Mark Oakley presents his steamy guide to all things punk
”Don’t they look funny?”
And so it came to pass that my parents-in-law encountered their first steampunk enthusiasts, leading to much embarrassment for my wife and I as they exclaimed the above remark all too loudly, directly in front of the well-dressed group.
Of course, one man’s well-dressed is another’s laughing stock – particularly given that this was mid-afternoon on a drizzly summer’s day in the lovely coastal village of Corfe Castle. And while the location and time of day certainly helped the enthusiasts stand out from the crowd (as was no doubt the intention) ,it’s still perhaps best not to lavish a group with such a damning, albeit unintentional, outburst.
The steampunkers moved on, and I was left having to answer a barrage of questions from my wife’s parents regarding their newfound interest in this genre. A full half an hour later, and energised with all this knowledge, imagine their joy when they bumped into the group again on a train out of the village. When we next spoke to my father-in-law on returning from our holiday, he told us all about this second encounter and how he had apparently decided that it would be not at all inappropriate to ask of one of the group’s members, “So, steampunk… how about that Victorian technology?” He didn’t get a reply.
True story, readers, and one that leads me nicely into this exploration into the steampunk movement and its impact on computing, technology and gaming. And hey, if it can have an impact on my parents-in-law, it must be doing something right.
Steampunk: Say What?
Steampunk, for want of a better description, is a genre of science fiction that celebrates both the Victorian era and the technology of the time. Typically set in an alternative, very British Victorian world (although the American version of steampunk relates to the American West), the idea behind the genre is that the use of steam power has continued to progress, so much so that weapons, transport and gadgetry have adopted it on a mainstream level.
Steampunk started out life as a literary phenomenon, and the term ‘steampunk’ was actually first coined by writer KW Jeter in a letter he wrote in 1987 to a science fiction-focused magazine called Locus. He was attempting to describe the genre of writing that he and others were becoming known for pioneering at the time, and he has since described himself as having “bumbled” across the term. He’s actually pretty modest about the whole thing, but he is certainly viewed as one of the more important drivers of the genre.
While it’s a relatively recent genre of writing, it’s fair to say that steampunk’s early influences can be traced as far back as the 19th century when writers such as Jules Verne and HG Wells were already writing about such fantastical notions as time machines and travels to the centre of the very earth itself. Certainly in terms of fashions, transportation and ideas, these classic writers laid the seeds for what we now know as steampunk, providing the inspiration for modern writers to create classic works of their own.
Inspired by the invention and use of steam-powered technology at the time and bringing that in line with a futuristic, fantastical storytelling, the Victorian era typically plays a crucial role, with many stories being set in that era. However, that’s not a prerequisite, although being inspired by that era pretty much is. As for the technology itself, clockwork and cog-driven designs, brass and copper plating are all key elements of the steampunk look.
So gadgetry and technology that is far advanced from anything we know but ultimately has its roots in a bygone era are a staple of steampunk – clockwork contraptions, steam-powered flying machines, airships and a general, mechanised viewpoint on the world. The technology side of things is obviously why PC owners and gamers often have more than a passing interest in steampunk over other science fiction genres, although the gritty, retro look doesn’t hurt to get people interested. It’s a unique, engaging look that certainly stands out from the crowd.
It’s also a look that you can recreate for yourself in your own PC setup. Indeed, many already have.
Steam Mods
The PC modding community isn’t one to pass up an opportunity to make some outlandish, over-the-top creations, and steampunk is a perfect place to start for that. Want lots of dials, cranks and cogs, all wrapped up with bells and whistles on? Thank goodness for the internet.
In America, Datamancer.com’s blog (www.datamancer.net) details some of Richard ‘Doc’ Nagy’s keyboard creations, turning your common key-tapper into a work of art. Made to order, the custom-designed ‘boards include a $1,650 ‘Seafarer’ keyboard, which looks as though it could have come straight out of the Bioshock: Infinite universe. Other boards include ones with mahogany frames with brass accents; the ‘Sojourner’ board, which is crafted in polished brass and was featured in an episode of the TV show Warehouse 13; plus the Copper ‘Baron of Cyprus’ keyboard, which has a polished copper frame, black leather plate and green jewel indicators. The site can even supply keyboard kits consisting of aluminium or brass frames so customers can potentially build their own boards.
