Wings of Steam

Early in the year there was discussion throughout the community over whether or not steampunk was dead. This was apparently spawned by a lull in the popularity of the word “steampunk” as a search term on Google. However, a look at Google Trends right now shows that steampunk is certainly NOT dead, and is, in fact, more popular than ever. Just as we have done in 2008, here we will take a look back at the last year and see just exactly how we have kept the steampunk community alive.

As with many things in this list, there were far too many steampunk events to mention, but arguably this year’s biggest and best was Steamcon in Seattle. Although not the first con specifically dedicated to steampunk, Steamcon seemed to set a new precedent for all future steampunk conventions. Too much happened to write about here, but there are many reports available on the aethernet.

The steampunk community was delighted when the Museum of the History of Science at Oxford University adknowledged our form of alternate history by running an exhibition of steampunk art and inventions by creators from around the world.

The CGSociety concluded their Steampunk Myths & Legends contest in Februrary. We were treated to beautiful videos and images, and the winning entries can be seen here.

October was declared Steampunk Month on Tor.com. Authors and bloggers from the steampunk community joined up with Tor’s staff to discuss everything steampunk and share short stories.

Two of the most anticipated steampunk novels this year were Leviathan, and Boneshaker. Set in World War I Europe, Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld tells of Alek, an Austro-Hungarian prince on the run as his path crosses with Deryn, a common girl disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service. Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest takes place in the ruins of Civil War-Era Seattle. Briar Wilkes must rescue her son from zombies and airship pirates after he enters the city to clear his father’s name.

This year brought us the addition of two new periodicals. Steampunk Tales is a short-story fiction magazine released specifically for iPhone. Alternatively, exploring the non-fiction side of steampunk, Exhibition Hall made its debut this year as well. On a sad note, due to the depressed economy, The Willows, a magazine devoted to speculative and dark Victorian fiction, went out of business early in the year.

Abney Park was quite busy this year. Dancer and backing vocalist Finn Von Claret left the band, and was replaced by Jody Ellen. After months of delay, the anticipated new album Aether Shanties was finally released on December 1st.

Previously a solo act, Vernian Process spent the last year reinventing itself. With the addition of Martin Irigoyen in late 2008, VP is now a full-sized band, and have released a reworked version of their album, “Behold The Machine“.

Sepiachord released a compilation, “The Sepiachord Companion”, showcasing fifteen of today’s steampunk musical acts. Steampunk bigband Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society released their first album, “Infernal Machines”. Steam Powered Giraffe released their first album, “Album One”. The Clockwork Dolls played their first live show and released their first album, “Dramatis Personae“. Deadly Nightshade Botanical Society released their second album, “Accoutrements and Oddities”, as well as a Christmas EP, “Clockwork Carols”.

In the world of gaming Atlus online released it’s first title, a free steampunk MMORPG called Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent. The biggest flop of the year may have been Damnation, a steampunk shooter released on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Our hopes for a great steampunk game were restored however with the announcement of the forthcoming game, Epic Mickey, along with some apocalyptic-looking concept art. Epic Mickey is expected to be released in September 2010.

A couple of web series made their debut. Riese, a production featuring top actors from the Sci-Fi genre, tells the story of a wandering traveler and her canine companion who are on the run from an evil religious order known as The Sect. Also, the League of S.T.E.A.M., steampunk ghostbusters, already famous for their con appearances, began documenting their comedic travails in “Adventures of the League of S.T.E.A.M.”

For new webcomics this year, check out The Continentals, about a group of special agents battling violent crimes, Sidewise, about a boy lost in time in an alternate Victorian London, and The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, about Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage teamed together as a crime-fighting duo.

There are scores of new steampunk websites out there, and three of them deserve mention here. Steampunk Empire is a social networking site just for steampunks where one can go to chat, post photos and video, and interact with other steampunks across the globe. Likewise, Dieselpunks.org has been created for the dieselpunks among us and on top of social networking, also features new and interviews in the worlds of both steampunk and dieselpunk. Finally, “Steampunk Events is a forum for advertising steampunk events anywhere in the world. Though currently a bit inactive, the site has much potential, as long as people start using it.

