Steampunk
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MindFuse's The World of Gatheryn detailed, kinda dated
MindFuse Games, which a couple of weeks ago announced it had raised $1 million in funding for a Victorian-themed MMO, sent out a press release yesterday officially announcing and providing details about the game, which is called The World of Gatheryn. Gatheryn is not merely Victorian, as we originally reported -- there are steampunk elements too.The focus seems casual, although the graphics are quite strapping for an independent game. MindFuse promises character customization, apartments, and puzzles, while specifically singling out violent conflict as a no-go. It seems to be a mostly laid back, friendly, social affair, but aimed at grown ups rather than pre-teens, in contrast to a lot of other casual titles.When we say the game has been pseudo-dated, it's a bit of a stretch: the press release says it'll be released in 2009. When in 2009? Your guess is as good as ours, but we'll bet it's not soon.
The Daily Grind: Are you ready for Steampunk MMOs?
We've been inspired to create today's The Daily Grind by a post on Grimwell's blog concerning Stephen H. Segal's viewpoints on the ubiquitous and compelling nature of the steampunk genre. Stephen's entire outlook boils down to the idea that what steampunk does for science fiction is make it inspirational once more. The classic sci-fi stalworts like Star Trek or Star Wars tend to present a future world as a place that we all take for granted, a world where teleportation and energy swords are commonplace. On the other side of the coin sits steampunk, a genre that approaches science in a fresh and highly creative way and as something to be looked upon with awe and wonder.In the MMO genre it's a similar situation with the fantasy genre. We've seen so many fantasy-based worlds that more and more of us are becoming jaded by to most of their wonder. When was the last time an MMO consistently took your breath away or instilled within you a sense of awe? So we ask you, dear Massively readers: Are you ready for something else other than fantasy, something perhaps, very steampunk?
The Parker Steam Synthesizer runs on steam, sounds like a theramin, Bjork wants
If synth rock was meant to go hand-in-hand with fantastic steampunk universes (and we really can't see why it wasn't), instruments would look something like the thing you see here. This is the Parker Steam Synthesizer, a steam-powered music synth that runs on water and some coal. Designer Lorin Edwin Parker controls steam pressure with a ball valve which activates a dynamo. The dynamo is a magnet motor attached to a flywheel that creates an alternating magnetic field which is then turned into electricity by an inductive pickup. That pickup is finally plugged into an amp and you have some trippy electro from a device that could have been around years ago. He says it will run for about 20 minutes on one tank of water, which, in our estimation, is just long enough for Bjork to hear it and add to her band's already-insane inventory. By the way, the Read link includes a .mov file so you can see this thing in action.[Via MusicRadar]
How would you design EverQuest 3?
At the ION '08 conference keynote, John Smedley hinted at another entry in SOE's long-running EverQuest franchise. Since EverQuest's 1999 release, the venerable fantasy game has been seen in such places as game consoles (EQ Online Adventures for the PS2), PDAs (The Pocket EverQuest trilogy for the Pocket PC), Real Time Strategy (Lords of EverQuest for the PC), online collectible card games (Legends of Norrath) and even versions for cell phones (EverQuest: Hero's Call). What could possibly be next for EverQuest?EverQuest on the PC has already split itself between the original game and its sequel, EverQuest II. Releasing a sequel to a still-viable game was a gutsy move, but it fragmented the player base substantially, to the point where neither game, by itself, can challenge newer games such as Lord of the Rings Online. It's this blogger's opinion that SOE won't make that mistake again -- any EverQuest 3 would not be for the PC. It's not a huge leap of faith to assume that the next version of EQ would run on the PlayStation 3. SOE recently shifted from Sony Pictures to Sony Computer Entertainment America, makers of the PS3 and publishers of its first-party software. Beyond that, when Smedley mentioned to the Seattle Times that the PS3 would be a strong platform for MMOs, he certainly very likely had this game (and others we don't know about) in mind.SOE has made some mistakes with EverQuest through the years, but has also had some huge successes and innovations. If you were an EQ3 designer, and all you had in front of you was a PS3 and a blank whiteboard, what features would you include to knock the socks off the players? Customizable quests and raids? A Steampunk theme? Faster, twitch-based gameplay? The ability to make your own cities? How would you make EQ a worthy competitor to today's great crop of MMOs?