Beyond the keyboards-to-order, the blog also features a modded Asus gaming laptop running off an Intel i7-2670QM processor, complete with a stained glass lid that also lights up. Then there’s what is described as “the device that started it all” - the Steampunk laptop. This Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 laptop runs both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux and features an “elaborate display of clockworks under glass, engraved brass accents, claw feet, an antiqued copper keyboard and mouse, leather wrist pads, and customized wireless network card.” Ingeniously, the machine turns on with an antique clock-winding key, and this has received plenty of press attention, featured by the likes of Wired.com, the Wall Street Journal and The Boston Globe. Now that, my friends, is a beautiful machine.
Steampunk Workshop (steampunkworkshop.com) is another good place to start when looking for modding inspiration. The website is the brainchild of Jake von Slatt “a maker, tinkerer, fabricator, and all around techno dilettante living and creating just outside of Boston, Massachusetts”. His projects are not confined to computing mods, but the works he has done in that area are magnificent.
Take his keyboard mod, for example. With the aim to build a fully functional retro keyboard, usable by a touch typist, he started with an IBM Model M keyboard from the 1980s, manually cut out a brass cradle and various interior cutouts for the board, before then smoothing down with files. The keys were made of brass tubing, and then a healthy dose of black paint was added to complete the look. Reading his website, it’s obvious that this is no mug’s game, and you really need to know what you’re doing to achieve these kind of results – but, wow does Jake know what he’s doing.
The All-In-One PC project was completed in 2008, with Jake deciding that his pumpless water-cooled PC was obsolete. He bought himself a $300 24” widescreen monitor and set about turning that into his all-in-one project. Stripping the monitor right down, Jake then made an aluminium plate to hold a motherboard and disk drives, and a brass plates were positioned either side of the monitor. A whole lot more sawing, trimming and soldering later, including some bronze brazing rods to be positioned on the sides of the build, the Kubuntu-based build was ready. And isn’t it a beauty?
These are but two of the possible steampunk modding sites to look at, and if you’re not impressed with their efforts, I don’t think steampunk is really for you.
From Chaos Engine To The Order: Steampunk In Gaming
Given the glorious imagination and styling that underpins steampunk’s appeal, it’s little surprise that videogaming has a long and wonderful history of adopting the movement.
The first successful incarnation is probably the Bitmap Brothers’ The Chaos Engine. Released in 1993 for the Amiga, The Chaos Engine was a steampunk lover’s dream. Set in a Victorian-age England, the plot revolves around the adoption of future-style weaponry and technology having been transported back to the 1800s via a time machine, and it successfully taps into the genre with the styling and overall look of the game proving key to its enduring popularity.
While that effort may have been an early example, it’s certainly not the most successful. That honour perhaps rests with Bioshock: Infinite, a truly outstanding multi-platform first-person shooter that won a ton of awards and sold in bucket-loads upon its release in 2013. Drawing on the American version of steampunk, which takes its inspiration from the Wild West, Bioshock: Infinite’s fictional city-in-the-sky, Columbia, is very much the beating heart of the gaming experience, as is the weaponry at your disposal. Away from the steampunk sensibilities, this is just a riotously good romp in its own right and a high-profile success that helped to bring steampunk into the mainstream.
While I’m not a fan of the Final Fantasy series myself, the sixth instalment is a decidedly steampunk-styled affair, with the industrial 19th century the setting’s clear inspiration. There are robots and steam-powered machines aplenty in this critical and commercial success on the SNES. More recently, the point-and-click puzzler Machinarium (2009) was undeniably inspired by steampunk, and it’s a beautiful game to look at, either on PC or on an iPad. Another popular iPad game taking its cues from steampunk is the award-winning 80 Days, which even bagged itself a smattering of BAFTA nominations this year and was named as TIME magazine’s 2014 Game of the Year.
