Titanfall - Japanese Fanart Edition

Respawn's Titanfall was one of those titles that really had me intrigued in regards to what reaction it would receive overseas, and it didn't disappoint. And by reaction, we mean what sort of nerve it hit with the fanart community abroad, especially the mecha-centric Japanese community. I can't account for how well the game sold in a market that's typically had a strong aversion to FPS titles, but the community seems to have taken a rather strong liking to the aesthetic and the mechs especially. An earlier interview on Kotaku quoted Respawn's community manager mentioning that the Titanfall mechs were partially inspired by Shirow Masamune's (Ghost in the Shell) designs.

Trawling through the quagmire of foreign Deviantart equivalents, we've uncovered a trove of awesome tributes to the title by various Japanese artists. Our biggest hats off goes to Tajima, an artist with a very avid love of Western shooters like Call Of Duty, who provided the bulk of the fanart pieces. Check out a plethora of other Titanfall fanart pieces after the break!

My Love/Hate Relationship With Titanfall

Titanfall just fell into our laps over a week ago, and I’ve been having a blast wall running and gunning my way to victory. But I can’t help but feel that for every step forward the game takes, it then proceeds to take two backward. It’s been very difficult for me to say that this game was worth the hype because of these steps backwards. Let me begin with what I think Titanfall does right, and by what it does right, it does better than most.

The multi-tiered staging of the combat between pilot and titan feels very much like a battle between David and Goliath, but neither feel dramatically more powerful than the other. Titans feel powerful, but not overpowered, and nothing stops an experienced player from taking one down. This tends to breed gameplay that is high octane, jumping from titan to titan, planting satchel charges, grabbing a zipline and gunning up enemies as you make your escape present moments that are truly unique, and in all, gives you one hell of an adrenaline rush.

The Making Of The E3 Titanfall Mech

One of the coolest E3 set pieces came in the form of the gigantic Titanfall mech which graced the entrance to the showfloor. Aside from being a 1:1 scale replica, the mech was impressively detailed, covered in battle wear, dings, scratches and an attention to detail that we've rarely seen for such a display at previous conventions. During an after party we happened to get into a conversation with some Respawn studios developers, and learned some rather surprising details about the making of the mech: While the mostly foam base was contracted out to a third party, the actual weathering, details and attachments on the mechs were taken care of by artists who worked on Titanfall.

Described as a 'fun little project,' the developer disclosed that a group of game artists spent a few weeks gathering up found objects and hardware from places like Home Depot and went to town on detailing the display and mech with spent shell casings, paint damage, rust, decals and more. Considering the amount of work that these devs put into a display model of one of their Titan mechs, I can only imagine how that type of passion will translate into the final game. Check out a ton more detail shots, and a turnaround of the full mech after the break.