Steampunk movies, series and anime
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prinCZess
Warrior, Writer, Performer, Perv
I actually kind've liked The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But everyone seems to insist it's terrible. And...while it's campy and cliche, it's enjoyable to watch.
Disney's Atlantis is definitely one to check out if you haven't. Also kind've toes the line between dieselpunk and...magic...though. But it's a fun flick and definitely has the adventure-movie-ish tone of things.
The recent Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr. probably qualify. Once again not 'great movies', but they're a lot of fun and that's what they should be used for.
There's also a Three Musketeers film from 2011 floating-around out there with airships and the like. It's...
...
Depending on taste it may qualify as 'so bad it's good' or may loop back around into 'so bad it's BAD' territory. But it exists and may be entertaining.
Disney's Atlantis is definitely one to check out if you haven't. Also kind've toes the line between dieselpunk and...magic...though. But it's a fun flick and definitely has the adventure-movie-ish tone of things.
The recent Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr. probably qualify. Once again not 'great movies', but they're a lot of fun and that's what they should be used for.
There's also a Three Musketeers film from 2011 floating-around out there with airships and the like. It's...
...
Depending on taste it may qualify as 'so bad it's good' or may loop back around into 'so bad it's BAD' territory. But it exists and may be entertaining.
Bassoe
Well-known member
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World
Nine
The Cog is Dead
Victor Frankenstein
If you want books rather than other media, I've got loads more.
Nine
The Cog is Dead
Victor Frankenstein
If you want books rather than other media, I've got loads more.
Val the Moofia Boss
Well-known member
The Vision of Escaflowne has an oldschool Final Fantasy blend of magitek and steampunk. There are airships that fly by being built around magic floating rocks, and wars are fought with steampunk/magitek mecha that are powered by hearts ripped out of dead dragons. The pilots insert their arms into these rigs that translate their arm and hand movements 1 to 1 to the mecha, so their swordsmanship skills actually carry over (whereas in other anime, such as Code Geass, it doesn't make sense how the pilot might be a real swordsman, but how are they supposed to translate that skill to their mechs when they are using joystiqs?)
The anime itself was 7/10 good. I loved the war story, and wish the whole show was that. Allen is awesome. Folken was cool with his robot/dragon armor and cape, and Dillandau was a terrifying, threatening antagonist. Unfortunately the show has a shoujo subplot that sorta bloats the show. I wasn't really into the whole "heroine can see the future and influence people's destiny and the bad guys send agents after her" thing. Also the show was supposed to be like 36 episodes or something, but their budget was slashed during production, so at around episode 20 the alliance forms to fight the empire but the show tries to cram what would have been an epic 16 episode long campaign into just 5 more episodes.
The Escaflowne movie is set in a different canon. The mechas have less of a steampunk/magitek design, and go for more of a creepy organic bio-engineered look, like the Giant Warrior from Nausicaa or the Weapons from FFXIV or the later Trails of Cold Steel games. The mechs aesthetically looked great but the movie was overall really bad.
The anime itself was 7/10 good. I loved the war story, and wish the whole show was that. Allen is awesome. Folken was cool with his robot/dragon armor and cape, and Dillandau was a terrifying, threatening antagonist. Unfortunately the show has a shoujo subplot that sorta bloats the show. I wasn't really into the whole "heroine can see the future and influence people's destiny and the bad guys send agents after her" thing. Also the show was supposed to be like 36 episodes or something, but their budget was slashed during production, so at around episode 20 the alliance forms to fight the empire but the show tries to cram what would have been an epic 16 episode long campaign into just 5 more episodes.
The Escaflowne movie is set in a different canon. The mechas have less of a steampunk/magitek design, and go for more of a creepy organic bio-engineered look, like the Giant Warrior from Nausicaa or the Weapons from FFXIV or the later Trails of Cold Steel games. The mechs aesthetically looked great but the movie was overall really bad.
