Tatsuro Iwamoto is no stranger to crafting unique and eye-catching character designs. Best known as the man responsible for the cast of Capcom’s Ace Attorney series, Iwamoto is now bringing his considerable talents to bear creating the cast of Kreation Verse’s new mobile game, TAT Rumble. The cast of TAT Rumble features a group of legendary martial artists who have come together to compete in the no-rules Twelve Anonymous Tournament. When creating these TAT Masters, Iwamoto drew from a wide variety of inspirations including traditional Japanese art, real-world martial artists, models, influencers, and more.
In a conversation with Game Rant, Tatsuro Iwamoto revealed that he deliberately sought out a variety of sources to influence character designs in order to create a cast of memorable characters who could immediately be read as international martial artists. He described the process as very different from his work on Ace Attorney, as the characters were not only designed using a pixel art style but also needed to move dynamically in battle while still reading as smoothly and crisply on a small mobile screen.
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When asked to describe his inspiration behind the designs of the 12 TAT Masters who will be participating in TAT Rumble‘s titular fighting tournament, Iwamoto explained that he did not limit himself to one single source, instead looking in many different directions to find ideas:
“I was inspired not only by martial artists but also by musicians, models, idols, and other influencers—their lifestyles, moods, and fashion. It resulted in a design with charisma.”
One specific example he provided was Dorgi, who is one of TAT Rumble‘s largest and most muscular characters (and also Iwamoto’s personal favorite, the artist revealed). Dorgi, who uses wrestling moves, was inspired primarily by a real-life wrestler, WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura is known for his stylish long hair and iconic outfits, most notably a variety of tight leather jumpsuits. Iwamoto found Nakamura’s look “cool” and borrowed it when creating Dorgi, particularly when it came to creating the TAT Rumble fighter’s hairstyle.
The Characters Are Informed By Art Style And Backstory
In addition to taking inspiration from real-life musicians, models, influencers, and martial artists, the characters of TAT Rumble were designed so that they would “pop” in the game’s pixel art style. Iwamoto explained that the pixel art style was chosen because it was best suited to mobile devices, as it allowed “clear expression even on small screens.”
Other artistic elements used in the design of TAT Rumble included a blend of WEB3 style and sumi-e, or traditional Japanese ink paintings. Iwamoto was ultimately satisfied with the design, stating that he liked “the mismatch between the traditional approach and the new elements of pixel art in the WEB3 style.”
In addition, Iwamoto had to ensure that each character realistically reflected their country of origin. Like other fighting games such as Street Fighter, TAT Rumble’s martial arts masters come to the tournament from all around the world. For example, Eva, a pop star/model-inspired fighter with a love for haute couture, hails from France:
“Rather than a direct approach where each character’s birthplace is immediately obvious, I thought about encouraging people to imagine the individual backgrounds where they were born and raised—like EVA, who was born and raised in France despite having an Asian face.”
Players interested in experiencing Tatsuro Iwamoto’s brand-new character designs for themselves can play TAT Rumble, available now for mobile devices. It is a unique experience that blends traditional fighting game battles, art collections, and slot machine mechanics as players strive to become the ultimate TAT Master.
TAT Rumble is available now on mobile devices.
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