Before we start, this isn’t an article documenting the historical time line of the creation of steampunk. I’ve been very careful with how I word the title. It’s a chronology of A steampunk universe, not THE steampunk universe. Yours could be very different.
I’m trying to work out where steampunk starts and ends. There are a variety of theories, so I figured I would put mine out there as well.
The way I see it, there are three factors to consider when deciding where steampunk starts and ends
- The Past
- The Present
- The Future
Throughout the next few articles, we’ll be looking at those three time frames and discussing how they can affect steampunk and how it can be employed to influence your look. Most importantly, we’ll be looking at ways to combat this entrenched view of only having a strong Victorian design when describing steampunk. After all, steampunk is a culture based on fiction and imagination, so there’s no way you can sit at a keyboard and tell people that’s not what steampunk is about.
If you’re still unsure, it may help to refer to The Guidelines of Steampunk, I steampunk therefore I am and Steampunk is NOT Victorian Science Fiction articles.
These articles will describe how steampunk can be perceived by steampunks and civilians alike. It’s more of a project to help with outfitting your character – or even developing a character in the first place. Hopefully after reading these articles, you’ll be able to make definite decisions about how your steampunk persona can look and not feel the need to justify it to everyone.