Steampunk Video Games

We were introduced to four Steampunk video games in class:

• Final Fantasy VI.
• Bioshock.
• Bioshock Infinite.
• Dishonored.

Thank you to Aaron, Tyler, and Jacob for the preparation they did to share these games with us.

All you need to do for this post is the following:

• Pick one of the four games we observed and make an argument for whether or not it really is Steampunk. Back up your argument with specific examples.
• Comment on at least one other person's post and raise specific examples that either further substantiate their point or contradict their point.

Steampunk Fashion

Nalani gave us an excellent background on Steampunk Fashion. For the blog post related to that, I want you to do the following:

• Post a link to a picture of a Steampunk outfit you would like to wear. State in your post why you like this outfit and what elements of it make it Steampunk. Do not post an outfit someone else has already posted (first come, first serve).
• Then, comment on at least one other person's posted outfit what you think of it!

Enjoy! I'm excited to see all your outfits.

Steampunk Extra Credit / Makeup Work

If you would like to makeup missing points or earn some extra credit then you can do the following:

• Watch or read or experience some kind of Steampunk form of media. It could be a web series, book, movie, TV show, video game, etc.
• Then, comment below and write the answers to the following:
• What media thing did you choose to experience for this assignment
• Describe it to us in a paragraph so we get its plot / gameplay / essence / whatever.
• What Steampunk elements were present? Was it really as Steampunk-y as you thought it would be? Was it actually more Dieselpunk or Cyberpunk (or Atompunk or Biopunk, etc.)?
• Were the characters and themes substantial or was it just about the sensation of the cool Steampunk elements?
• What ideas did you get from this thing that you want to incorporate in your own Steampunk script?
• What else are you dying to tell us about it?

Steampunk "Movie" at Home (Due October 15th)

The time has come for all to experience Steampunk media of their choosing at their house. Since Steampunk is new to the world of movies, you may choose to watch a Steampunk feature-length movie, watch 5 Steampunk short films, play a Steampunk video game for at least three hours, read a Steampunk novel, or read 5 Steampunk short stories. And perhaps you will think of some medium of storytelling I haven't thought of before that is Steampunk. If so, you may do that for this assignment with my approval.

One rule: you cannot have seen / played / read this thing before.

After you experience whatever media you experience for this assignment, you can get on this here blog and answer the following questions:

• What media thing did you choose to experience for this assignment?
• Describe it to us in a paragraph so we get its plot / gameplay / essence / whatever.
• What Steampunk elements were present? Was it really as Steampunk-y as you thought it would be? Was it actually more Dieselpunk or Cyberpunk (or Atompunk or Biopunk, etc.)?
• Were the characters and themes substantial or was it just about the sensation of the cool Steampunk elements?
• What ideas did you get from this thing that you want to incorporate in your own Steampunk script?
• What else are you dying to tell us about it?

For your convenience, here are a list of media you might use for this assignment (but this is just the tip of the iceberg):

Feature Movies:

• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
• Van Helsing.
• The new Sherlock Holmes movies.
• Castle in the Sky.
• City of Ember.

Series (watch at least two-three hours of the series for this assignment):

• Electric City (link here to the trailer where you can see how to watch it).
• The Legend of Korra (Book 1 -- Book 2 is not as Steampunk-y).

Short Films:

• Search YouTube for these.
• Also, check out the Steampunk Abraham Lincoln post.

Short Stories:

• There are a few anthologies published. You can borrow one from me.
• Search the internet for them.

Novels:

• There are lots of these. Use the internet to find them then check them out from the library.

Video Games:

• Final Fantasy VI.
• Final Fantasy IX.
• Bio Shock Infinite.
• Dishonored.
• The Thief games.

Steampunk Short Films

Watching Steampunk short films and learning about Steampunk fashion might have been, for me, the most fun day in Genres class so far. Thank you to Nalani and Sydnie for sharing such cool stuff with us.

So, about those short films—please answer the following questions:

• Which Steampunk short film was your favorite? Why?
• Which Steampunk short film was your least favorite? Why?
• Sydnie said that she watched eight hours of short films to pick out the ones she showed us in class. She said the rest of the ones she watched were either badly made or just gross and not so appropriate for high school. Why do you think so much Steampunk media is such low quality / so non-high-school-appropriate?
• How did watching all these different Steampunk videos expand your understanding of what Steampunk is / can be?
• After watching all these films, what new ideas do you have for your own Steampunk script?

I know that many of you want links to the films we watched. Here they are:

• Arm's Race: Five minute short film with British soldiers fighting a steam robot.
• Elephant's Dream: Ten minute short film with two men running through a strange "imaginary" world.
• PBS Steampunk Documentary: Five minute documentary about Steampunk.
• City of Lost Children Trailer: Trailer for a movie I hope to watch in class next week.
• Steam Powered Giraffe Music Video: The music video with the pug sing-along. "No, that's the red star!"
• Eye of the Storm: The rotoscoped music video with the solo airship captain.
• The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello: The 25-ish minute short Steampunk Noir about airships, monsters, and sickness.

Also, be sure to check out the post with Steampunk Abraham Lincoln where we can share with each other cool Steampunk stuff we find. There is already some cool stuff there.

Ok, now it is time to comment. Full steam ahead!

Wild Wild West (1999)

I remember first seeing Wild Wild West at the drive-in theater when I was 15 years old. I really looked forward to seeing it but, in the end, was disappointed with how over-the-top it was (the giant mechanical spider was a bit too much for me).

It was interesting watching it this time through the lens (or goggles) of Steampunk studies and see it from a different angle. What aspects of Steampunk did you see in the film? Is this film really Steampunk? In what ways did the film help you better understand what Steampunk is / can be? How did the film help you formulate ideas for your own script? Please provide specific examples to back up your opinions and observations.

Also, back to what is becoming a central question of our study of Steampunk. How strong are the characters and themes in this film? Are they deep or shallow? Explain. Be specific.

BTW: just so you know, this movie is based off an old TV show from the 60's. You might want to check it out. The pic to the left is from that TV show.

And one final note: I feel a strong obligation to not let my silence ever be an endorsement of the immoral treatment of human beings. So, I want to point out that I strongly object and am even disgusted by how this film depicts one half of the human race (I'm referring to the half with two X chromosomes). I feel this movie was valuable to watch as a case study in Western Steampunk but my showing it is in no means an endorsement of the belittling sexist innuendoes and disturbing portrayal of the lead female character (disturbing in the way that she either happily or stupidly responded to the heroes' demeaning objectification of her).

That is all. Now comment:

Steamboy (2004)

I experienced Steamboy for the first time along with you guys and I was happy to see that it was the perfect choice for our first Steampunk feature watched in class. It was so quintessentially Steampunk that if made my valves burst (metaphorically).

Which elements of Steampunk did you see in the film? Did it help you understand better what Steampunk is? If so, how?

We talked in class about how it is important when writing in any sci-fi/fantasy drama to be careful not to let all the cool technology/magic stuff distract you from telling a good story with strong characters and themes that matter. How do you feel Steamboy did with this? Was this a strong story with deep characters and themes or was it just cool because it had cool Steampunk stuff going on? Defend your opinion.

Also, this is pretty cool: