An interesting interview with the developer of the game Cogs is on GameDev.net. Apparently, our humble blog and forum was at least partly responsible for inspiring the design:
Q: Which (if any) games, films, books, etc have influenced you most on the development of Cogs?
There were a couple films that inspired the look of Cogs, including Hellboy II and Wild Wild West. But mostly, we spent time looking at websites like Brass Goggles and OObject. Gizmodo and BoingBoing also tend to give a lot of attention to steampunk designs. — IGF 2010: Lazy 8 Studios (emphasis ours)
Thanks, for the complement, Lazy 8!
It’s also interesting that the game was originally more industrial in nature, but the interviewee is pleased with changing to a steampunk aesthetic:
Q: I think the steampunk-ish art direction works great with something centered around steampunk elements like pipes and gears and such – but were any other styles tried?
Before Brendan came on board, my original engineer art was more industrial — rusty sheet metal and I-beams. I much prefer the steampunk look. — IGF 2010: Lazy 8 Studios
Looks like a cool game, and we’re definitely proud to be part of the inspiration for the design!
La Machine , the French production company based in Nantes France, and famous for La Princesse,, a 50-foot mechanical spider has done it again. This times its a flying greenhouse.
A steampunk-flavored re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast, in which the “Beauty” is a spoiled Victorianesque aristocrat, the “Beast” is a steam-leaking cyborg, and his “castle” is a propeller-driven airship. That’s how “Emmeline Vanderhorn and her Airborne Adventures” is described by creators Jennifer Posh and Sara Pace. It’s a new serial novel now being published.
“Miss Emmeline Vanderhorn is certainly capable of traveling alone. But when she strays from the beaten path, she finds herself abducted by a most Villainous Pirate – a monstrous meld of Man and Machine! Nothing is as it appears aboard his airship, and Emmeline ends up with Far More of an adventure in her ladylike hands than she Ever Anticipated. She must keep her wits about her in order to survive this Sticky Steampunk Situation”
An old-timey radio program/arts organization by the name of ZBS is doing a steampunk series, “Lady Windermere’s Brass Fantabulous”. According to the site:
“Lady Windermere is a spy. Professor Farking Foots-Foots, a scientist and inventor, has installed a recording device in the cage of Lady Windermere’s bustle. Hidden within the bows of her bustle is a lens. Whenever the Lady turns her back, she can record whatever is happening behind her. In Episode One of A Steampunk State of Mind, Professor Foots-Foots is “setting the record straight” for the historian, Carking Cowputter. By playing back the recordings Lady Windermere captured with her Brass Fantabulous device, Foots-Foots has documented the events that led up to what is known as, ‘The-Not-So-Great-War.’ “
From Jules Verne to JD Falkstein, from Japanese anime to Dr Grymm’s laboratory, from Girl Genius to the League of heroes, literature, music, cinema, graphic novel, fashion, every aspects of steampunk are detailed here from a very didactic point of view.
The Anachronism is an award-wining Steampunk short about two children who discover the wreck of a giant squid submarine on a beach near their home. Check out the full version online at:
Starting this May 1, brought to you by the premier steampunk websites, communities and publications, is the Great Steampunk Debate about the ideology of the movement.
Since steampunk inspired a distinct subculture, divorced from its roots in speculative fiction, the question of its politics has emerged occasionally without being ever answered conclusively. Many have volunteered definitions and interpretations of “steampunk” but failed to satisfy the whole of the fandom.
The Great Steampunk Debate offers a forum to steampunk enthusiasts of every kin and kind to debate, and hopefully decide, the matter, once and for all.
The discussion will take place under four headers; the first being “Politics” to exchange ideas about both the internal politics of steampunk and its relationship with the wider world.
Under “Steampunk and the 19th century,” we talk about how the reality of the Victorian era and our modern day world relate and collide. Issues as sexism, racism, class struggle, entrepreneurialism and etiquette can be brought up here.
“Scene” is for discussion about the nature of steampunk as a social phenomena. Is it foremost a genre or a subculture? A hobby or a movement? Real world or virtual?
Lastly, to talk about the relationship between steampunk and its roots in past literature, artefacts, architecture and culture there is the “Inspirations” section.
Tuesday evening, beginning at 21:00 GMT, the site will be undergoing maintenance. Both the blog and forum should be online for most of the duration; however, there may be unusual slowness and intermittent outages as packages are updated, backups are made, and some general housekeeping occurs.
Amazing custom Steampunk ‘Chopper’ Motorcycle, by Solifague Design, dubbed ‘Black Widow’ in all it’s photogenic glory. And for you bikers out there, sorry, its CGI..
Personally, its pretty, but as a workable bike? Nah! (having owned enough bikes to have an opinion, including a 1936 Harley ULH….)
It looks like the good Doctor’s quest to build a complete band of robots have come to fruition in this great new video which features diabolical toys, a secret underground lair and (of course) Doctor Steel himself!