DIYer crafts Victorian-style all-in-one PC
It's getting tough for steampunk fans to out-do one another these days, but DIYer Jake von Slatt has taken a solid shot at the crown with his latest creation, which one-ups most of the competition by going the all-in-one route. Of course, the fact that added thickness only adds extra character in this case makes things slightly easier but, as you can see in the fairly thorough how-to linked below, it's still not something to be attempted lightly, with it even including a nail-biting encounter of a monitor with a table saw. Click on through for a video of that, and plenty more pictures of the entire process.[Via Uber Review]
Syberia takes an adventure on the DS
It looks like Myst isn't the only oldschool PC adventure game to be ported to the DS. According to Mindscape, Syberia is on its way, too. Since it's only a port, it won't contain any new content. Yet, we're glad to know that the game will feature touch-screen functionality, since that's always a plus in adventure titles. You can also expect an improved interface and menu system, to make inventories easier to navigate. In Syberia, you take control of businesswomen Kate Walker, who's looking for the long-lost heir of a toy-making family. One of Syberia's best aspects, though, is its surreal, steampunk-esque setting, which we hope translates well onto the DS.The game is scheduled to release in Europe this October, but there's no word yet of a North American localization.[Via Nintendic]
First Look: Remnants of Skystone
One particular flavor of science fiction that's gotten short shrift by MMOs is Steampunk, the variant that combines our love of gearwork with mad science. Fortunately, Flipline Studios will redress that omission with its upcoming 2D, side-scrolling adventurer, Remnants of Skystone. Set in a future wherein an alien race called the Mimics have claimed the Earth as theirs, covering it with a poisonous miasma called the Haze, humans have taken to the skies in the floating city called Nidaria. Players can expect a game experience somewhat in the manner of MapleStory, where players may team up to explore and retake the ground from the alien menace.No word yet on whether this will be free-to-play or subscription, but it does mention it will be for PCs and Macs. Remnants of Skystone is set to release late this year on kongregate.com. For a full look at how this title's developing, check out the RoS blog. The site also features screenshots and a bit of world history, so whet your appetite and getcher goggles on -- full steam ahead![Thanks, Tony!]
How EQ3 could change Norrath forever
Reading this recent interview with SOE's John Hayase got me thinking about something quite interesting. It all came from the simple question, "Can we speculate on an EQ3?"I read the answer, which was the expected 'speculate away' response and got to thinking about such a notion right away. EverQuest as a brand is still fairly strong, it's only problem is that the fantasy genre is starting to become the World War II of massively games. Plus, one of the biggest criticisms given to EverQuest II is its lack of artistic inspiration. Not to say the game is ugly or anything -- it's just kind of bland. So what could put some 'oomph' behind a classic series that's gone a bit stale over the last decade? Steampunk, that's what.
Mac mini gets the steampunk treatment, matching keyboard and monitor
It takes quite a bit for a steampunk mod to get our attention these days, but this Mac mini created by steampunk enthusiast Dave Veloz certainly fits the bill, and the matching keyboard and monitor aren't too shabby either. As you can sort of see in the images above, the detail even extends as far as the cables connecting the mini to the keyboard and monitor, with a suitably Victorian-looking Apple logo rounding things out nicely. The monitor also one-ups similar projects with a genuine granite base, while the keyboard goes all out with leather in place of the felt used on other attempts. Be sure to hit up the read link below for a closer look at the whole package.
