Steampunk
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Rusted Steampunk USB Drive offers 4GB of storage, free tetanus infection
Steampunk mods are becoming rather more prevalent these days as tech-addled creative types reject modern sensibilities and revert to a non-existent, whimsical past. The latest such escape is called "Rusted Steampunk USB Drive - no.2," a follow-up to an earlier, slightly less rusty object d'USB. It appears to be built around a 4GB SanDisk Cruzer drive, augmented with weathered, laser-cut hunks of metal. The curvy flourish on the front says "You probably shouldn't put this in your pocket," while the dueling swordfish on the back say "I survived a trip to Rapture and all I got was this corroded chunk of storage." Yours for $40.[Via Geeky Gadgets]
Found Footage: 3 Numbers traveler's multicalculator
TUAW readers know that I'm a sucker for good iPhone user interface design; that's why I love the apps from Tapbots so much. I also have a soft spot for steampunk, so when we received a tip about the 3 Numbers "traveler's multicalculator" (click opens iTunes) today, I immediately clicked through to watch the demo video.3 Numbers is the brainchild of Berlin developer Halle Winkler. It's not just a converter application, it's an adventure! Visiting the 3 Numbers website, you find that this mysterious polished brass device filled with glowing vacuum tubes and spinning gears was "found" by the developer in an old dusty box in the attic. 3 Numbers is more than just a pretty face, though. It has some unique features, such as being able to keep up to 3 numbers in a holding area for future use, writing notes to accompany calculations, and being able to access those notes from any Bonjour-enabled computer on your wireless network. Please enjoy the developer's video demonstrating this US$4.99 app, accompanied by the lovely strains of Elgar's Enigma Variation #10.
Atlus Games launches online gaming and anime portal
Fans of RPGs like the Persona series and those already playing Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online should be familiar with Atlus Games. The company is branching out into online interaction via a new web portal that's a home for their upcoming (summer release) MMO title Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent as well as having a heavy focus on anime. In fact, users can draw live on the site and collaborate with others in this fashion. We've known that a web portal for MMOs and anime was something on horizon but it became official with yesterday's press release and the launch of the Atlus Online portal. Along with the rest of the wired (and wireless) world, Atlus Online is also on Twitter.
Video: Steampunk Segway ditches electric motor for the sake of authenticity
Wouldn't be caught dead on an honest-to-goodness Segway? How's about this creature? The Legway, an appropriately dubbed steampunk'd Segway, ditches the electric motor in favor of Fred Flintstone-esque motoring techniques, and it also relies almost entirely on recycled materials. The crazy part? Its creator even took the time to hand craft a step-by-step guide to building your own, which undoubtedly foreshadows the real human transporter revolution. Unfortunately, there seems to be no word on whether this thing will also reverse in unstoppable fashion when you least expect it, so stay sharp out there. Vid's after the break, and it's absolutely hilarious. [Via AutoblogGreen]
Steam powered USB charger keeps your iPod alive with Victorian sensibility
We love this steam powered USB charging device. It's well built, useful, loud, and totally anachronistic -- the same could be said of many of our editors here. According to the inventor, the thing is based on a Jensen #75 steam engine, which is used to drive a Lego Technic motor. The motor, in turn, feeds into a voltage regulator circuit, providing a continuous 5V charge to which ever USB device you might connect to it. This prompts us to ask a few obvious questions, including: "when is someone going to build us an appropriate steampunk PMP to go with the thing?" And, of course, "aren't Legos awesome?" Video after the break.
GDC09: Tinkering around with Neo Steam and Atlus Online
The World of Gatheryn isn't the only steampunk MMO on the block this year at GDC09. While Gatheryn certainly appeals to the Victorian steampunk crowd, Atlus Online's upcoming MMO Neo Steam will be bringing in those who like more fantasy mixed in with their brass and gear-driven inventions.Atlus may be a newcomer to the world of MMOs, but they're proving that they're no newbies with their initial offering. Our look into Neo Steam was quite informative and surprising, especially considering that this will be the second time Neo Steam will be releasing in North America. Atlus is putting a large amount of effort into making Neo Steam resonate with North American audiences, and not just putting out a rehash of the same game you've already seen.
GDC09: Gather 'round for Gatheryn
There has been a very suspicious lack of steampunk products in the MMO market, and it's only recently that we've seen games that have begun to embrace this new genre of fantasy fiction. While at the GDC, we were able to finally catch up with Mindfuse Games to speak with them about their brand new steampunk MMO, The World of Gatheryn.What we found out about Gatheryn actually surprised us. Instead of just playing the standard MMORPG card, Mindfuse is taking Gatheryn in a strikingly different direction. A direction that will appeal to casual gamers, flash game addicts, puzzles solvers, and virtual world enthusiasts.%Gallery-48546%
Cajun Crawler swaps Segway wheels for Theo Jansen's creepy leg mechanism
If the Segway's current movement mechanism and cast of characters astride them wasn't keeping you up at night, the Cajun Crawler should seal the deal. Based on the work of kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen, the Cajun Crawler holds up a Segway-style platform with a scary collection of steampunk-like mechanical legs, which can scurry across a floor with surprising agility. The project was built by a team of folks at the University of Louisiana, who do not know the meaning of fear. Video is after the break.[Via Nowhere Else]
Atlus Online to launch online games portal with new localization of Neo Steam
Atlus is planning to launch their online games portal with a bang, announcing the hybrid steampunk-fantasy MMO Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent as their first game.If Neo Steam sounds familar, it should. GameNetworks has already had an English version of the game running for a few months. However, with HanbitSoft changing the rights over to Atlus, GameNetworks has discontinued service for their version of Neo Steam.Neo Steam will be undergoing an extensive localization process, common to most Atlus Games, to make sure all of the dialogue is written properly and game features are tweaked to support the English language. The game will also be undergoing other updates, including graphical and content updates. Simply put, this will not be the exact same version of the game that has already been released to English speaking audiences.Interested users and previous Neo Steam players will be very interested to hear that signing up for early access to the Atlus Online portal will also let users sign up for the beta of the newly localized Neo Steam. Signing up also allows instant access to their forums, so you can talk and mingle with your fellow neo steamers to your heart's content!
SteamPunk Frankenstein casemod sure to anger Luddites
We see plenty of Steampunk mods around these parts, but this one surely takes things to a new level of insanity. Constructed by D. Maddocks, the SteamPunk Frankenstein PC case mod is monstrously, beautifully cobbled from -- among other things -- a church vent and some cold cathode tubes. When the backlighting is fired up it's quite breataking to behold, though -- at over eight feet tall -- we're not sure we'd like to see it in our own parlor, we can certainly admire the beast from afar. One more daguerreotype after the break, but hit the read link for the whole set. [Via Slashgear]
The Digital Continuum: Five criminally unused MMO settings part 2
It always amazes me that there's no known Transformers MMO in the works. Let me paint a picture upon that mental canvas of yours: You've logged onto the world of Transformers, the music plays and your child-like geeky heart flutters. Immediately, the Autobots and Decepticons begin fight over you, as your allegience has yet to be decided.
If daVinci had designed the iPhone
The steampunk mod meme is not going away. From the Mac mini to R2D2, all sorts of hardware is being made to look Victorian. No one knows why.Artist Kevin Tong continues the tradition with the iPhone ... sort of. The iSteamPhone T-shirt presents the iPhone in a blown-apart presentation like you might find in a daVinci sketch pad. Even the "parts" of the iPhone are vintage. Note the analog clock and what looks like a muffler in the center. True, we're cheating here a bit in that this isn't a physical steampunked iPhone, but who wants to see that? The T-shirt is clever and sure to be a hit at your next MUG meeting. Grab yours for $20US.[Via Guy Kawasaki]
The Digital Continuum: Where mundane and fantastical merge
The wizard leaps across the chasm, deftly avoiding a hurled ball of fire that the Goblin shaman had thrown in a rage. A space fighter weaves through suspended rocks in space as hostile blaster fire scorches the tips of his wing span. A retail employee swings the massive hammer he found in the home improvement section, saving a co-worker from the blood-thirsty sprite from another world?
Champions Online customization inventively revealed via 'Rate My Champion'
By allowing everyone access to tons of in-game superheros via a voting system on their official site, Cryptic has found an ingenious method of simultaneously showing off Champions Online's character creation complexity and web integration tools. After poking around the available characters, we're really quite impressed with the variety of tech, mutated and magic heroes being shown.As lovers of steampunk and sci-fi in general, we're all for the powersuits and gadgetry goodies. But with that being said, there's a lot more than tech gear offered options-wise in Champions Online. The game is filled with stuff like demons and armor-clad angel warriors strewn throughout the gallery as well. Not to mention delightful aberrations like "Rudy The Red-nosed Pain-Deer" which is rightfully sitting in first place as of the writing of this post.Between costumes, nemeses and power customization we're starting to sense a future where things like sleep and proper nutrition are replaced by an endless stream of freshly designed characters.