49ersfootball
Well-known member
Anyone watched the political movie "Dave" (1993) ?
PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
Girl Genius Comic
Also maker of Vexxarr made Steampunk B-movie, I don't know how good it is
Engines of Destiny (2018) - IMDb
Also maker of Vexxarr made Steampunk B-movie, I don't know how good it is
Engines of Destiny (2018) - IMDb
Bassoe
Well-known member
A few free online stories...
Zeppelin City by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn - turn of the century wellsian notions of technocracy, conspiracies and airship racing aces.
Minutes of the Last Meeting by Stepan Chapman - alternate history, tsarist russia, orwellian surveillance, russian folklore and nuclear atmospheric ignition theory.
Technarion by Sean McMullen - bracewell probes and the computer age beginning a century ahead of schedule. Best if read as a counter to Zero HP Lovecraft's Gig Economy showing a world where Mammon has powerful enemies, but that somehow manages to make humanity's situation even worse.
Edison’s Frankenstein by Chris Roberson - precursor supercivilizations, the World's Columbian Exposition and a murder mystery.
Stephenson’s Rocket by Jay Lake - victorian space race.
You See But You Do Not Observe by Robert J. Sawyer - Sherlock Holmes faces his greatest mystery, the Fermi Paradox.
Zeppelin City by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn - turn of the century wellsian notions of technocracy, conspiracies and airship racing aces.
Minutes of the Last Meeting by Stepan Chapman - alternate history, tsarist russia, orwellian surveillance, russian folklore and nuclear atmospheric ignition theory.
Technarion by Sean McMullen - bracewell probes and the computer age beginning a century ahead of schedule. Best if read as a counter to Zero HP Lovecraft's Gig Economy showing a world where Mammon has powerful enemies, but that somehow manages to make humanity's situation even worse.
Edison’s Frankenstein by Chris Roberson - precursor supercivilizations, the World's Columbian Exposition and a murder mystery.
Stephenson’s Rocket by Jay Lake - victorian space race.
You See But You Do Not Observe by Robert J. Sawyer - Sherlock Holmes faces his greatest mystery, the Fermi Paradox.
Books -
1.Trilogy "Larklight" by Philip Reeve.Great Britain in 19th century under Queen Victoria aegis is taking most of Solar System using aether ships.Formally for teenager,but well written with narrator being british boy who belive in british empire and never doubt England Right to rule stars.
Good parody,althought i did not cath all references.
2.Another trilogy "Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld about alternate WW1 when german steam walkers face british flying bioships
made by Darvinists.Formally for teenager,too.
Or mabe those walkers had diesels ? i forget.
1.Trilogy "Larklight" by Philip Reeve.Great Britain in 19th century under Queen Victoria aegis is taking most of Solar System using aether ships.Formally for teenager,but well written with narrator being british boy who belive in british empire and never doubt England Right to rule stars.
Good parody,althought i did not cath all references.
2.Another trilogy "Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld about alternate WW1 when german steam walkers face british flying bioships
made by Darvinists.Formally for teenager,too.
Or mabe those walkers had diesels ? i forget.
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Bassoe
Well-known member
More free online stories...
Prayers of Forges and Furnaces by Aliette de Bodard - the tyranny of the Aztec pantheon is overthrown. The new, true god demands no sacrifices of blood and lives, merely labor and raw materials to continue expanding itself. But the old gods aren't as dead as they initially seem.
Arbeitskraft by Nick Mamatas - marxists face an ideological hurdle their messiah lived too soon to have predicted, that of automation obsoleting the value of human labor and creating mechanical strikebreakers. Their reaction leads them to another, potentially even more destructive, Outside Context Problem, that if these are the working class, these are the new kulaks.
Prayers of Forges and Furnaces by Aliette de Bodard - the tyranny of the Aztec pantheon is overthrown. The new, true god demands no sacrifices of blood and lives, merely labor and raw materials to continue expanding itself. But the old gods aren't as dead as they initially seem.
