Full Light, Full Steam

[Telpierion]

I recently had the pleasure of playing a game of Full Light, Full Steam (FLFS)at a local convention. FLFS is a Victorian steampunk space opera. You play members of Her Majesty's Royal Astronomical Navy spreading the glory of the British Empire across the solar system. The games basic premise is similar to Space 1889, but FLFS shares none of 1889's canon story line. It is published by Kallisti Press, a small independent game publisher. Given many people here seem to like story driven games and all things British, I though I'd share it with you.

[darryll]

Looks interesting. I really like the 'cog cards.' That's a great idea and the character sheets look nice. I dislike the anime stylings of the cover and the use of the word 'Steampunk' to describe the genre. It looks like they are going for a kind of Girl Genius mode that doesn't quite appeal to me. The emphasis on character, however, is admirable.

I've mentioned it on these forums before, but my other passion, after 1920s COC, is Mad Victorian/Scientific Romance. Castle Falkenstein is, in my opinion, the definitive Victorian style RPG. The innovative playing card system, the steam powered fairie tale setting, the authentic dime novel, penny blood feel, and nowhere will you find the word Steampunk.
My only regret is that R. Talsorian Games, after four or five sourcebooks, never released a single Dramatic Entertainment (scenario). It was the downfall of that game. A few adventures showed up in magazines but they were lame and never got the right feel.
Space 1889 had a cool setting but a clunky system. If it's Victorian Space Opera you want then look to the Forgotten Futures website. A great resource for authentic Victoriana. Also track down Captain Mors on the web. The classic space pirate of the Victorian Age.
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"Have with you, at all times, iron that cuts, polished silver, a sprig of mistletoe, and a loaded pistol."

[Telpierion]

Well steampunk is just fictitious steam powered technology doing much more than it should. I don't know what is so objectionable about the term and I don't know of a better one. What do you mean by "girl genius mode?"

[darryll]

[deuce]

Not to derail this thread or anything, but has anyone tried to do a "Mythos Victoriana" (ie, "Falkenstein", "1889" etc...) using CAS' Aihais or HPL's "Eryx" Venus? I'd think it would be a viable hybrid.

[darryll]

[Nollvane]

As for the use of the term "steampunk," I wouldn't worry too much, darryll & co. After the success of cyberpunk in the '80's and early '90's, there was a mania for using "-punk" as a suffix to describe any revisionist (especially ironic/self-referential) take on an established genre (anybody remember "cowpunk?"), just as "alt" is appended freely to musical labels these days.

If steampunk as a label has stuck, it's probably due to the lack of a convenient shorthand to describe the various approaches darryll lists. Instead of telling the girl you're hitting on that the novel you're writing is "sort of a, you know, alternate history where Jules Verne was telling the truth, and, uh, space is filled with Phlogiston and there are mechanical spiders, oh and they're run by steam and clockwork and everybody wears top hats and bespoke suits, and, uh, the Americans lost the Revolution and everybody speaks English, I mean British English, etc." you can just say it's "steampunk" and she'll nod knowingly and you're a lot more likely to get lucky.

At least that's how it's supposed to work.

Seriously, though: a forum like this is a good place to parse the various genres under the steampunk umbrella (bumbershoot?), but for the mass science fiction audience, let alone the general public, "steampunk" is a marketing term that lets the prospective customer have a general idea of what they're getting. When you look at it in detail, it fails as a comprehensive descriptor: "The Difference Engine" is a not-very-good novel with a lot of interesting ideas, and Paul Di Filippo's "Steampunk Trilogy," while amazing, lacks many of the elements that a casual fan might expect in the genre--no giant steam-powered mecha, no morlocks, etc.

As a conclusion to my rambling, did anyone read the "Wisdom" limited series from Marvel Max that just ended? The last couple of issues could be seen as sort of a round-up of contemporary steampunk tropes (even name-checking the genre at one point), and turned out to be pretty interesting.
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"Good," said the Martian. "Then I do want something. I've heard about your disgusting mating habits. Now I can watch them."

[darryll]

Ha! Well, if a discussion of steampunk conventions is an effective way to pick up women where you live, then I'm on my way.

I know I take this way to seriously, but I can't help it. I truly am enamoured with the various permutations of this genre. Much as we all hate to see Lovecraft be maligned in print and on screen I loathe seeing the classic Scientific Romance being given short shrift by modern standards of entertainment. LOEG the movie is a perfect example of this. What a mess.

While I agree with you that Difference Engine wasn't perfect, I consider it an ornate container of wonderful treasures that tries very hard to adhere to the classic tropes. I also agree that the Steampunk Trilogy was amazing and eccentric. The title is unfortunate but at the time it was a tip of the hat to Gibson's and Sterling's opus, with tongue firmly lodged within it's rather impish cheek.
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"Have with you, at all times, iron that cuts, polished silver, a sprig of mistletoe, and a loaded pistol."

[Nollvane]

darryll:
I'm glad my comments were taken in good spirit, as I wasn't trying to bash your post and I was a little less than coherent when I posted last night (and no, the "steampunk pickup" hasn't worked--yet! )

I'd just like to add, though, that I agree 100% that "steampunk" is an inappropriate term when applied to Verne, Wells, Haggard and other Victorian authors. I also agree that it's disheartening when the worst examples of the genre (like the LOEG movie, you're exactly right) are often the most visible to the general public. Well, as you say, we should be used to that being Lovecraft fans!
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"Good," said the Martian. "Then I do want something. I've heard about your disgusting mating habits. Now I can watch them."