There's several kinds of steampunk you can go for, more 'fantastical', more sci-fi oriented, more traditional, there's no right or wrong kind, but what they all have in common is one principle; Victorian-era tech and materials to create all kinds of amazing stuff that shouldn't be possible.
I myself prefer the 'original', or basic steampunk if you will; Victorian London, inventors everywhere creating wonderful machines (though not too far-out), that feeling of discovery and the triumph of science. Good stuff.
Game-wise I'd say the best example of steampunk would be Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, though as you can see by the title it's mixed with magic (which makes it even more awesome in a way). It's an old-school WRPG, one with a big focus on roleplaying and narrative.
But the best steampunk thing period would be the anime film Steamboy:
And despite it being an anime film;
WATCH IT IN ENGLISH. Not only do British (though they're apparently the wrong accents, but still) accents fit the setting a lot better, Patrick Stewart is one of the voice actors. So yeah, go watch it.
MercurySteam said:
Two words - Bioshock Infinite:
Comes close, but it's a wee bit too advanced for steampunk I'd say, but it's debatable. I don't know too many details about the game's technology anyway, sadly. Regardless of what it is though,
I want that fucking game noooooow!!!
David Bray said:
Bioshock
So often you see people just wearing welding goggles and thinking its steampunk- It's not.
BioShock ain't steampunk, it's dieselpunk in an Art Deco setting; WW2-era tech used for futuristic purposes, mixed with some biopunk (that one's obvious).
Jason Kordelis said:
Onyx Oblivion said:
I thought that Fable 3 did it pretty well...
But that's not fully steampunk, is it?
Well it was more indastrial revolision that steampunk.
Indastrial revolision? I think the use of this guy is in order:
Anyway, it depends on how far Fable 3 takes the Industrial Revolution-era tech. Tech from that era basically is the core of steampunk, but I sadly haven't played that game. Stupid Microsoft not releasing Fable 2 and 3 on the PC...
Pararaptor said:
Ain't nothing wrong with a bit of variety, now is there?
I don't like every game being set in Manhattan, nor do I like all Steampunk to follow the same rules.
My favourite though? Lots & lots of clockwork. The steam-powered computer in Jasper Morello was cool too.
While steampunk is pretty flexible, fucktons of clockwork really falls under the clockpunk catagory; the Da Vinci-era with tons of little cogs creating all kinds of awesome stuff. Hell that man was the living example of clockpunk, if only he actually built most of his devices...*sigh* Well at least we can!
And yeah, I know, I'm a ***** when it comes to ranking these things. My apologies. But you know, the fashion's so different in each era. Fashion's important yo. Nothing says "steampunk" like a big ol' tophat.
