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 Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:07 pm
Steampunk and Cyberpunk seem to be so different yet have so much in common. For example Cyberpunk often has clear or removed covers to show the circuit boards, not unlike how Steampunk likes to show the clockwork mechanics within things. Discuss similarities, differances and why you think one is better then the other or why you think they are both equal.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:54 pm
Cyberpunks have a different sense of dressing the way I see it, to me they relate better with more of the category of goth, though I think there is such a thing as cyber-goth as well. Steampunk seems to relate more with the past in a sci-fi way though, as for where cyber punk relates more to the futuristic perspectives. That's my view on that.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:57 pm
I think that the biggest difference, besides the technology itself, is that steampunk almost always has a special classiness to it, regardless of and irrelevant to aristocracy to social class. Cyberpunk tends to have a cold grunge to it.
Other than that, I consider them pretty much equal. I actually like to think that the best cyberpunk setting would be far in the future of an alternate-timeline steampunk world.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 11:19 pm
I'm just going by what I've observed from the two; feel free to correct me at any time if I'm wrong.
The main difference I see between the two (besides what you already mentioned) is that steampunk is "old" technology, and cyberpunk is "new"/futuristic/modern.
The colour schemes are different too. Cyberpunk tends to use a lot of bright colours, as well as silver shiny metals and black, while of course we are all familiar with the browns and brass etc. of steampunk.
To me, cyberpunk seems a bit more harsh and glaring compared to steampunk. Steampunk in turn seems warm (although some things can be quite dark).
An example I could use for comparison is housing. Imagine a minimalistic modern flat compared to a cosy cottage or cabin somewhere out in the woods. Both have their charms, but I'm sure there are people who would prefer to live in one more often over the other, even if the second place is a vacation/holiday home.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not "hating on" cyberpunks. I have seen some cyberpunkish things that have made me go "Ooh! That is way awesome!" I just prefer the comfort of brass, wood, gears, steam and "the past" as opposed to circuitry, wires, electricity and "the future".
The similarities between them: they're both an alternative way of life; they both have pride in their machines and technology (although each is differently-powered); and everyone in each community is unique, brought together by this particular interest. And I'm sure there are steamies who fancy some cyberpunk things, and vice-versa, so both worlds can co-exist. Actually, I have a better way to describe that: steampunk could be cyberpunk's past before they branched off. (^_Q)
Erm, Xeigrich said what I just did using less words~ XD
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:11 am
Lily Darling I'm just going by what I've observed from the two; feel free to correct me at any time if I'm wrong.
The main difference I see between the two (besides what you already mentioned) is that steampunk is "old" technology, and cyberpunk is "new"/futuristic/modern.
The colour schemes are different too. Cyberpunk tends to use a lot of bright colours, as well as silver shiny metals and black, while of course we are all familiar with the browns and brass etc. of steampunk.
To me, cyberpunk seems a bit more harsh and glaring compared to steampunk. Steampunk in turn seems warm (although some things can be quite dark).
An example I could use for comparison is housing. Imagine a minimalistic modern flat compared to a cosy cottage or cabin somewhere out in the woods. Both have their charms, but I'm sure there are people who would prefer to live in one more often over the other, even if the second place is a vacation/holiday home.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not "hating on" cyberpunks. I have seen some cyberpunkish things that have made me go "Ooh! That is way awesome!" I just prefer the comfort of brass, wood, gears, steam and "the past" as opposed to circuitry, wires, electricity and "the future".
The similarities between them: they're both an alternative way of life; they both have pride in their machines and technology (although each is differently-powered); and everyone in each community is unique, brought together by this particular interest. And I'm sure there are steamies who fancy some cyberpunk things, and vice-versa, so both worlds can co-exist. Actually, I have a better way to describe that: steampunk could be cyberpunk's past before they branched off. (^_Q)
Erm, Xeigrich said what I just did using less words~ XD Haha, as I was reading this I was thinking, "Hey, this person is saying exactly what I said but elaborating more!" and then I saw the last sentence. I think it's a really good way to point out the differences to sum up Steampunk as "warm" and Cyberpunk as "cold." Everything from the colors, the attitudes, the people, the society/government, and the technology, it's all warm/cold extremes. Especially when you think of electronics as being relatively cold and lifeless seeming, and steam-powered machines all hot and steamy with lots of moving parts and friction. That said, I think I'd prefer to live in a steampunk world, unless the cyberpunk world in question was just so unbelievably awesome and so many cool ultramodern conveniences that the pros outweigh the cons (typical Cyberpunk cons like oppressive/tyrannical government, genetic freaks, famine, crazed AI/robots, etc).