Handcrafted Scrabble keyboard could stand to be commercialized
Um, can you say "sell like hotcakes?" Datamancer's incredibly amazing Scrabble keyboard is one of the slickest, most ready-for-market DIY projects we've ever had the pleasure of eying, with each letter key being constructed from an actual pre-owned Scrabble game piece. The USB keyboard itself was built with an aluminum casing for an "industrialized twist," but obviously it's the top that keeps us drooling. Oh, and there are even LEDs hidden beneath the Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock keys, suggesting that a completely backlit iteration isn't too far out of the realm of possibility. A few more images are tucked away in the read link -- you owe it to yourself to check 'em out. [Via SlipperyBrick]
Steampunk monitor initiative goes awry, out pops wooden enclosure
The monitor you see above was awfully close to becoming exactly like this, but thankfully, the wood gods spoke to Scuba_SM's heart before he could round up another batch of Victorian-era tubing. The 22-inch wooden enclosure completely covers up the fact that an awkward looking LCD monitor is sitting on the table, and the solid maple top / base caps, light cherry stain and light coat of satin finish polyurethane make for something that's actually enjoyable to gaze at. Overkill? Maybe. Classy? Yes, please.
Dusktreaders MMO is not put on hold afterall
Yesterday, we reported on an interview with Dusktreaders lead developer Erik Hyrkas and the VirginWorlds MMO news site regarding the upcoming MMO being put on hold for a "lighter" version on the iPhone. After being contacted by Mr. Hyrkas, we've learned that there may have been some misunderstandings, and the Dusktreaders MMO is actually alive and kicking. "The main Dusktreaders MMO is not on hold, and in terms of art generation, it's actually at full steam." Hyrkas said in a follow-up email. "Most of the art for the mobile edition either existed and was just slimmed down or if it was created, it was created at a level of quality that was useful for the MMO and then stripped down for the mobile edition. It is probably fair to say that the coding aspects of the MMO have slowed down, since I'm one of the principle developers -- however, much of the code is already in place and we've just been world building recently. The development side isn't the bottleneck for the moment on the MMO -- though it could be before we're done and has been a few times in the past."We thank Mr. Hyrkas for the clarification and look forward to more news on the game in the future.
Steampunk monitor mod is almost too pretty to use
The modding world is severely overran with me-too steampunk hack jobs, a fact that we find particularly disheartening. But every so often, we stumble upon a diamond in the rough such as this: a masterpiece of steampunk theater that truly exhibits dedication to the craft. Australia's own Mad Uncle Cliff set aside a copious amount of time over a number of weeks in order to construct this beauty, which includes a full-fledged PC, speakers and LCD (obviously). Check the read link for the build saga, and don't forget to pay your respects before leaving.[Via Slashgear]
Gathryn incorporates new engine technology
The World of Gatheryn, an MMO which, despite its name, is not about mining nodes and chopping wood, has just announced its implementation of the Simultronics HeroEngine for this upcoming Victorian-age MMO.In a statement by Joseph Walters, Lead Designer and Chief Executive Officer of MindFuse Games, we get an explanation of why these "off-site" engines are becoming so popular for smaller MMO developers like MindFuse, "The engine enables our team to spend time creating the experience instead of recreating the already-proven type of server side MMOG technology that Simutronics has built so effectively."Be sure to check out more information on the Gatheryn MMO, as well as what this Simultronics HeroEngine has to offer.
The Digital Continuum: Fantasy's upcoming vacation
Is the MMO fantasy genre finally ready to relax and take its long overdue vacation? It does seem to be the case, as nearly all of the highly anticipated titles in the coming years are exceptionally not high fantasy or even really general fantasy. So while the sun is setting on the age of fantasy, a new dawn appears to be rising elsewhere. With it comes a tidal wave of new genres into the industry, some new and others a bit more familiar. Don't believe or agree with me? Keep reading and maybe you'll change your mind.
