Cyclopaedia 1: Steampunk

Welcome to Cyclopaedia 1: Steampunk. Cyclopaedia is a monthly article on the InnRoads Ministries website as part of the Getting Started series. For this first article, I thought you would enjoy more info regarding steampunk, which influences the world of Victoriana as depicted in the currently running InnRoads Plays “Kensington by Torchlight.” If you have questions about this article or topics you would like me to consider researching for future Cyclopaedia articles, please leave a comment below.

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OVERVIEW
Steampunk is genre of speculative fiction that incorporates science, technology and aesthetics inspired by nineteenth century industrial steam-powered machinery as well as Victorian ideals. Steampunk works are often set in the British Victorian era or American “Wild West” or in a future world that evolved but never moved beyond the foundation of steam power technologies and sciences of the nineteenth century.

Though many would point to Jules Verse and H.G. Wells as the sources of Steampunk, most sources cite the term steampunk being originated by science fiction author K. W. Jeter in the 1980s. He and other authors were writing speculative fiction taking place in a 19th century (usually Victorian) setting similar to H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. He was looking for a classification term and recommended to a publisher ‘steam-punks’, perhaps.

Steampunk incorporates anachronistic versions of technology such as steam engines, lighter-than-air airships, clockwork, analog computers, and futuristic designs similar to Tesla’s inventions. Steampunk also has its own aesthetic and fashion with a mix of Victorian classic, American west, art nouveau, and clockwork, along with leather & brass accents.

Vernean vs Dickensian

There is some debate whether steampunk should be more Vernean or Dickensian.

• Vernean Steampunk, following the writings of Jule Verne, looks at steampunk as optimistic and futuristic with lots of science, technology and heroism.
• Dickensian Steampunk, following the writings of Charles Dickens, looks at steampunk as darker and more foreboding with lots of industry, greyness, and villainy.

Following are sources of information pertaining to Steampunk to assist prospective game masters, game designers, writers, and storytellers to know where to start their research.

ARTICLES

Blending genres, bending time: Steampunk on the western Frontier
By Miller C.J.; Van Riper A.B.
Source: Journal of Popular Film and Television, v39 n2 (2011 04 01): 85-92

Extraordinary Pasts: Steampunk as a Mode of Historical Representation
By Rose, M.
Source: Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 20, no. 3, (2009): 319-333

Prescriptivists vs. Descriptivists: Defining Steampunk
By Nevins, J.
Source: Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 38, No. 3 (November 2011), pp. 513-518

Steampunk
By Wilson, K.
Source: Meanjin, v69 n2 (Winter 2010): 20-33

Vapour trails: Steampunk’s florid industrial nostalgia might yet be the defining aesthetic of our time
By Coulthart, J.
Source: Eye (London) n86 (2013 09 01): 72-76

What Is Steampunk, and Do I Want It in My Library?
By Rozmus, E.
Source: Library Media Connection, v30 n2 p31-33 Oct 2011

BOOKS

Anubis Gates
By Powers, Tim

Aristocratic Women and Political Society in Victorian Britain
By Reynolds, K. D.

Boneshaker
By Priest, Cherie

Britain’s Century
By Rubinstein, W. D.

The Crimean War
By Baumgart, Winfried

The Difference Engine
By Sterling, Bruce and Gibson, William

Girl Genius – comic series
By Foglio, Phil & Kaja

The Great Exhibition of 1851: a Nation on Display
By Auerbach, John

Hellboy – comic series
By Mignola, Mike

Homunculus
By Blaylock, James

How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life
By Goodman, Ruth

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – comic series
By Moore, Alan

Leviathan
By Westerfeld, Scott

Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences
By Ballantine, Philippa and Morris, Tee

Morlock Night
By Jeter, K.W.

Mortal Engines
By Reeves, Philip

Parasol Protectorate
By Carriger, Gail

Steampunk: An Illustrated History of Fantastical Fiction, Fanciful Film and Other Victorian Visions
By Robb, Brian J.

The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature
By VanderMeer, Jeff and Chambers, S.J.

