(Intelli Gaming: Article) In Part II of my article (see Part I here), I look at the inspiration of LEGO towards the space frontier, as it is one subject that unites all of humanity towards a common goal: The exploration of space and the understanding of the universe.
LEGO has for years made toys that makes us dream, which fuel our imagination to imagine what could be, to imagine what will be our future reality. But not only does LEGO bricks enable you to conceptualise and create unique new constructions, it also served as a source of inspiration for colours, shapes and some overall design patterns.
The LEGO Technics models are much more advanced and often feature mechanical parts and/or electrical motor parts which all add to the complexity and to the realism of those toys. I've looked at those advanced models in part I. Here, I want to focus on Space LEGOs but while doing research, I found more information about an interesting topic...
Military Toys
When I think back about the toys I used to play with as a child, three major toy brands come to mind immediately: LEGO, GI. Joe and Transformers. Needless to say, the G.I. Joe and Transformers toys were about war. Every single toy was either a weapon itself or it carried weapons of some form.
And then I realised that LEGO was devoid of military toys. Could it be that the company had a policy towards that? The answer is yes, the company does indeed have a strong belief in selling toys that do not promote modern military vehicles. In an interview with CNN, a spokesman for LEGO said the following:
"We have a long-standing policy of not creating sets which feature real military vehicles that are currently in use,"
That explains why my focus when building LEGO was never really about destruction but always much more about construction, exploration and Playing Well (Leg Godt)...
I understand this policy of the company and I respect it. The company somehow can influence what kids will play with. Will they be playing with tanks invading a coastline or with bombs being dropped from AC-130?
LEGO stands by their policy even if there is a market for that, which is being filled by their competitors and by amateurs alike (see image below). I applaud their decision.
Having toy makers that take a stance to prevent the glorification of weapons of war is important. There is more interesting in this world than to destroy what others have built. LEGO is at the heart of love of building, dreaming and inspiration.
Take a look at the complete article of CNN (LEGO military sets) for more details.
Inspiration
I remember creating increasingly big and complex starships, reaching all the way to having them carry other smaller ships. Propulsion systems improved in my head and the aerodynamics of my models made more scientific sense as years of creation stood behind me.
I also recall building multiple instances of the American Space Shuttle. It took me some time, as a kid, to figure out that the big thing underneath was uninhabitable. At first, I had not understood the fuel storage purpose of that main booster. Then I realised, seeing footage, how the smaller rockets were ejected first and finally, the larger main booster was also ejected, leaving only the space shuttle to continue cruising on its own.
Learning more about the dynamics behind the space shuttle and the launching ramp really got me to get interested in space and astronomy as a young kid. I also remember when my sister intentionally destroyed my space shuttle by dropping it from the table where it stood. All the LEGO bricks broke on the floor. I picked them all up and rebuilt it better. We call this "creative destruction"!
A year or so later, I would also get a special police starship. That one would also be a favourite of mine since it complemented so well with all the other space pieces that I had. Plus some of the pieces in the kit contained magnets and that was awesome. Magnets brought a new technological element to my creations. I could now create parts that were highly cohesive, while keep both pieces decoupled. High cohesion and low coupling is what software engineering seeks to accomplish, very often.
Parallels like this, between real-world construction, even at the LEGO scale, with software engineering are very numerous.
Since I always loved castles, receiving a castle as a gift, with very modern pieces, made it one of my favourite toys. I could now recreate countless varieties of castle entrances and fortifications. It led me to think about ramparts and the entrances to the towers. I also gave me a model to draw castles.
Also, I once got a kit with a plane, a helicopter and an air control tower. All of which allowed me to familiarise myself with various geometries of those objects. Where the wheels were located, the engines, the rotor of the helicopter, etc.
With ample other smaller kits, I also got some more space material. That theme would go on to be one of my favourites, besides the castle. Eventually, in my later years, I thus received a robot with 4 legs and 4 arms along with another robot featuring the all new "Light and Sound" system. I also got as a present the Monorail station, which was again more and more modern.
LEGO had introduced some cool new translucent blue geometric shapes, which can be seen in the image above and I loved it. With white, it all looked so neat and futuristic.
One thing I remember is that I once got my hands on an electrical motor as a kid. I was probably 7 years old. The electrical motor could be powered by a battery. It activated a rotor which could be used to power wheels. Since I did not have a remote guided car, and since I saw some older kids playing with those in the street, I decided one day to build my own!
Using the motor, I built some LEGO around it and made wheels. The construction was not very solid and there was to guiding system and not remote. However, once plugged, the motor worked and the "frame" I had built with LEGO held around the engine and moved the vehicle on the kitchen table to my amazement!
I had just used my brains with the limited tools at my disposal to re-create and reverse engineer a remote small car! That is what I like about LEGO: The bricks are just the medium and you use them to realise your creations.
Today, with the rise of NFT markets and the synergy of crypto-gaming/NFT/online worlds, inspiration comes from multiple places. Artists all over the world work daily to bring about the next experiences and they all draw from sources that often start in their youth, possibly with LEGO, just like me.
Into the Unknown
Looking at the some the new virtual crypto miners of Rollercoin, I am reminded of the looks and designs of my LEGOs. The unachievable depictions that I had, unachievable because I lacked the pieces, still haunt my mind and carry with them the desire for a future modelled after them. But modern designs of the virtual gaming worlds all seem to pull inspiration from such toys. Here some such examples:
Some of those modern miner designs often tap into those colours and shapes that formed the LEGO universe of all years across their space explorations. By the way, if you want to play that game (Rollercoin), I've written an entire article looking at the subject. To join the game, it is better with a referral link so here is mine:
https://rollercoin.com/?r=koisz1j7
This leads me to look as some pieces of the LEGO exhibition in space which so enthralled me as a kid.
Has this source of inspiration been at the origin of the design for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), just launched a few days ago? This modern marvel of technology rivals with the Ancient Wonders in that it took 10 years to build and send into space. To see where it is at in real time, head to https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html
This robot transformer specialised in infrared (lower energy than visible red light) observations, it will orbit the Lagrange (L2) point and peek into the far edges of space to reveal the Universe at its earliest age. While I am on the topic I might as well add the following piece of knowledge: Peering into the depths of space is also peering into the depths of time. Time = distance in the cosmos.
Inspirations of robot transformers and seeking the unknown and open barriers of space are themes that I relate to LEGO, given the inspiration I got from playing with those bricks. One thing that I admire is that I do not associate war with LEGO. They did a good job at providing me, as a kid, with non-violent toys.
Did you ever play with LEGO yourself? @Theblackdoll recently commented on part I that she had once stepped on a LEGO brick and it hurt AF! I also stepped on bricks with my barefoot as a kid! It does hurt. Did this ever happen to you?
What did you build and what did you dream about building?
Coming Up Next
The next *few* articles will look at some pieces of miniature scenery that I have built over the years. I have been sharing many of them on Noise.cash recently and even if I have written about the subject in the past, since those are each individual pieces of artwork, I want to show them in at least two more articles. Stay tuned for more! And subscribe so you don't miss out on future publications.
Thanks for reading!
Resources:
Part I: https://read.cash/@Librarian/lego-humble-beginnings-c2e0cea5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Kirk_Christiansen
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