Steampunk

Steampunk

Continuing the series of different kinds of fantasy stories, we come to Steampunk. Well at least I do, but I guess if you're reading this you've followed along for the ride. Steampunk was originally defined as a Victorian setting, sometimes as early as the Industrial Revolution, but using much higher technology that might have developed from the advancing technology of the age. As is indicated by the genre name, steam power is the most common power source for the technology. By this definition, William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's "The Difference Engine" is a clear member of the type.

I prefer to use a broader definition of the genre, however, to keep things from being pigeon holed by a too narrow view. In my view, Steampunk includes any fantasy or science fiction setting where the advance technologies of our world do not exist, but where other, more archaic, advanced technologies do. Steam power is still very much the most common, but other possibilities exist. Some examples include Labyrinth (for the Goblin robot at the gates to the city), The World of Aden books (with its firearms and steam driven Thunder Trains), Terry Brooks' "Voyage of Jerle Shannara" (for its airships, even though it effectively had postmodern advanced technology as well), and a host of other stories in books and other media.

Steampunk in this broader definition is generally divided into two types, Historical Steampunk and Fantasy Steampunk. Historical Steampunk is an alternate history style of story, usually where sometime during the Industrial Revolution or the Victorian Age technology makes huge leaps forward. The stories are typically set in the historical time period, but with much higher technology that was actually evident. In order to properly write this sort of story, you will have to research the time period and the location you want to set the story. Once you have a good idea of the way life was back then, you'll have to figure out how everything would change with the more advanced technology you will introduce into the story. Typically it is advances to steam technology and computing technology (as seen in The Difference Engine) that lead to the changes, however other possibilities exist. In addition to Victorian and Industrial age Britain, the American Wild West is a strong possibility for a location, and some colonial regions could also serve well. The key again is research, research research and then carefully consider what changes would result from the new technologies.

Fantasy Steampunk would essentially consist of any fantasy setting with more advanced technology. Steam powered airships and robots, firearms, computers and the like could all exist. Of course, as a true fantasy setting magic will also play a role. In some settings it may be possible to blend magic and technology. In others, magic and technology are opposed forces and cannot work together at all. Which one is best depends on how you choose to write the story. Again, you will have to consider carefully what ramifications technology will have on your story. It will have to be controlled in much the same way as magic is in a fantasy story and can cause many of the same problems as magic can in a story. You cannot make it too powerful, or it will overwhelm the story and make any challenge uninteresting. By the same token it cannot be left useless or it serves no purpose. Technology can be treated a lot like magic, with universities teaching the secrets of technology (rather like some do now) and there being a number of technological guilds. Technology can also be treated very different from magic. Perhaps one of the two is kept by schools and colleges, while the other is generally the tool of independent researchers and hermits. If you want an odd setting, make magic the studied and academic discipline, with lone, often mad, wanderers the purveyors of technology.

One place that offers a wealth of Steampunk and other technomagical settings is the realm of video games. There are a host of console and computer games that merge magic and technology in many different ways. The Final Fantasy series often has airships, guns, explosives and other miracles of technology often working in conjunction with magic. Arcanum features a system where Magic is the old way, and technology the new, and the two cannot function together. The world of Aden started as the Computer game Thunderscape. In addition to these, many anime and Manga series offer strange technomagical combinations. It may be worth looking in to these sources if you have an interest in doing technomagical stories.

So, if you feel constrained by the boundaries of typical fantasy and science fiction, you may want to give Steampunk and other technomagical stories a try.