The first author who ever wrote a word about MECHAS or something u can recognize as such was Robert A. Heinlein in STARSHIP TROOPERS (1959) And don't get me wrong; the picture has little or nothing in common with the novel, read the book and u`ll understand what Im talking about.
All ours loved Mechas had one thing in common: There is some sort of link between the machine and the pilot; call it NEURAL HELMET, TELEPATHY, AFFINITY, EMPATHY or whatever. Why? Because this contraptions are COMPLICATED to handle, thats why. Its like commanding another body, do you get it? Think in a small baby. Its only after almost a year of afforts when he lern how to walk, right? But the Mech not only walks...
Its also
necesary for the pilot to use the other systems: radar, weapons, life support,
etc.
Up to date, there are many games trying to simulate this behemots, with varing degrees of succes: MECHWARRIOR II & MECHWARRIOR III, SHOGO, MEKTON-Z, ROBOTECH, MACROSS... P.C., console or pen & paper RPG, the companies have tried to copy the trill of driving one of this things.