Steampunk computer and video games

[SalieriAAX]

I just remembered.  It's not really a very good game but Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 is definitely Steampunk.

[Mme. Sculthorpe]

Having just spent three days playing Lost Odyssey for the xbox 360, I would add it to this list as well.

Absolutely brilliant, with some jaw-dropping steam-inspired sets and vehicles. Amazingly, although I searched high and low for some sample screen shots showcasing some of the fantastic steamy contraptions and environments, none could be readily found. Which surprised me, as they can be seen nearly everywhere in the game; the manufacturers seem to be focusing quite a bit on the battle elements rather than the aesthetics. Shame, as it is a beautiful game.

For the curious, trailers can be found here:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/viewer.aspx?productId=1065&assetTypeId=2&shotId=1
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/viewer.aspx?productId=1065&assetTypeId=2&shotId=0

In and of itself the game is not purist steampunk, but its influence is clearly stated throughout. The trailers also leave this element out, sadly. If you do get a chance to play it however, do. The game is a mammoth at four discs - I've clocked in over 28 hours and am just starting disc 3 - one certainly gets one's money's worth with it.  I do believe you'll be hearing more about this game soon.

[Josh of Vernian Process]

That actually isn't surprising considering Mistwalker is made up of a number of former Square employees (including the creator of the Final Fantasy series, and series composer Nobuo Ueamatsu). And we all know how Steamy those games generally are.

Having just spent three days playing Lost Odyssey for the xbox 360, I would add it to this list as well.

Absolutely brilliant, with some jaw-dropping steam-inspired sets and vehicles. Amazingly, although I searched high and low for some sample screen shots showcasing some of the fantastic steamy contraptions and environments, none could be readily found. Which surprised me, as they can be seen nearly everywhere in the game; the manufacturers seem to be focusing quite a bit on the battle elements rather than the aesthetics. Shame, as it is a beautiful game.

For the curious, trailers can be found here:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/viewer.aspx?productId=1065&assetTypeId=2&shotId=1
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/viewer.aspx?productId=1065&assetTypeId=2&shotId=0

In and of itself the game is not purist steampunk, but its influence is clearly stated throughout. The trailers also leave this element out, sadly. If you do get a chance to play it however, do. The game is a mammoth at four discs - I've clocked in over 28 hours and am just starting disc 3 - one certainly gets one's money's worth with it.  I do believe you'll be hearing more about this game soon.

[VRAndy]

Would you guys believe that the editors at wikipedia removed Bioshock from the List of Steampunk Works section!!??

I tried to convince them otherwise, but unless they have some reference to its Steampunk content they refuse to place it back in the list. And no, telling them to go play it doesn't work.

The "List of Steampunk Works" article on Wikipeidia was recently trimmed way down.  It was getting really ridiculous. People apparently not firmly understanding what steampunk is were adding all sorts of unrelated things (Mostly movies and games.) Just yesterday I removed "Blade Runner".  Other common favorites seem to include "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" and "Resistance : Fall of Man". 

I understand that Steampunk in movies and video games is pretty limited, and those of us who are into that sort of thing tend to branch out into other areas. There's a serious temptation to label anything you happen to enjoy as Steampunk. But, the term has an actual definition and the article was becoming "List of Works That Someone Who Enjoys Steampunk Might Also Enjoy". (Perhaps it should have simply been moved to that title.  )  Since judging literary genres does not fall within Wikipedia's purview we fall back on Wikipedia's Verifiability Policies. Ideally there should be a referenced source indicating that the work is steampunk, either in the list itself or the work's article. (Though if an article had described it as Steampunk and it just sat there for a while unchallenged, probably no one would squawk.)

Anyway, the reason I'm posting this, is that I'm the most recent person to have removed "Bioshock", so feel free to flame me.   I did it because not only was it unreferenced as steampunk, but everything I've read about it, including the box, tell me that the game's Asthetic and technology are pulled from the 30s and 40s or thereabouts. Which is typically too late to be considered "steampunk" per se.   (In fact, last time Bioshock was added to the list, it was added with a reference that confirmed what I just said!)