Arbeitskraft by Nick Mamatas - marxists face an ideological hurdle their messiah lived too soon to have predicted, that of automation obsoleting the value of human labor and creating mechanical strikebreakers. Their reaction leads them to another, potentially even more destructive, Outside Context Problem, that if these are the working class, these are the new kulaks.
Bassoe
Well-known member
Mark Hodder's Burton & Swinburne Series. A blotched intervention by a time traveler trying to stop Edward Oxford's attempted assassination of Queen Victoria leads to an escalating butterfly effect and reverse-engineered steampunk technologies.
Also while I've got no absolute proof, I strongly suspect Blizzard stole everything for Overwatch from the series.
Also while I've got no absolute proof, I strongly suspect Blizzard stole everything for Overwatch from the series.
- A provolved gorilla mad scientist.
- A robotic monk.
- Power-armored German knights.
- An obese Australian criminal mastermind who wears a mask at all times.
- A character's civilian fiancee being abducted and turned into a bluish-skinned brainwashed undead monstrosity programmed to assassinate them.
- Spring Heeled Jack/Edward Oxford the second's powers (can voluntarily travel short distances backwards along his own timeline to reverse injuries or forwards for temporary super speed), weaknesses (having a high tech blue glowing gadget attached to his chest which he can't remove without his powers sperging out and getting him lost in time) and origin (accident with an experimental teleporting vehicle).
Books -
1.The Queens martian rifles by M.E.Brines.
England,France,USA and others go to space in 19th century,control Mars as China in OTL/with caste system like India/ ,when satan send his associaties to organize uprising using satan-worshipping priest castle.
Goal - take spaceship,and use to bomb Earth with asteroid.
WHY ? satan should corrupc people,not kill them.But - brave british soldiers save Earth anyway.And their commander get cute aristocratic british girfriend.
Dawn of the steam trilogy by Jeffrey Cook and Sarah Symonds.Much better,satan do not try wipe out humanity,we have only bad traitor who try overthrown great british Empire and is rigtfully smitten in last book.
All in 19 th century,and we have airships,not spaceships.
1.The Queens martian rifles by M.E.Brines.
England,France,USA and others go to space in 19th century,control Mars as China in OTL/with caste system like India/ ,when satan send his associaties to organize uprising using satan-worshipping priest castle.
Goal - take spaceship,and use to bomb Earth with asteroid.
WHY ? satan should corrupc people,not kill them.But - brave british soldiers save Earth anyway.And their commander get cute aristocratic british girfriend.
Dawn of the steam trilogy by Jeffrey Cook and Sarah Symonds.Much better,satan do not try wipe out humanity,we have only bad traitor who try overthrown great british Empire and is rigtfully smitten in last book.
All in 19 th century,and we have airships,not spaceships.
Abhishekm
Well-known member
I never got that either. The movie was pretty good. Though probably for the best they didn't decide to make sequels to milk it or something.
Ah the fantasy steam punk highschool romance anime. Heh, for something more frankensteinish genre wise than I Frankenstein (liked that one too) it was great!
Keeping with the theme of those two I would recommend Empire of Corpses (2015).
Though that might be more Victorian Fantasy Babbage Punk if that makes sense. Is Babbage punk a think actually? You'll get it if you see the movie a bit.
Also the obvious Treasure Planet but I think thats more space pirate sailpunk.
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Rise of Legends, one of the relatively few steampunk (with a bit of clockpunk/vincipunk mixed in) videogames to be made. It's a spinoff of Rise of Nations, which I have not played, and the overall game design is both very fun and engaging, and very, very weird.
Aldarion
Neoreactionary Monarchist
Yes.And unless Warhammer Fantasy humans here have chance to win.Becouse,let be frank,in WF they should quickly lost.