Steampunk: Fantasy Art, Fashion, Fiction & The Movies (Gothic Dreams)
By Winchester, Henry

The Steampunk Gazette
By Willeford, Thomas

The Time Machine
By Wells, H.G.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea
By Verne, Jules

Victorian America and the Civil War
By Rose, Anne C.

Victorian Babylon: People, Streets and Images in Nineteenth-Century London
By Nead, Lynda

The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens’ London
By Flanders, Judith

This Victorian Life: Modern Adventures in Nineteenth-Century Culture, Cooking, Fashion, and Technology
By Chrisman, Sarah A.

Victorian Values
By Marsden, Gordon

The Warlord of the Air
By Moorecock, Michael

GAMES

Abney Park’s Airship Pirates – RPG
Assassin’s Creed – Computer Game
BioShock – Computer Game
Brass and Steel – RPG
Castle Falkenstein – RPG
Clockwork & Chivalry – RPG
Cthulhu by Gaslight – RPG
Cogs, Cakes, & Swordsticks – RPG
Deadlands – RPG
Eberron – RPG
Etherscope – RPG
Forgotten Futures – RPG
Gaslight: Victorian Fantasy – RPG
Girl Genius: The Works – Tabletop Game
GURPS Steampunk – RPG
GURPS Steam-Tech – RPG
Heavy Steam – Tabletop Game
Iron Kingdoms – Tabletop Game
Kings of Air and Steam – Tabletop Game
Leviathans – Tabletop Game
Little Wars – Tabletop Game
The Ministry Initiative – RPG
Mission Red Planet – Tabletop Game
Munchkin: Steampunk – Tabletop Game
OGL Steampunk – RPG
Planet Steam – Tabletop Game
Space: 1889 – RPG
Spelljammer – RPG
Steampunk Rally – Tabletop Game
Thief: The Dark Project – Computer Game
Tripods! – Tabletop Game
Victoriana – RPG
Zeppelin Attack – Tabletop Game

CINEMA

20,0000 Leagues Under The Sea
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. – TV
Around the World in 80s Days
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
The Brothers Grimm
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Hellboy
Iron Sky
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Legend – TV
Q.E.D. – TV
The Prestige
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Steamboy
The Time Machine
Van Helsing
Wild Wild West – TV
Young Sherlock Holmes

LOCATIONS

Antique Gas And Steam Museum
http://steam-museum.com/

London Museum Of Water And Steam
http://waterandsteam.org.uk/

Nikola Tesla Museum
http://www.tesla-museum.org/meni_en.htm

The Steam Museum
http://steam-museum.com/

Steampunk World’s Fair
http://www.steampunkworldsfair.com

TeslaCon
http://teslacon.com/

Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe
http://www.teslasciencecenter.org/

Thomas Edison National Historical Park
http://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm

PEOPLE

Charles Babbage
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Samuel Colt
Charles Darwin
Humphry Davy
Charles Dickens
Thomas Edison
Michael Faraday
Freemasons
Robert Fulton
Illuminati
Jack the Ripper
Abraham Lincoln
David Livingston
Ada Lovelace
Samuel Morse
Charles Algernon Parsons
Edgar Allen Poe
George Pullman
George Stephenson
Mary Shelley
Nikola Tesla
Richard Trevithick
Thuggees
Jules Verne
Queen Victoria
Werner von Siemens
Vril Society
James Watt
H.G. Wells

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I hope you find these resources informative and inspiring for your adventures, storytelling, or game design.  You can download a formatted PDF of this information for easier archiving and printing.

Stay Creative!

T.R. Knight

( If you would like to save this list of resources as a convenient PDF for later reference, you can find that HERE )

WHO IS T.R. KNIGHT?
He is a freelance editor, proofreader, and writer in the game industry. He is also a Husband and Caregiver to his wife Angie, Father of Twins Emily and Rachel, Gardner and Hobby Chef, and Director of Academic Technology and User Services at Taylor University. You can learn more about T.R. at his blog http://www.thomasrknight.com.