(The game is next on my Pile of Games to Play, so no spoilers please.  I'll be enjoying this masterpiece after I either finish or get frustrated with, Rule of Rose.)

I am not a very active Wikipedia editor, but I've taken a special interest in trimming the fat from this article. Not because I'm a grouch, but because when I first found it I was thrilled that I now had a suprisingly long list of steampunk media to enjoy.  Imagine the letdown when I realized that most of the list had virtually nothing to do with steampunk.

-Andy

[Got Haggis?]

would you kindly readd bioshock to the wikipage?

[Bigglesworth]

Much of the machinery in Rapture is steam-powered.

[Prof. Edward Penrose]

I'm not 100% sure about how Steampunk they are, but some of the railroad strategy games like Railroad Tycoon or Sid Meier's Railroads! have steam locos and 19th century stuffs.

[Clockwerk Wolf]

I noticed someone had placed Time Splitters: Future Perfect on a list a few pages back. I just finished playing it, and I must say, I was absolutly giddy when playing on some of the levels. The undersea lair on "You Take the High Road" was amazing, the pipework, the vaulted skylights through which you could see the ocean above, even a Victorian street carved right into the bedrock! They even had a network of periscopes which were used like security cameras! (Which to me seems so inherently brilliant that I'm suprised no one's thought of it before...)

The uniforms and weapons on the baddies looked almost like what you expect to see Nemo's crew sporting. (And then there were the steam automatons...) But seriously, once I beat this game I went and picked up my well worn copy of 20,000 Leagues again. It's good fun.

[Josh of Vernian Process]

Yep, that would be me! I loved that game, especially the stages set in the 20's Scotland. I thought it had to be put into the wiki entry, fortunately no one's deleted it (yet).

And to the point of Bioshock. I sure hope someone puts it back into the list, because regardless of time period that game is steampunk as hell (and as most of you know, I'm very picky of what I call steampunk).

I noticed someone had placed Time Splitters: Future Perfect on a list a few pages back. I just finished playing it, and I must say, I was absolutly giddy when playing on some of the levels. The undersea lair on "You Take the High Road" was amazing, the pipework, the vaulted skylights through which you could see the ocean above, even a Victorian street carved right into the bedrock! They even had a network of periscopes which were used like security cameras! (Which to me seems so inherently brilliant that I'm suprised no one's thought of it before...)

The uniforms and weapons on the baddies looked almost like what you expect to see Nemo's crew sporting. (And then there were the steam automatons...) But seriously, once I beat this game I went and picked up my well worn copy of 20,000 Leagues again. It's good fun.

[Mrowr]

Dug this out of the IGF a few months ago, very similar gameplay to a flash game who's name currently escapes me.  I have to admit, the gameplay was good there, too.

http://www.winterbottomgame.com/

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

It's definately more pulp than steampunk, but for pure fun, Crimson Skies is made of win. I utterly love that game

[Paradox]

Flyff (Fly for fun) only when you get to Darkon though, when you have reached level 45 to 50 then you've crossed over to the steamy area.  The main boss/god is named "Clockworks" he is this hug wtf steamy god/clock/crab/horse thing I saw his leg once and died... I was level 30 lol.  Darkon is the best continent in the game in my opinion.  It's got gears cogs popping out of the ground (more so in darkon but the entire world had gears cogs everywhere)  There are airships everywhere but you don't get to fly them so that makes me sad.

[Mrowr]

Found another indie steampunkish game.  Side scrolling tactical, build units and destroy the other's factory.  Oh, and you're a guy in an airship with a magnet for a weapon.

http://www.pedestrianentertainment.com/

[JakeOfRavenclaw]

As a rabid Elder Scrolls fan, I can say that the dungeons of Morrowind (and the Dwemer culture in general) are a steampunk paradise.  Considering that said dungeons only take up a fraction of the game, though, steampunk purists may not find enough to hold their attention (of course, Morrowind is also one of the best RPGs ever made, so if you like high fantasy with a little Romanesqe stuff thrown in, try it out!).  There are some great screens, along with an obscene amount of Dwemer information, here.