Mac Mini gets Steampunk'd
Steampunk. Since the late eighties, the genre has spawned a diverse lineup of books, movies and – perhaps most importantly – hardware mods. The playground ranges from Nerf guns to revamped R2D2s, but computers have likely been one of the most attractive targets for Steampunk modders. Sadly, the romantic vision of technology-sans-silicon has been heavily oriented towards the PC platform, leaving most Macs untouched by the fog of steam and coal smoke. A new entry in the Mac category – created by one Dave Veloz for his wife – takes on a Mac Mini and forges a machine that Captain Nemo would be proud to use. The keyboard may be familiar, and the monitor is an evolution of previous works, but the treatment of the Mini and gold lettering in vintage Victorian style brings the full package together in a wonderfully Mac-centric, Steampunk fantasy vision with superb attention to detail. And all that work didn't just sit around looking pretty: the final product was set up at Dave's wedding to display a slideshow of engagement photos. We at TUAW would like to extend a hearty "hurrah" to Dave for what may be the coolest mod ever to befall a Mini. Maybe even cooler than the Millenium Falcon mod. And yes, that can be taken as an official challenge: show us what you've got! Thanks Jim!
Wii Warm Up: Choose wisely, choose well
Yesterday, we talked about three very different approaches to customizing the Wii: a Lego zapper, a very shiny Wii, and a Photoshopped concept for a steampunk-style concept (v. old school). Today, the question we must ask is clear: which would you prefer? It comes down to a question of style: are you all up into bling? Blocks? Or Boilerplate? Okay, perhaps the last was a bit of an alliterative stretch, but surely you'll forgive us in the name of the letter 'B.' In the meantime, which customized style would you prefer?
A Fantastical Invention from The Nintendo Company
A marvelous band of machinists and engineers have crafted a most peculiar device that they are calling the Nintendo Wii. The larger box emits an eerie hum and a sort of unusual glow when activated, and it creates the most captivating images! Truly, it is as if a match of tennis or tenpins is taking place outside a curious window.But that is not the most mystifying feature: By manipulating the wand contraption, you are able to compel one of the beguiling puppets in the window to do your bidding! We must now search the local shoppes and emporia for a Wii of our own, though we imagine that something as imbued with wonder as this entertainment engine is a rare delight.(This steampunk-style Wii is a somethingawful.com Photoshop Phriday entry. A similar Wiimote image, as well as a DS, can be found on the same page. Modders, you have your orders.)
Old gear gets steampunky new life with "Ambience Enhancer"
While it's not quite on the level of some of the steampunk gear we've seen, devientART member porkshanks' so-called "Ambience Enhancer" is at least considerably more practical than some of those previous contraptions, and it recycles some gear that would otherwise have been discarded, or has already been discarded. That bit of kit is an MP3 player that was apparently found on the ground near a bus station, which got spiffed up with some brass and leather and then got paired with a set of vintage Cannonball Empires headphones, whose innards were replaced with those from a set of some decidedly more recent Sony MDR-006 phones. The whole thing was then, naturally, made wearable with a handy wrist strap.[Via Gadget Lab]
Second steampunk laptop wants to be clockwork
You like Steampunk, do ya? Well, looks like we've got another laptop iteration for you today, this time entitled "A Clockwork Laptop." Yeah, it's got a bunch of brass and copper fittings -- plus some gothic looking legs -- and an overall retro fantasy style that some people like and others may hate. Make sure to check out the hundred or so cogs inside a glass screen on the back of the real screen. To turn it on you even have to turn a rusty key embedded inside the thumb rest: although you'll still be booting into an anachronistic Ubuntu install if you do so. Check out s'more pics at the link below, and know that you'll never be arsed to make anything even half as impressive. Also, anyone getting a strange craving for a glass of milk after seeing this?[Via UberReview]
Full-scale Iron Scopedog woos women while invading Japan
