Steampunk

152 readers

7 users here now

What is Steampunk?

Steampunk is a science‑fiction and speculative‑history sub-genre imagining an alternate past (usually the 19th century) in which advanced technology is powered by steam, clockwork, and Victorian‑era engineering. Often described as “elegant machinery and anarchic adventure,” Steampunk stories explore societies transformed by retro‑futuristic inventions, with characters, inventors, and rogues navigating worlds where brass, gears, and steam drive both progress and social conflict.

Steampunk characteristics include:

Alternate historical or Victorian‑inspired settings where steam power and clockwork tech are dominant
Visible, mechanical technology: brass, gears, pressure gauges, airships, clockwork prosthetics, and elaborate contraptions
Characters who are inventors, engineers, explorers, artisans, or social outsiders familiar with mechanical craft
Aesthetic influences from Victorian fashion, gaslight streets, and period design mixed with imaginative machinery
Themes exploring industrialization, class disparity, the ethics of invention, nostalgia for craftsmanship, and questions about progress versus human cost

Prefixes for posts

[AI Art]
[Art]
[Book]
[Game]
[Meme]
[Movie]
[Video]

Icon by @discoplasm@piefed.zip

If someone is interested in moderating this community, message @brikox@lemmy.zip.

founded 4 weeks ago

MODERATORS

BrikoX@lemmy.zip

Hammerjack@lemmy.zip

Is it still steampunk if it has magic? (lemmy.zip)

submitted 2 days ago by Hammerjack@lemmy.zip to c/steampunk@lemmy.zip

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

There's a subset of steampunk called aetherpunk, which is essentially "stampunk but with magic". Yet steampunk is already such a niche genre, I don't know if it needs a niche within that niche. Of course, people do love categorizing things and putting everything into its own little box, so we get these sub-sub-niches. But what do you think? Do you think steampunk and aetherpunk should be treated as two different genres or are you fine with just calling it all "steampunk"?

I'm mostly asking because I'm curious if I should avoid posting any steampunk works that involve magic. I doubt anyone here will be such a stickler for genre definitions, but I wanted this to be an explicit decision.

For example, the Netflix show Arcane is set in a steampunk world yet it relies so heavily on magic I'd consider it aetherpunk. Should posts about Arcane be allowed here?

(source image: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/qemlOe)

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 1 day ago

Steampunk with magic and supernatural elements can exist, Castle Falkenstein is a good example of it. My two favorite examples of Aetherpunk are Eberron setting of DnD and Kaladesh/Aavishkar from MtG - places where magic is the fuel of scientific inventions.

I would argue that Arcane isn't steampunk, just as I would argue that World of Warcraft isn't - sure, both feature stuff that is steampunk looking, but those things are just a small part of the greater world.