And finally we come to the controversial The Order: 1886. The PS4 exclusive released earlier this year was much anticipated, as the console had yet to really launch an exclusive title that showcased its graphical capabilities. The Order: 1886 was to be that game, but that didn’t stop gamers from complaining about its heavy-handed adoption of quick-time events and nonplayable cut-scenes. With a swathe of underwhelming reviews hitting the press, graphically at least people were impressed, with the common consensus being that this representation of a steampunk Victorian era was the best that has ever been put into pixels. Clearly, developer Ready at Dawn (despite its reticence to label it as steampunk) had done its homework, and the world itself is exquisitely realised. The characters at times may be thinly drawn, but the weaponry – provided by the inventor Nikola Tesla – looks and plays wonderfully. Chapters set in a blimp are truly breathtaking to play and to watch, and while the game itself might not be for everyone, it is, for the time-being at least, steampunk’s finest gaming hour.
So, You Want To Buy Steampunk?
If a full-on PC mod doesn’t float your boat just yet and you’d prefer to take a brief dip in the waters first, let me guide you in the direction of some items you might want to buy.
Firstly, for gathering more information on the steampunk movement and giving yourself the requisite knowledge to hold your own in a steampunk-off, you could do worse than pick up a good book or two. Anything with the title ‘bible’ in it is usually a good all-round place to start, and in this case, The Steampunk Bible by Jeff VanderMeer and SJ Chambers is particularly notable, as it’s an illustrated guide to the subculture, looking back at its history and focusing on the styles, fashions and influences driving steampunk. It is also, as with all the best guides, a beautiful thing to hold.
Classic steampunk novels include the likes of Infernal Devices by KW Jeter, The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, and the anthology book Steampunk, edited by Jeff VanderMeer. Beyond those examples, you could do a lot worse than read HG Wells’s The Time Machine. Sure, it came long before steampunk was established as a concept, but many of its themes and ideas could be considered as being at the roo of modern-day steampunk.
If you prefer your influences on celluloid, you’d probably have to look at the critical failure that was Wild Wild West. In fact, this Will Smith-fronted film was adapted from the 60s TV show The Wild Wild West and the Victorian-era scenery, gadgets and overall look of the film was a definite doffing of the cap to steampunk. The TV show, too, was one of the first mainstream examples of taking the genre out to the wider public. For a more enjoyable movie to watch, try Steamboy, a pretty excellent animation in which steampowered technologies dominate.
Gifts and costumes relating to the genre can all be found online (I don’t need to tell you how to use your web browser to do this), and if you really find yourself becoming more immersed in the genre, why not take it up a level by heading to the Steampunk World’s Fair (2016.steampunkworldsfair.com). You’ll be heading over to New Jersey if you do, where you’ll be treated to a variety entertainment, workshops and panels, as well as seeing merchandise galore from a raft of merchants.
Closer to home, The Asylum Steampunk Festival (www.asylumsteampunk.co.uk) in Lincoln is billed as the world’s “largest and longest running steampunk festival.” Taking place over the bank holiday weekend (so 26th to 29th August next year), the festival includes a costume parade, art, literature, music, comedy, tabletop gaming, and it’s run in a range of venues across the city, including Lincoln Castle.
Do They Look Funny?
There’s no getting away from the fact that steampunk isn’t for everyone. As with many things surrounding technology and computing, it can be viewed as a bit geeky, and that can put some people off.
If you’re even mildly interested in the genre, though, I’d recommend at least taking a look at some of the resources mentioned throughout this article. Steampunk’s popularity has been on the up in recent year, and I’d say it’s far from being merely a fad. Modern-day gaming successes have seen it thrust into the mainstream and I, for one, welcome this sub-genre for giving gaming, computing and modding a welcome shot in the arm.