quakefultales

doctor computational theater snek

indie game dev, AI and narrative design researcher, playwright


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gee-man
@gee-man

I have many mecha hot takes but tend to keep them to myself unless prompted (or perhaps provoked would be more apt). One I've been thinking about lately is I feel putting the term "mech/a", "ro/bot", etc. in your title is kind of a losing move that makes your work feel generic. Not hating on the ones that pull it off but they tend to be legacy franchises. Mechwarrior, Custom Robo, etc. But they got there first, so they get grandfathered in. The rest of us must be more creative than that.

I think the best mecha titles are ones that are more evocative than descriptive. Aura Battle Dunbine. Heavy Metal L-Gaim. Armored Trooper Votoms. Mouthfeel goes a long way too. Doesn't it just feel good to say Chromehounds out loud? Say it with me now:

Chromehounds

Mecha is a genre all about specificity. How big? How fast? Action, sim, or tactics? Simply saying your game has robots in it doesn't actually do much for most of us. We are inherently driven by our hearts. What's your favorite mecha title? Is it a sensible name or does it just feel good to type/say? Be honest.


quakefultales
@quakefultales

This game stands as a testament to FromSoft's namimg prowess and is still probably my favorite mecha title to say

That said, Patlabor is an excellent title both for having good mouth feel and also gesturing at the series' concept without bogging things down


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in reply to @gee-man's post:

my favorite mecha game is either Battletech or Armored Core 6, so I must unfortunately out myself as part of the problem.

These titles suck. They do not contain any useful information outside of "this game has mecha in it". And, yet, they are my favorite.

I admit my bias here but I think Armored Core is a sick name for a mecha game that evokes a vibe without being overly descriptive. I'd say similarly for Battletech. A simple name has its own appeal. For me it really just comes down to not loving it when the actual term "mech/a" is used in the title itself.

"Gunbuster" fucks severely imo. It's not very specific (although, in fairness, Gunbuster is the eponymous central/protagonistic mech model) but god does it sound good

Don't get me wrong, Armored Core 6: The Fires Of Rubicon fucks and all that, but I still think the best wordplay the franchise did with it's titles is "Armored Core For[4] Answer".

It's a real good one. V also kinda pulled it off with Armored Core [V]erdict Day. I can only hope if we ever get an AC6 follow up we get something similar. Armored Core 6 [VI]ctorious Legion or whatever.

brigador and titanfall are deeply stuck in our heart for a reason and part of is definitely the sick ass name + using that name in an evocative way

W E L C O M E B R I G A D O R will forever be burned in our brain alongside "prepare for titanfall"

in reply to @quakefultales's post:

One of the best names to say and type that we've covered extensively is Iron Widow and its sequel Heavenly Tyrant. To us they're big, badass, fun, and intrinsically linked the systems the books interrogate. Great post I hadn't thought about it like this 'til now.