Now that you’re caught up on what’s been happening in steampunk, here’s a glimpse of what’s to come:

• Perpetual Steam Punk, a web series set in San Francisco.
• Steampunk Quarterly, a new fiction e-zine.
• A steampunk version of Hamlet, performed by the Butterfield 8 Theater Company in May.
• A miniseries version of Neal Stephenson’s “The Diamond Age“.
• A movie version of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, starring Natalie Portman.

We here at Wings of Steam hope everyone had a great year and will have an even better next year!

Readers!

I drag myself from the unspeakable, horrific depths of term papers and finals to share something with you. I was meandering around a certain corner of the internet when I happened upon an article about a video game. You’ll never guess what it’s about.

In September of this year, North America will be exposed to the wonderful world of Nostalgia. That’s right, we’re getting a steampunk video game for the Nintendo DS. From the creators of Fatal Frame, Dragon Quest V, Final Fantasy III and IV, Grandia, and Thousand arms, the creation of an original steampunk RPG for your favorite hand-held system has occured. Nostalgia will take place in an alternate, 19th-century setting, where you will play as a character named Eddie and gather a group of eccentric companions, flying about the world in a zeppelin.

I do believe there's a sword on that airship...

I would greatly enjoy enlightening you more, but my duties call. However, you can gather more information for your own entertainment here and here.

The game has already been released in Japan, of course. I look forward to playing this game- there are airship battles.
Always Passing Strange,

Oddessa Gooding

Since posting about the forthcoming MMORPG Air, I’ve discovered another online steampunk game that is in the works and will be much released sooner. The World of Gatheryn will begin beta testing in Spring 2009 and will be geared more for the casual gamer than most MMO’s have been lately. Founded in 2006, MindFuse Games has raised over $1 million dollars for the production of the game, and expects to raise more before the game’s release due to its niche market appeal.

As a casual game, The World of Gatheryn promises to rely less on combat than traditional MMO’s, and more on puzzles and problem solving. The combat will still be there for the gamers that crave it, but by putting more of a focus on strategy, it allows gamers to feel accomplished without needing to invest countless hours hacking and slashing to increase their character’s skill level. “The richest massively multiplayer universes have been largely violent fantasy worlds”, said Joseph Walters, Chief Executive of MindFuse. “Casual, friendly games on the other hand feel more like a snack than a feast. MindFuse is going to bring the two types of gameplay and players together – simple, compelling games embedded in a deep three dimensional world”.

Drawing inspiration from the fantasy worlds of Jules Verne and HG Wells, Gatheryn is a Neo-Victorian styled world where people are struggling to free themselves from oppression by the evil overlord Marcellus Deering who controls their primary source of energy and light. It promises to be a story of love, romance, power and corruption. People travel about on steam-powered dirigibles and exotic boats, lending to the world’s sense of depth.

Upon arrival in Gatheryn, players will find themselves in Fog Town on Elymia Island. Through interaction with the town’s residents, characters will be sent on quests and solve mini-games scattered across the island. Each quest solved will enable new opportunities for your character, thus enabling you to control the path of gameplay as you desire. With your earnings from completed quests you will be able to buy the standard costumes and accessories, pets, which range from small, furry creatures to mechanical, steam-powered animal-automatons, and even purchase and furnish your own lodgings which can be used as a home base and gathering place for you and your friends.New islands will become available to players as the game expands, offering new quests and mini-games, keeping the game constantly fresh and new.

Signups for beta testing are currently available though the register page at The World of Gatheryn’s website.

Captain Robert of Abney Park posted in his LiveJournal yesterday that he is going to be involved in the game design and creating a soundtrack for the forthcoming MMORPG, Air.

Little is known about the game so far, as it seems the project had been secret up until now. The concept is that the game takes place on a post apocalyptic Earth, where all of the landmass has been somehow blasted into the sky, forming floating islands in the air, some of which host magnificent cities. Travel is made by airship and the skies are full of adventurers and sky-pirates.