[Doctor Trakov]

Actually, the Oddworld games are sometimes quite steamy.

[lilithbunny]

I must concur on the recommendation of the Syberia games. While there is very little steam to be found anywhere, most of the world is composed of late-Victorian/Edwardian period styled architecture and machinery, powered by immense and/or highly complex clockwork.

I also nominate the character of Oscar from the Syberia games as "Most Steampunk Character from a Videogame, Ever." Immensely polite and dressed in traveling tweeds and "goggles," this highly advanced clockwork automata designed to serve as a train conductor was left in a state of incomplete assembly by his eccentric genius creator.

While much of American McGee's Alice is not what I'd describe as steampunk, the game as a whole is set during the Victorian era and the Asylum/Mad Hatter's levels are very, very steampunkish. The scene where Alice reunites with the March Hare and Dormouse in the Mad Hatter's laboratory still gives me creeps when I think about it.

Bioshock is a strange amalgam of 1950's commercial art, 1930s architecture (very Metropolis ---just underwater & with neon signs) and steampunk adversaries. If a genetically-altered behemoth men wearing 19th-century diving helmets and quilted welding suits with leather joints and brass plates who carry pressure-driven rivet guns aren't steampunk, I don't know what is. But part of their startling nature is that they don't quite fit in the clean and modern (if partially destroyed) visible world of the city of Bioshock. In this way, the "Big Daddies" are like the dark, tortured underworld that keeps the pleasant parts of the city in working order (again, I reference Metropolis) that come up to stomp around and scare the willies out of you..

[Khet Thelonius Maxwell]

Well in terms of games I've played myself:

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (also what influenced the name of my blog)
BioShock (The Decor and aesthetics of Rapture, though as a whole the game's not really Steamy)
The Elderscrolls III: Morrowind (Not entirely Steamy, but the Dwemer (dwarf) culture is very Steamy and there are some downloadable Dwemer dungeon mods out there)

Other than that I haven't played any other Steampunk inspired games though I would LOVE to get my hands on a real time combat RPG like Arcanum was...

[Tallest]

Mythos.com

The Gunslinger class in particular, and steampunk airships between cities.
Open Beta starts soon.

[Kuma]

Well in terms of games I've played myself:

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (also what influenced the name of my blog)
BioShock (The Decor and aesthetics of Rapture, though as a whole the game's not really Steamy)
The Elderscrolls III: Morrowind (Not entirely Steamy, but the Dwemer (dwarf) culture is very Steamy and there are some downloadable Dwemer dungeon mods out there)

Other than that I haven't played any other Steampunk inspired games though I would LOVE to get my hands on a real time combat RPG like Arcanum was...

goddamn, why did Troika have to go out of business?

[MPsy]

It's definately more pulp than steampunk, but for pure fun, Crimson Skies is made of win. I utterly love that game

Have you played the arcade version of the game?  You actually get to be in a kind of cockpit.  Got the chance to check it out last time I was in Vegas at the arcade in the Excalibur.

[Ella Kremper]

I'm working my way through the Thief series... got to love the voice-acting in that  There's some parts that make me stop playing it for a while though because I get nervous (damn zombies!).

[Ampère Volt]

I'm very much in love with the Myst games except for Uru, they are gorgeous and wonderous. Other then that Morrowind and Oblivion.

[Sean Patrick O-Byrne]

Does anyone know of a place where one might download the entirity of American McGee's alice on the interweb? Free, ideally, but I'd be willing to pay a small fee...

[Unkillable cat]

Does anyone know of a place where one might download the entirity of American McGee's alice on the interweb? Free, ideally, but I'd be willing to pay a small fee...

I cant promise anything but I think I have a spare copy knocking about, i will have a look and let you know later tonight. If not I can refer you to a place to obtain a downloaded version.

[Sean Patrick O-Byrne]

Why that would be just dandy sir. I found a torrent of the things, thanks to a programmer mate and El Shoggotho, but if that doesn't work, well. It's good to have options.

I made the mistake of playing the demo, you see.

I needed more.