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:16 am
Redwinged Rogue Cyberpunks have a different sense of dressing the way I see it, to me they relate better with more of the category of goth, though I think there is such a thing as cyber-goth as well. Steampunk seems to relate more with the past in a sci-fi way though, as for where cyber punk relates more to the futuristic perspectives. That's my view on that. yea. and cybergoth is actually like a offshoot of raver with alittle bit of goth in it. But yea I agree, Steampunk is retro-futurism and Cyberpunk is just futurism btw. wth is up with that? XD the spellchecker can't recognize "steampunk" but it recognizes "cyberpunk"?! XDDD
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:20 am
Xeigrich I think that the biggest difference, besides the technology itself, is that steampunk almost always has a special classiness to it, regardless of and irrelevant to aristocracy to social class. Cyberpunk tends to have a cold grunge to it. Other than that, I consider them pretty much equal. I actually like to think that the best cyberpunk setting would be far in the future of an alternate-timeline steampunk world. yea, cyberpunk is based on that grunge feel. Its all about high technology and low culture. the movie Repo is prety cyberpunk, its very futuristic and people can get away with having a hitman go and kill you if you don't pay up. That kind of thing. Though as for me I like a sort of low-culture steampunk look for myself. I dress like a combination of a steampunk engineer and a fantasy thief or assassin. I like the upper class look but its just not for me. It makes me feel to....stuffy XD I was (and still am depending on my mood) heavy into the goth look. So that should tell you something. Sometimes I fuse them and make a look I call "steamgoth"
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:30 am
Lily Darling I'm just going by what I've observed from the two; feel free to correct me at any time if I'm wrong.
The main difference I see between the two (besides what you already mentioned) is that steampunk is "old" technology, and cyberpunk is "new"/futuristic/modern.
The colour schemes are different too. Cyberpunk tends to use a lot of bright colours, as well as silver shiny metals and black, while of course we are all familiar with the browns and brass etc. of steampunk.
To me, cyberpunk seems a bit more harsh and glaring compared to steampunk. Steampunk in turn seems warm (although some things can be quite dark).
An example I could use for comparison is housing. Imagine a minimalistic modern flat compared to a cosy cottage or cabin somewhere out in the woods. Both have their charms, but I'm sure there are people who would prefer to live in one more often over the other, even if the second place is a vacation/holiday home.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not "hating on" cyberpunks. I have seen some cyberpunkish things that have made me go "Ooh! That is way awesome!" I just prefer the comfort of brass, wood, gears, steam and "the past" as opposed to circuitry, wires, electricity and "the future".
The similarities between them: they're both an alternative way of life; they both have pride in their machines and technology (although each is differently-powered); and everyone in each community is unique, brought together by this particular interest. And I'm sure there are steamies who fancy some cyberpunk things, and vice-versa, so both worlds can co-exist. Actually, I have a better way to describe that: steampunk could be cyberpunk's past before they branched off. (^_Q)
Erm, Xeigrich said what I just did using less words~ XD very true. Though I found the movie The Golden Compass quite interesting because it combined a Steampunk world with a very oppressing government (if you can even call it that, more like a monarchy) witch is more keeping with Cyberpunk. I myself love both. I wish I could be like 3 or 4 people at once so I could look cyberpunk, goth, Steampunk and maybe even furry (yes, I’m a furry, if you have a problem with it stick it in your tailhole XP) but alas I can't. I alternate between my looks based on my mood (though I only do Steampunk and goth because I have no cyberpunk outfit yet. If you thought Steampunk was expensive, just try cyberpunk) and mix and match them. Also another thing they both have in common is they are both centered around Sci-Fi and speculative fiction. They are also heavily centered around literature and movies rather then something like emo, goth or punk witch is all about the music and such)
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:36 am
Xeigrich Haha, as I was reading this I was thinking, "Hey, this person is saying exactly what I said but elaborating more!" and then I saw the last sentence. I think it's a really good way to point out the differences to sum up Steampunk as "warm" and Cyberpunk as "cold." Everything from the colors, the attitudes, the people, the society/government, and the technology, it's all warm/cold extremes. Especially when you think of electronics as being relatively cold and lifeless seeming, and steam-powered machines all hot and steamy with lots of moving parts and friction. That said, I think I'd prefer to live in a steampunk world, unless the cyberpunk world in question was just so unbelievably awesome and so many cool ultramodern conveniences that the pros outweigh the cons (typical Cyberpunk cons like oppressive/tyrannical government, genetic freaks, famine, crazed AI/robots, etc). yea, I agree, cyberpunk has a very cold, unfeeling, dirty and depressing "on the verge of the apocalypse" feel where as steampunk has a warm, cozy, clean and "better time and place" feel to it. also I agree, though steampunk has its problems too. Such as airship pirates, strange creatures, clockwork robots gone wild (lol sounds like a technosexual porno vid XP) and they can also have corrupt governments among other things. But I agree, steampunk would be far better.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:52 am