Val the Moofia Boss
Well-known member
Speaking of videogames, there was Guns of Icarus Online, an airship combat game. The setting was far in our future, after a world war plunged civilization into a dark age and rendered the surface of the planet uninhabitable. Nations have reemerged, perched upon mountaintops, and have built airships to fly over the toxic valleys. It's now the age of sail but in the skies, complete with imperialism and colonies and mercantilism. Players are hired by these empires as privateers to wage war against the other empires. The airship designs were pretty neat.
The red ship on the left is the Crusader class. Most ships in GoI have fuselages hanging from gas bags (ie a naval ship with airbags instead of sails), but the Crusader had a frame built around the gas bags. I preferred that design style.
Unfortunately, the game wasn't very fun. The game was (and still is) very barebones. It launched with PvP only. You could not perform boarding actions. There were only three roles: helmsman/pilot, gunner, and engineer. Engineer is utterly dull as you constantly run around the ship left clicking anything on fire, and every ship needs at least one engineer, so someone isn't going to be having fun. Being a helmsman is more involved, as you have to get used to the slow handling of the airship and steer in advance and be sure to not overshoot, but it gets dull after a while. Gunner is the most fun, but when the game launched there wasn't much variety in the mounted guns. The game was overall underwhelming and got critically panned. Yes, the gaming media didn't really have high regard for indies back then (and to an extent, still does) but in this case there really just wasn't that much fun to be had.
It took years for the devs to release an expansion. It added a PvE mode... which is just PvP but against bots. New airship designs were nice. More variety in mounted turrets for the gunner (flamethrowers and rocket launchers and tesla coils!). And that was it. The game is currently near dead, with only a couple hundred or so players playing at any time. Prospects for future expansions or sequels are nill.
It saddens me that no one else is making a high production quality airship combat game. There was that MMO, Ascent, which initially promised airships and steampunk robots, but then that MMO was revamped and now it looks like the airships aren't a focus anymore. There are a few indie games out there, but the indie industry is bleak and they don't seem to be very good.
The red ship on the left is the Crusader class. Most ships in GoI have fuselages hanging from gas bags (ie a naval ship with airbags instead of sails), but the Crusader had a frame built around the gas bags. I preferred that design style.
Unfortunately, the game wasn't very fun. The game was (and still is) very barebones. It launched with PvP only. You could not perform boarding actions. There were only three roles: helmsman/pilot, gunner, and engineer. Engineer is utterly dull as you constantly run around the ship left clicking anything on fire, and every ship needs at least one engineer, so someone isn't going to be having fun. Being a helmsman is more involved, as you have to get used to the slow handling of the airship and steer in advance and be sure to not overshoot, but it gets dull after a while. Gunner is the most fun, but when the game launched there wasn't much variety in the mounted guns. The game was overall underwhelming and got critically panned. Yes, the gaming media didn't really have high regard for indies back then (and to an extent, still does) but in this case there really just wasn't that much fun to be had.
It took years for the devs to release an expansion. It added a PvE mode... which is just PvP but against bots. New airship designs were nice. More variety in mounted turrets for the gunner (flamethrowers and rocket launchers and tesla coils!). And that was it. The game is currently near dead, with only a couple hundred or so players playing at any time. Prospects for future expansions or sequels are nill.
It saddens me that no one else is making a high production quality airship combat game. There was that MMO, Ascent, which initially promised airships and steampunk robots, but then that MMO was revamped and now it looks like the airships aren't a focus anymore. There are a few indie games out there, but the indie industry is bleak and they don't seem to be very good.
Bassoe
Well-known member
Smoke and its sequel Soot by Dan Vyleta. An alternate history in a Victorian England where the idea of a collective unconsciousness allowing for the spread of thoughts and emotions between individuals and their detection at range without interaction is demonstrable. Sinners are visibly marked by the smoke they biologically secrete while the pure and sinless justify their right to rule through their visible signs of Noblesse Oblige. Of course, things are more complicated than they seem and that's before people start trying to weaponize the system to turn desired behaviors into biologically hardwired imperatives and create psychosis-inducing infohazardous superweapons.