I think the most essential characteristic is that a Mech is mechanical. Otherwise, Remy piloting Alfredo in Ratatouille would count as a Mech, at least from the point of view of something the size of a rat.
That could be a fun RPG. In the future, clans of intelligent rats wage war by convincing bored and disaffected human teenagers to let rats pilot them like giant mechs. For thematic inspiration, sources like _Ratatouille_ and _Ben and Me_. Combat system somewhere between BattleMech and Crash Pandas.
Straight up, I'm INTO that! Like - Evas were biological, no? Any different from Remy/Alfredo, apart from species and family relationships?
I say thee no! I once had a great bio-tech game in which everybody would sort of embed in the tummy of giant, genetically-engineered water bears to use as space suits, since they could withstand the void of space ...
Bio-mecha? The movement is still "mechanized," no?
I've always thought/assumed the earliest examples of mecha were the Martian fighting-machines in War of the Worlds — big, vaguely anthropomorphic machines, controlled by a pilot, with legs for movement, manipulator arms, and high-tech weapons.
(Except anthropomorphic is the wrong word, they're fashioned after their non-human creators. Xenomorphic?)
Certainly the ones in the 2005 Tom Cruise film meet the definition, right? I kind of forgot that they have pilots (albeit alien) inside! Looking up the original book description: " A monstrous tripod, higher than many houses, striding over the young pine-trees, and smashing them aside in its career; a walking engine of glittering metal, striding now across the heather; articulate ropes of steel dangling from it, and the clattering tumult of its passage mingling with the riot of the thunder. A flash, and it came out vividly, heeling over one way with two feet in the air, to vanish and reappear almost instantly as it seemed, with the next flash, a hundred yards nearer. Can you imagine a milking-stool tilted and bowled violently along the ground? That was the impression those instant flashes gave. But instead of a milking-stool imagine it a great body of machinery on a tripod stand."
And from Wikipedia: "The fighting machines walk on three tall, articulated legs and have a grouping of long, whip-like metallic tentacles hanging beneath the central body, a single flexible appendage holding the heat-ray projector. Atop the main body a hood-like head houses a sole Martian operator."
Sounds like a mech to me! And from 1898, easily beating The Golden Bat!
As of now "Pilot" is the top result in the poll, so it would seem most people agree with you. Not having a pilot might be a dealbreaker on the "Is it a mech or not?" question. Perhaps the most necessary feature.
But just having a pilot is not sufficient. Boats and trains have pilots, but are not mechs. :)
Great comment! And not being a Gundam/Macross expert, I didn't know some were AI controlled!
I think you have almost covered all the aspects of what makes a mech: large, cockpit, legs, but that would describe an AT-AT and that doesn't "feel" like a Mech. One could fall back to saying "you know one when you see one". But I think the one aspect you might be missing is the mech needs to feel like it is an entity, a personality, something that mimics life, something that thinks. When you look at it, you feel like it is looking back at you intelligently; you stop thinking about who's in the cockpit, and you start think of the mech as its own being.
Also - can't believe you didn't mention the mechs from Pacific Rim! ;)
I wonder if the reason that "require a pilot" is the most popular response is because people didn't read the question correctly and assumed it was multiple choice and then were surprised when they could not choose "have legs", or any of the other options, and then slightly panicked when they realised could not go back and change their response?
I consider Tetsujin 28 and the Guntank mechs, so most of the distinctions above don't work. Machinery with animal characteristics is my best attempt, because a think a small tank with arms would count
We don't actually have many transforming robots where tank threads turn into the legs, because the option to switch to using threads if the mech can't fly would be a lot faster in cities, think that could be interesting too!
I think the P–5000 Powered Work Loader from Alien is probably the hardest example to pin down. It is clearly humanoid shaped (arms and legs), it's big, and it requires a pilot. But is it "huge"? Is it big enough to be a mech, or closer to powered armor (e.g. Iron Man / Iron Monger)? Such a good one to call out!
I'm not familiar with Patlabor (Mobile Police Patlabor?), and will need to check that one out! Thank you for the comment!
I assume Mechagodzilla is on your list, and if I recall correctly, the Legendary Pictures's Monsterverse version is piloted, whereas the original Toho series was . . . a space alien sentient robot? Man, the lines get so blurry. :)
Also, Plato's Mech is hilarious and awesome. Nicely done!
You can also download the Plato's Mech coloring contest page from itch.io: https://exeuntpress.itch.io/platos-mech
I think the most essential characteristic is that a Mech is mechanical. Otherwise, Remy piloting Alfredo in Ratatouille would count as a Mech, at least from the point of view of something the size of a rat.
HAhaha! I no longer care about definitions and want to consider Ratatouille the best mech movie of all time. 😂
Best comment so far!
That could be a fun RPG. In the future, clans of intelligent rats wage war by convincing bored and disaffected human teenagers to let rats pilot them like giant mechs. For thematic inspiration, sources like _Ratatouille_ and _Ben and Me_. Combat system somewhere between BattleMech and Crash Pandas.
Please make this.
Straight up, I'm INTO that! Like - Evas were biological, no? Any different from Remy/Alfredo, apart from species and family relationships?
I say thee no! I once had a great bio-tech game in which everybody would sort of embed in the tummy of giant, genetically-engineered water bears to use as space suits, since they could withstand the void of space ...