Amossk Xeigrich Haha, as I was reading this I was thinking, "Hey, this person is saying exactly what I said but elaborating more!" and then I saw the last sentence. I think it's a really good way to point out the differences to sum up Steampunk as "warm" and Cyberpunk as "cold." Everything from the colors, the attitudes, the people, the society/government, and the technology, it's all warm/cold extremes. Especially when you think of electronics as being relatively cold and lifeless seeming, and steam-powered machines all hot and steamy with lots of moving parts and friction. That said, I think I'd prefer to live in a steampunk world, unless the cyberpunk world in question was just so unbelievably awesome and so many cool ultramodern conveniences that the pros outweigh the cons (typical Cyberpunk cons like oppressive/tyrannical government, genetic freaks, famine, crazed AI/robots, etc). yea, I agree, cyberpunk has a very cold, unfeeling, dirty and depressing "on the verge of the apocalypse" feel where as steampunk has a warm, cozy, clean and "better time and place" feel to it. also I agree, though steampunk has its problems too. Such as airship pirates, strange creatures, clockwork robots gone wild (lol sounds like a technosexual porno vid XP) and they can also have corrupt governments among other things. But I agree, steampunk would be far better. Steamboy has a corrupt government... well it's more a matter of corrupt military. Probably the only thing I really wouldn't like about living a cyberpunk world would be the whole "inside your head, no privacy anywhere" sort of thing, which is an extremely common problem in cyberpunk worlds. If you consider Cowboy Bebop to be cyberpunk -- and I personally think it's a great example of a less cliche type of cyberpunk -- that's the kind of place I might want to live. But if we're talking "epitome of cyberpunk" like Blade Runner, then no, I'll take Steampunk hands down.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:58 am
Cyberpunk was a term created in the 80's by William Gibson for his book series which was based on a "near future, dark future" feeling. Steampunk is harder to pigeonhole since there's less of a "punk" quality though it is by no means absent...after all in the book Whitechaple Gods the humans form a resistance against their new Steam-Age mechanical gods. ( heart READ IT!! heart )
I prefer Post Apocolyptic punk to Cyberpunk if I'm dressing to a dark future theme.... but then again I have many diverse and often feuding tastes.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 11:57 am
Xeigrich Amossk Xeigrich Haha, as I was reading this I was thinking, "Hey, this person is saying exactly what I said but elaborating more!" and then I saw the last sentence. I think it's a really good way to point out the differences to sum up Steampunk as "warm" and Cyberpunk as "cold." Everything from the colors, the attitudes, the people, the society/government, and the technology, it's all warm/cold extremes. Especially when you think of electronics as being relatively cold and lifeless seeming, and steam-powered machines all hot and steamy with lots of moving parts and friction. That said, I think I'd prefer to live in a steampunk world, unless the cyberpunk world in question was just so unbelievably awesome and so many cool ultramodern conveniences that the pros outweigh the cons (typical Cyberpunk cons like oppressive/tyrannical government, genetic freaks, famine, crazed AI/robots, etc). yea, I agree, cyberpunk has a very cold, unfeeling, dirty and depressing "on the verge of the apocalypse" feel where as steampunk has a warm, cozy, clean and "better time and place" feel to it. also I agree, though steampunk has its problems too. Such as airship pirates, strange creatures, clockwork robots gone wild (lol sounds like a technosexual porno vid XP) and they can also have corrupt governments among other things. But I agree, steampunk would be far better. Steamboy has a corrupt government... well it's more a matter of corrupt military. Probably the only thing I really wouldn't like about living a cyberpunk world would be the whole "inside your head, no privacy anywhere" sort of thing, which is an extremely common problem in cyberpunk worlds. If you consider Cowboy Bebop to be cyberpunk -- and I personally think it's a great example of a less cliche type of cyberpunk -- that's the kind of place I might want to live. But if we're talking "epitome of cyberpunk" like Blade Runner, then no, I'll take Steampunk hands down. Speaking of steamboy, I've been looking to get it but can't find it anywhere. Any clue how I could? And yea, i'd prefer a steampunk world with a corrupt government over a cyberpunk world with the same problems. Atlest in the steampunk world you have a cleaner world with that "warm and cozy" feel. With a cyberpunk world you need to deal with the government AND the grungey, cold and uncaring feel of the world.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:08 pm
