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Oh my yes – this I could seriously see succeeding! There are some mod teams, that just look like they’re going to falter and fail, but The Dark Mod, a mod for Doom 3 that enables a very very Thief-like toolset, has all the markings of a mod that’s not only going to succeed, but in doing so bring a beautiful Steampunk world to life!

While not infringing on copyright, the Dark Mod team have coders, artists, musicians, modders and (the frequently very rare) animators working on getting both the Builders guild and the Pagans into the game, as well as water arrows, rope arrows, saps, bows, swords and far more in and working. The Builders guild is most certainly the bit that catches my eye the best – a guild of engineers and inventors, working to ‘civilize’ the land for their deity with their arcane and infathomable technology. Their initial aim is to provide tools for other mappers and modders, though they hope to create their own campain in future. It’s all terribly impressive for a fan made mod! (See the wiki and the DarkRadiant source page for more information too.)

(Edit: “I before E, except after C.  I before E, except after….  I always spell Thief wrongly.  sighs)

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Mr Huang (Crabfu) very kindly pointed out this video on YouTube for the game Wachenröder, a Japanese language RPG/strategy game for the Sega Saturn. This is a video of the introduction to the game (a little meandering) showing some beautiful Steampunk backdrops – murky steamtrain stations, peculiar airship-variants, and silly-sized artillery. The game itself (there’s a little ingame footage at the end) looks like a turn based, grid based combat RPG, with an isometric view and cutting to a closeup, almost cell shaded, sequence for the individual hits. The combat apparently has a nice tweak to it where you can charge up your weapons to attack more powerfully, but you run the risk of a boiler explosion!

There’s some lovely concept art here, and apparently should you manage to find the game for your Saturn, you can find a translation into English over at GameFAQs. It’s spoken of quite highly, and it’s a shame it’s not been picked up for a sequel on one of the more recent machines.

Mr J Esquire was quite surprised that I’d let this shining example of a Steampunk game slip past me – but I am very glad that he’s pointed it out!  It’s by the same people as did “Return to the Mysterious Island” and is called “Journey to the Moon” (beware, musical site).  It’s an adventure game, and it starts off with a similar tale to that woven by Jules Verne – a grand journey to the moon in a bullet like projectile!  In Mr Verne’s original, they didn’t quite make it, but in the game, the surface is reached, and the inhabitants strange and mysterious.  Getting there is only half the problem though – it is getting back, that is the trick!

There’s a demo to be downloaded, and if I have time I fully intend to have a go – Mr Esquire speaks kindly of it.  I’m particularly interested in the selenites ideograms, and the horticultural experimentation side (no, really!).  It is a shame that I’m historically quite poor at these sorts of games, though.  Maybe this will be different!  One last warning – the site has a very strange “Harrumph!” sound when you click on the main character – it made me feel uneasy.

Oooh, now this looks like a cross between Arcanum and Dungeon Seige! Silverfall is a mostly high-camera’ed PC RPG, set in the fantasy world of Nelwë – deep in a war for hearts and minds between technology (with a distinct steam and gunpowder feel) and magic. With flying cities held aloft with zeppelins, to mechanical arms (both meanings of the word), and an industrial revolution sparked by the invention of the steam engine by the goblins – there’s a lot of fantasy-Steampunk to enjoy. You get to choose your path, technology or magic, as you progress – but alas I fear there will be only one side to that choice for me. I mean – good gracious – if given the choice between lycanthropy or Steampunk implants, sign me up for a leg that needs oiling any day!

Most intriguing is that it claims to be both LAN and internet multiplayer out of the box (so sayeth Worthplaying) – now that interests me greatly. A co-operative Steampunk fantasy, with mechanical dragons to slay and a city to shape in my own steam-centric views, could be rather pleasant to say the least. I’m downloading the demo at the moment but it is being something other than hasty – still, with a March release, it should be too long to wait either way! Thank you very much, Mr Vasant!

Mr Shuff, of the amazing 20kride site, pointed out an arcade machine by Sega that he used to adore – a sit down shooter set underwater, called The Ocean Hunter.  Apparently quite Steampunk, you and your companion (it could be two player) would travel the world in a hot air balloon, making your way around the globe to then dive into the depths and fight increasingly terrifying underwater horrors!

It was released in 1998, and I get the impression that whereever it was that Mr Shuff used to play it, is no longer available to him.  He misses it dearly, but took a rather blurry/liney video of the attract sequence on it – you can see it here, but I fear that it will not come close to conveying the feel of it.

Ms Echegaray reminded me of the wonderfully Steampunk roleplaying game, Space 1889 (I’d posted about the radio plays, but alas they are no longer for sale, it seems). For those not in the know, it’s set in a deeply Steampunk setting where ether flyers make regular (but adventurous) trips to colonised Mars, Luna, Venus and so on! Well, the roleplaying game itself is still around, and at a very reasonable price over at Amazon UK (Space 1889) and Amazon US (Space 1889). I also like that there’s a collection of adventures and articles available to read on the site – A Primer on the Biology of Liftwood, for example!

What I did not know, however, is that there was once a DOS game of Space 1889 (Beware popup-ridden site!) – a mix of adventure and roleplaying, with an emphasis on puzzles over combat as you set out to find King Tut’s treasure, before ending up going to Mars and more! The conversations with Jules Verne and Rasputin are apparently particularly well written. Sounds like a hoot!

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Got a note from Mr Preston to tell me that there’s a game coming out on the little DS called Time Ace. The idea is that a dastardly curr has stolen the time machine of a marvelous inventor, and now conspires to collect terrible weapons to hold the world to ransom – but fear not! You, the inventor, of course have a backup and now chase the trecherous cad through time zones both real-ish and fictional trying to stop his terrible ploy.

What this means is that you will find yourself in various flying vehicles – the first of which appears to be a fairly slow biplane – and your task is to chase down the wicked nemesis’ train while fending off attacks from ornithoptors, enemy planes and blimps. Well, while I’d rather fly a blimp than shoot one down, it’s still nice to see them again. Sounds like it might be good fun – and certainly the multiplayer options. Generally I’m not one for flying combat games, but it might just turn my eye.

Via the “Yours In A White Wine Sauce” blog (which is perfectly wonderful for Victorian Science Fiction wargaming) I read about Le Grand Cirque – a tabletop game of eccentric racing and national pride in a Steampunk setting.  The idea is that the countries of Europe (though I’m sure the USA and others can jump in at a moments notice) decide to settle disputes not through bloodcurdling warfare, but through gentlemanly races.  Except, the conveyances used range from pedal powered velocipedes, to steam powered traction engines to demons summoned via terrible ancient rituals, slithering along and gurgling terribly.

Now, I’ve not run the game personally, but I’ve had a look at the printouts and a glance at the .txt rules and it looks like a good evening’s game!  And any game where if you’re a cad three times then you’re disqualified, has to be on the right tracks.

The enchantingly named Starflier pointed out a little game created as a final project for a Stanford University computer graphics course – this game, entitled “Airship Combat” won the ‘Wackiest’ title. I have to say, that while the potential in this game is high – you can see why it won Wackiest, and not first or second place – it’s a little un-user-friendly in places.

The idea seems to be that you are in strategic command of a sail based, hydrogen-lifted airship, complete with cannons on both port and starboard. By controlling your two sets of sails (and rudders) you can move around this watery environment, and seek out enemy airships to bombard! Alas, when I played it, I found it to be somewhat confusing and with no landmarks in the world, you have no sense of relative movement. It was very peculiar. Perhaps I am just not suited to such a game? However, as an example of a rather nice little set of Steampunk airships – it certainly hits the spot. I’m sure with more time, it could have developed into quite a strategic and tense slow-moving air-ballet of deadly cannon. Better than I have achieved, certainly! (I dabble, occasionally.) Thank you, Starflier!

This weekend, that being the weekend starting the 3rd of February, is the opening event for New Babbage Square, a brand, and primarily Steampunk, new area in Second Life. I’ll post a little of the official open invitation from Mayor Sprocket:

“Our official launch will include a schedule of activities to amuse, inform, entertain, and educate. Below are some of the highlights:

• Casual consentual role play thoughout the day.

• A guided walking tour of Babbage Square led by Mayor Shaunathan Sprocket.

• Historical Exibits featuing both the past that was, and the past that should have been.

• Talks provided by members of The Steampunks group on the subjects of building, scripting, and texturing.

• And other events to be announced by our creative and talented residents.

Any and all with an interest in Penumatics (steam), Horology (Clockwork), or the 19th century as seen from a fantastical point of view are welcome to attend the launch, or any other day they like. We look forward to you accepting this invitation and we hope our city is to your liking.“

I have to say, it all sounds marvelous, and despite the official red ribbons not yet shorn by its official opening, the architecture is certainly looking rather impressive! From the Phantasmagorium above, to a very murky and somewhat dubious looking open air cinamatograph theatre, to the steaming sewer caps to possibly the most Charles Rennie Mackintosh tearoom I’ve ever seen outside of Glasgow! (Alas, despite being Glaswegian, I am not a fan of Mr Mackintosh’s work.) There’s a consistant ::cog:: theme playing out in the area, and well – I have to mention that there’s someone selling very handsome brass goggles in the area (if only I could work out how to buy them…)

So yes – quite the event, it seems! Many thanks, Mayor Sprocket, for furnishing me with the information required.