Bio-mecha? The movement is still "mechanized," no?
The hottest of takes: NG:E is basically the same as Ratatouille. 😂
(This is my favorite SCM comment thread of all time.)
🤣
I've always thought/assumed the earliest examples of mecha were the Martian fighting-machines in War of the Worlds — big, vaguely anthropomorphic machines, controlled by a pilot, with legs for movement, manipulator arms, and high-tech weapons.
(Except anthropomorphic is the wrong word, they're fashioned after their non-human creators. Xenomorphic?)
Well that's an interesting observation!
Certainly the ones in the 2005 Tom Cruise film meet the definition, right? I kind of forgot that they have pilots (albeit alien) inside! Looking up the original book description: " A monstrous tripod, higher than many houses, striding over the young pine-trees, and smashing them aside in its career; a walking engine of glittering metal, striding now across the heather; articulate ropes of steel dangling from it, and the clattering tumult of its passage mingling with the riot of the thunder. A flash, and it came out vividly, heeling over one way with two feet in the air, to vanish and reappear almost instantly as it seemed, with the next flash, a hundred yards nearer. Can you imagine a milking-stool tilted and bowled violently along the ground? That was the impression those instant flashes gave. But instead of a milking-stool imagine it a great body of machinery on a tripod stand."
And from Wikipedia: "The fighting machines walk on three tall, articulated legs and have a grouping of long, whip-like metallic tentacles hanging beneath the central body, a single flexible appendage holding the heat-ray projector. Atop the main body a hood-like head houses a sole Martian operator."
Sounds like a mech to me! And from 1898, easily beating The Golden Bat!
I wonder if a pilot is required to qualify a robot for a mech.
- Evangelions, as well as Jehuty from Zone of the Enders are able to function both with and without a pilot
- most Transformers don't require pilots
- Metal Gears are often not piloted
- more interestingly, some mecha in Gundam and Macross are AI-controlled.
I find this quite puzzling. Does a mech stop being mech the moment the pilot is replaced by autopilot?
As of now "Pilot" is the top result in the poll, so it would seem most people agree with you. Not having a pilot might be a dealbreaker on the "Is it a mech or not?" question. Perhaps the most necessary feature.
But just having a pilot is not sufficient. Boats and trains have pilots, but are not mechs. :)
Great comment! And not being a Gundam/Macross expert, I didn't know some were AI controlled!
Just watched Robot Jox this past weekend. What a great blast from the past. It actually holds up pretty good for an 80's movie!
I've never heard of it, but the screenshots look amazing!
That was the movie that got me into Mechs growing up, and later into Battletech.
I might need to check it out!
This is a great movie!
I think you have almost covered all the aspects of what makes a mech: large, cockpit, legs, but that would describe an AT-AT and that doesn't "feel" like a Mech. One could fall back to saying "you know one when you see one". But I think the one aspect you might be missing is the mech needs to feel like it is an entity, a personality, something that mimics life, something that thinks. When you look at it, you feel like it is looking back at you intelligently; you stop thinking about who's in the cockpit, and you start think of the mech as its own being.
Also - can't believe you didn't mention the mechs from Pacific Rim! ;)
I like that idea. The more "vehicle" it is the less mech it feels. The more "sentient" it feels (even though it has a pilot) the more mech it feels!
Also.... Oooof! Lack of Pacific Rim was definitely a miss, but also I'm always pressured by max email length for posts. :)
Thanks for your comment!
Maybe this is why the powerloader might not fit like a mech as its basically a super cool forklift
I’m going to need to post an update to the article with all these insights!
I wonder if the reason that "require a pilot" is the most popular response is because people didn't read the question correctly and assumed it was multiple choice and then were surprised when they could not choose "have legs", or any of the other options, and then slightly panicked when they realised could not go back and change their response?
Hypothetically of course.
Hah! You might be right. Polls need to have randomized option orders.
I consider Tetsujin 28 and the Guntank mechs, so most of the distinctions above don't work. Machinery with animal characteristics is my best attempt, because a think a small tank with arms would count
I would like a game that involves small tanks with arms.
We don't actually have many transforming robots where tank threads turn into the legs, because the option to switch to using threads if the mech can't fly would be a lot faster in cities, think that could be interesting too!
What about Riley’s Power Loader from Aliens? Or the smaller mecha From the Patlabor series. Most were just large truck size and not piloted.
I think the P–5000 Powered Work Loader from Alien is probably the hardest example to pin down. It is clearly humanoid shaped (arms and legs), it's big, and it requires a pilot. But is it "huge"? Is it big enough to be a mech, or closer to powered armor (e.g. Iron Man / Iron Monger)? Such a good one to call out!
I'm not familiar with Patlabor (Mobile Police Patlabor?), and will need to check that one out! Thank you for the comment!
I assume Mechagodzilla is on your list, and if I recall correctly, the Legendary Pictures's Monsterverse version is piloted, whereas the original Toho series was . . . a space alien sentient robot? Man, the lines get so blurry. :)
Also, Plato's Mech is hilarious and awesome. Nicely done!
I'm not too familiar with the Godzilla cinematic universe, and this is a flaw on my part. I'll need to do some searching and look that up.
So glad you enjoyed Plato's Mech!! :) Thank you!