You'd think that a 13-foot / 2 ton, cast iron Scopedog mecha wouldn't require the services of a knee-pad wearin' festival waif, but there you have it. Built by Kogoro Kurata -- the celebrity blacksmith behind the Steampunk laptop -- this 1:1 scale robot was locked and ready for action at Japan's Character and Hobby Collection 2007 show held over the weekend. Seriously though, how tough could the mech be if he's held at bay by some chinsey chain-link?[Via Impress]
The Clockwork Pismo
If one were to draw a Venn diagram of my interests this clockwork Pismo mod would fall squarely in the overlapping circles of 'Steampunk' and 'Apple tech.' Tom Mordasky at MacMod.com took some broken clock gears, aluminum, a sharp knife or two and created a thing of beauty. Pictured above, before he applied some glossy paint, this Pismo (which is a G3 Powerbook, for those of you who are only familiar with Apple's more recent metallic efforts) looks like something Jules Verne would be proud to write with.[via Brass Goggles]
Dell 1907FP gets flamboyant steampunk makeover
The antique-minded modder over at Steampunk Workshop had it right: what good is a brass-clad mouse and keyboard with a 21st century monitor destroying the mojo? Fret not, as a Dell 1907FP was torn apart, blasted with gold Krylon, and decorated to the hilt with flashy pieces that your great (great) grandmother would surely love. Best of all, this here creator went above the call of duty by dressing up the monitor with gilded triggers to depress the monitor adjustment buttons underneath the panel. Trust us, you need to see this one to appreciate the passion behind it, so feel free to visit the read link for a plethora of photographs and even a few vids.[Via Digg]
News Brews blends RSS feeds into multicultural beverage
Getting updates on the weather and current time is no problem for modern day coffee machines, but Benjamin Brown's project aims to blend the hottest worldwide news into a multicultural cup of joe. Rather than taking time to find out what's going on in the world around you with your eyes, the News Brews hopes to shovel the latest RSS feeds into your brain via your taste buds. The steampunk-inspired device "connects to internet news feeds and parses them to determine the relative frequency at which different coffee growing regions are mentioned," which means that your brew will differ each day depending on how frequently a given country is mentioned. Of course, not everyone will be down with an unexpected coffee suicide of sorts to wake them in the AM, but trying to figure out what your mouth is reading on the drive to work certainly beats running others off the road or illegally texting at stop lights.[Via TechDigest]
The Steampunk mouse and the mouse mouse
Hopefully that'll be the last time we're forced to write "mouse" three times in a headline, although the quality of these two mouse mods makes it completely worth it. First is the Steampunk mouse, which would look brilliant sitting next to your steampunk laptop and steampunk keyboard. You could even get your steampunk robot to help out with the construction, which took around 10 hours and only cost the creator Jake $5 to make. If you skip to the real -- as opposed to steampunk roleplay -- description you'll see that it's made up of an nameless laptop mouse and a "big jumble of bits and bobs from [Jake's] parts bin", which tends to be the case with most steampunk efforts. We wouldn't be surprised if the next mouse mod, the mouse mouse, was made using material found in a bin either. In this mod, noahw and canida over at instructibles stuffed a real, taxidermy mouse with the parts from a hacked computer travel mouse. Words cannot describe the combination of horror and awe at seeing the electrical guts of a real rodent being splayed for all to see. Now all that's needed is a PC case modded into a burrow and a mousepad with fake droppings.[Via MAKE; thanks, jiltedcitizen]Read -- The mouse mouseRead -- The Steampunk mouse
Steam powered R2-S2: the R2 Steam Too
Just when you thought steampunk robots couldn't get any nerdier, along comes Crabfu -- creator of the steam-powered RC Rover and other magnificent creations -- and totally raises the bar. The R2-S2 (R2 Steam Too) claims to be the predecessor of R2-D2, and while its steam engine makes this guy quite the sluggish one, we're sure he still has that same heart of gold we've come to know in R2-D2. Crabfu built the bot out of an broken Hasbro R2-D2 Interactive Droid, and after gutting the electronics, he hooked up a fancy new pair of steam engines to the existing gears, squeezed in an old Cheddar Boiler and slapped on a few Victorian steampunk details for good measure. Peep the video after the break to see this puppy crawl.[Via MAKE]
