Steampunk and Cyberpunk

[LadyLuna]

on another thread, people expressed curiosity and lack of knowledge about steampunk and cyberpunk. One thing that was talked about was the difference.

In this thread, I hope to hear people's understandings about steampunk and cyberpunk, as well as maybe hear from anyone involved in those styles. Pics are always welcome!

First, my understanding of the two.

SteamPunk:

Imagine a world where electronics and cybernetics are not the norm. Instead, everything runs off of steam-power and clockwork. This is what steampunk focuses on. There's a lot of World War II theme to much of the steampunk artwork, and the clothes are generally those that can be made without access to automated factories. Goggles feature prominently to protect from the various chemicals, and in case clockwork gadgets go wrong- those gears could damage someone easily! If you've ever seen the CGI movie 9 (linked for you), that's a good example of Steampunk. Everything has an antique feel.

CyberPunk:

Imagine a world in which cybernetics has become an integral part of the human body. This is what cyberpunk focuses on. There are cybernetic implants commonly available, and most people have at least a little bit of tweaking done to them. Some people are more machine than human. Cybernetic eyes provide better vision. Many cybernetic implants focus on weaponry and armor, though there are some that focus on stealth and thievery aids. Most of this genre has a sci-fi or futuristic feel.

Unfortunately, I don't have a good example of Cyberpunk at this time. Mostly because in the movies, they make it kinda hard to tell.

---

A lot of people will mix the two, cyberpunk style implants in a steampunk setting.

 

[Rose]

Picture proof. :drool:
Steampunk: (I'm a fan of steampunk and would totally be down with a steampunk fantasy shoot someday)

Cyberpunk:

 

[nancy_raygun]

With steampunk, I like to add the idea of basic electricity into the mix. I guess in my own words, I would tag steampunk as the Victorian and Edwardian era, but with an emphasis in engineering powered with, mainly, steam.

The only think I dislike about what steampunk has evolved into, is the 'clockwork' everything. There's such an emphasis on clocks and it makes me feel like no one is being imaginative about it anymore.

Really good steampunk book reccomendations:

• Scar Night and the rest of the "Deepgate Codex" by Allan Campbell

• Whitechapel Gods by S.M. Peters

• the Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfield

I'm in love with almost anything cyberpunk, almost as much as I love steampunk stuff. I think I like it most because there's so much to imagine. Cyborgs, computer programs, holograms, androids, virtual reality, viruses, etc. To make is simple, to me, cyberpunk encompasses two main things: robots and computers.

A few cyberpunk movies:

• Blade Runner

• Ghost in the Shell

• RoboCop

• Johnny Mnemonic

• Akira

My boyfriend saw what I was typing and wanted to add some reads:

• Neuromancer by William Gibson

• Snow Crash and The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

 

[Red7227]

With steampunk, I like to add the idea of basic electricity into the mix. I guess in my own words, I would tag steampunk as the Victorian and Edwardian era, but with an emphasis in engineering powered with, mainly, steam.

The only think I dislike about what steampunk has evolved into, is the 'clockwork' everything. There's such an emphasis on clocks and it makes me feel like no one is being imaginative about it anymore.

Really good steampunk book reccomendations:

• Scar Night and the rest of the "Deepgate Codex" by Allan Campbell

• Whitechapel Gods by S.M. Peters

• the Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfield

I would add Cherie Priest with her Steam Punk ACW books of her "Clockwork Century" theme (they are mostly oil and coal powered) http://www.cheriepriest.com/ She also writes some pretty cool Vampire books. They are very soft but lack the barftastic aspects of Twilight.

"The Horns of Ruin" is only vaguely Steam Punkish, but a brilliant read anyway. Its by Tim Akers.


For me, the origins of Cyberpunk has always been the pen and paper RPG Shadowrun.

http://www.waynesbooks.com/shadowrun.html

And then there was Rifts

Very popular with teenage boys for some reason. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifts_(role-playing_game)

 

[GreatDane]

There's also an author writing a Steampunk series. http://www.devonmonk.com/ Dead Iron

Book 1 in Age of Steam series

In steam age America, men, monsters, machines, and magic battle to claim the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, one man must fight to hold on to what is left of his humanity…

Although the devisers have civilized the east with their contraptions, civilization hasn’t tamed the frontier that bounty hunter Cedar Hunt rides. Cursed by lycanthropy and carrying the guilt of his brother’s death, he’s a hard man for hire. But when a trio of miners offers him the possibility that his brother may yet survive, Cedar isn’t going to haggle for payment. All he has to do for them is find the Holder: a powerful device created by mad devisers from the realm of the Strange.

The Holder is in the hands of Shard Lefel, a dandified railroad tycoon who’s come to Hallelujah, Oregon, promising a civilized tomorrow. But what Cedar cannot know is that Lefel is an ancient Strange banished to walk this land for centuries. Now nearing the end of his sentence, Lefel is desperately searching for a way to fend off his own mortality—and the Holder may be the key.

In a land shaped by magic, steam, and iron, where the only thing a man can count on is his guns, gears, and grit, Cedar will have to depend on all three if he’s going to save his brother and reclaim his soul once and for all….

it looks like a fun read, may have to pick it up later

 

[lordmagellan]

I'll just drop this here because I got interested. "Stonepunk" has been exciting me as a writer and I didn't even know it had a name!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk_derivatives