3. Are there any community projects/products that you’d like to see turn into a LEGO set?

I would love to see LEGO have a contest using the guidelines for the Classic-Castle City Standard and the winners of that contest would have their sets produced as a Classic-Castle line.

4. Are there any projects/products that we should stay away from?

Military and Licenses and Fads. Now that the best Licenses are gone, just don't bother.

5. What types of products/themes/concepts do you think are missing from the assortment over the years?

Historical themes such as Romans, Greeks, Trojans etc... As well as a medieval village theme, lees military and more basics like bakery, masons, blacksmiths, stables market stalls etc...

6. Are there things we’re missing in general? On box? In the instructions? In the box materials?

Idea books. Stop putting so much space paper junk in packages and as others have said, make the box sizes reflect the parts in the sets. I have heard many parents complain about buying sets and the boxes feeling rather empty.

[psu_ericksen]

Hope it's not too late to respond.

1. What do you think LEGO would never do that you’d love to see?

The return of the old grey and brown and the discontinuation of the flesh tone figs.

2. What types of themes/concepts should LEGO stay away from?

All things Middle Eastern.

3. Are there any community projects/products that you’d like to see turn into a LEGO set?

Wow. There are so many great MOCs out there in all themes. Stick around for the upcoming Colossal Castle Contest III. Or browse the 2 previous contests.

4. Are there any projects/products that we should stay away from?

Stop trying to be every toy for every kid. It seems that ever since LEGO wanted to be the #1 toy, the brand has lost its focus. "Hey, you want a building toy? We got that. You want a collectible card game? We got that too." What's next, poseable action figures? Oh, wait...

I must admit that this has gotten better with products like the designer sets, but this should be translated to all themes. Instead of using a useless 1x2x5, use 5 1x2's. Would the price really be that much more? I feel bad for kids that have, say, only the new sets like Harry Potter. Kids like this have very few useful bricks to actually build something other than the sets themselves. You should stick to your core. Instead of emphasizing 'action' and 'play scenes', emphasize 'building' and 'imagination'. I understand that LEGO is competing for toy dollars from a variety of options, but instead of being all things to all people, be the best at a select few.

5. What types of products/themes/concepts do you think are missing from the assortment over the years?

A better variety of service packs at S&H, especially roof tiles, windows, and doors for castle. How about bringing back http://guide.lugnet.com/set/5151 in red, black, blue, etc.? Also, if we can get 1,000-piece tubs with multi colors for $20, why can't we get $20 1,000-piece tubs in one or a few colors? Seems to me that instead of filling bags and tubs with many different colors, it would actually be cheaper to stop at the 'grey chute' and just start filling. And I'd still be willing to pay $20-$30. Or how about making something this April Fool's joke a reality? And you thought 4886 Building Bonanza flew off your shelves?

6. Are there things we’re missing in general? On box? In the instructions? In the box materials?

Hmmm....Missing? I would say the opposite. Boxes should include bricks, instructions, and a small catalog. You want to throw in an ad for LEGO club or LEGO.com? Fine. And the boxes could be much smaller. They'll cost less and it'll free up shelf space. PC games have moved to smaller boxes. So can LEGO.

Oh, and some good quality LEGO apparel would be cool. In adult sizes and styles. I often wear my LEGO polo shirt to work. And now co-workers email me news articles about LEGO that they come across because they know I'm a fan. I could use a new one, but I don't live near a LEGO store. Are they even available anymore? There are many quality clothiers out there that you could contract to put the red square LEGO logo. I'd buy them, a it'd be free advertising for you with little overhead.


Sean

[cnelson]

1. What do you think LEGO would never do that you’d love to see?

What I would most like to see from LEGO is the creation of modular sets that would be combinable either as-built or as pieces into a large set, e.g., a throne room set, council chamber set, and turret set that made a keep when put together or a tourney, blacksmith shop, and market that came with instructions for building a castle out of the pieces in the three sets.

2. What types of themes/concepts should LEGO stay away from?

Pieces without studs. One of my big turnoffs for Technic now is that the liftarms etc. don't look like LEGO pieces and don't combine with bricks and plates easily.

3. Are there any community projects/products that you’d like to see turn into a LEGO set?

No, other than a continuation of the MOC sets for the best sets created by the community.

4. Are there any projects/products that we should stay away from?

Anything that doesn't complement bricks and plates as the core system for building.

5. What types of products/themes/concepts do you think are missing from the assortment over the years?

-Idea books
-Emphasis on building and versatility rather than juniorization and ease of building

On this topic, the Designer sets are an example of how LEGO has turned from the dark side of late.

6. Are there things we’re missing in general? On box? In the instructions? In the box materials?

I miss a box that had a liner in it. I hate having to dump pieces on a table and build from there--it's so much easier to be able to pick up a box, hold it in your lap or set it next to you on the couch, and build from there than dump all the pieces on a table and spend 20 minutes looking for the 1 x 2 plate that slid off the edge or under a magazine...

Thanks for listening Lego!

Carl

[Glencaer]

Some very excellent answers in these posts. I'm locking the thread now and will begin to compile these answers to transmit them to Jake and SAH Team.

Thank you to everyone for helping us out, and for making Classic-Castle look good

-Lenny