Akonite Cyberpunk was a term created in the 80's by William Gibson for his book series which was based on a "near future, dark future" feeling. Steampunk is harder to pigeonhole since there's less of a "punk" quality though it is by no means absent...after all in the book Whitechaple Gods the humans form a resistance against their new Steam-Age mechanical gods. ( heart READ IT!! heart ) I prefer Post Apocolyptic punk to Cyberpunk if I'm dressing to a dark future theme.... but then again I have many diverse and often feuding tastes. yea, the suffix "Punk" in Steampuunk was added as a joke at first and I believe that Steampunk as we know it has nothing or next-to-nothing to do with punk, though it may not have always been that way. It dose have punk elements I agree. Wanting a different world then the one we live in, not being afraid to break off from (and even go against) the mainstream, etc. Yea, and I agree about the post-apoc punk thing. Actually one of my favorite game series is Fallout. Its all about a post-nuclear world set in an alternate timeline. Its similar to steampunk in the sense its based on what people in the past thought the future would be like. Though Fallout is retro futurism from the 1950s, not the 1800s like steampunk.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:27 pm
Amossk very true. Though I found the movie The Golden Compass quite interesting because it combined a Steampunk world with a very oppressing government (if you can even call it that, more like a monarchy) witch is more keeping with Cyberpunk. I myself love both. I wish I could be like 3 or 4 people at once so I could look cyberpunk, goth, Steampunk and maybe even furry (yes, I’m a furry, if you have a problem with it stick it in your tailhole XP) but alas I can't. I alternate between my looks based on my mood (though I only do Steampunk and goth because I have no cyberpunk outfit yet. If you thought Steampunk was expensive, just try cyberpunk) and mix and match them. Also another thing they both have in common is they are both centered around Sci-Fi and speculative fiction. They are also heavily centered around literature and movies rather then something like emo, goth or punk witch is all about the music and such) I haven't had a chance to see The Golden Compass yet. It was a movie I wanted to see, but let my friends dissuade me as they said it was poo... well, I can just rent it now. XD
I'm goth too, and have been since my highschool days. I thought about trying to combine steampunk and goth, but knowing me it'd come out looking really horrid. Haha~
About the furry thing: To each his own. XD It's not my thing, but I'm not going to begrudge someone their enjoyment of something simply because I don't.
I'd been thinking, if there were a war between cyberpunks and steampunks, who would win? Would the technologies be fairly matched, or would one be more powerful than the other?
If the cybers ran out of electricity or broke the circuit boards, or if steamies ran out of steam or lost a gear things could go downhill fast.
It's funny cos we have parallels right now of new vs. old technology. Some very outdated things still run in today's society, even when their modern counterparts break. And these things will probably continue to work for a very long time with good maintenance.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:31 pm
Lily Darling Amossk very true. Though I found the movie The Golden Compass quite interesting because it combined a Steampunk world with a very oppressing government (if you can even call it that, more like a monarchy) witch is more keeping with Cyberpunk. I myself love both. I wish I could be like 3 or 4 people at once so I could look cyberpunk, goth, Steampunk and maybe even furry (yes, I’m a furry, if you have a problem with it stick it in your tailhole XP) but alas I can't. I alternate between my looks based on my mood (though I only do Steampunk and goth because I have no cyberpunk outfit yet. If you thought Steampunk was expensive, just try cyberpunk) and mix and match them. Also another thing they both have in common is they are both centered around Sci-Fi and speculative fiction. They are also heavily centered around literature and movies rather then something like emo, goth or punk witch is all about the music and such) I haven't had a chance to see The Golden Compass yet. It was a movie I wanted to see, but let my friends dissuade me as they said it was poo... well, I can just rent it now. XD
I'm goth too, and have been since my highschool days. I thought about trying to combine steampunk and goth, but knowing me it'd come out looking really horrid. Haha~
About the furry thing: To each his own. XD It's not my thing, but I'm not going to begrudge someone their enjoyment of something simply because I don't.
I'd been thinking, if there were a war between cyberpunks and steampunks, who would win? Would the technologies be fairly matched, or would one be more powerful than the other?
If the cybers ran out of electricity or broke the circuit boards, or if steamies ran out of steam or lost a gear things could go downhill fast.
It's funny cos we have parallels right now of new vs. old technology. Some very outdated things still run in today's society, even when their modern counterparts break. And these things will probably continue to work for a very long time with good maintenance. yea XD as for the cybersteam war I think it depends, the superior technology of the cyberpunks might give an advantage but they still need power, and lots of it. Steampunks can run their machines on water. So it depends on how long it lasts
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