From the pen (or keyboard) of Robert C. Rodgers , with illustrations by Tod Wills-( Ninja Hijinx) , comes a new novel that includes, mechanical spiders, insidious rogue mathematicians, and an incident involving steam-powered cutlery.
The novel (70,ooo words and 14 illustrations) is available from Arcadia Snips .
Here’s a good re-purposing of some older technology – a steampunked HP320LX..
The story :
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p style=”text-align: left;”>”Story: I had this little computer for over a decade and it had not seen much use. I had recently rediscovered interactive fiction on my iPod touch. However, playing text adventures on a touch screen was ultimately unsatisfying. I remembered I used to play them a long time ago on this machine. So, I dug it out of the closet. I had to use a Virtual Machine to get the software loaded, but after a little tinkering, it was good as new. I loaded up a Steampunk text adventure and I was off!
However, something was missing. I knew there could have been a better experience. Inspired by meetings with our steampunk club, The Queen’s Arctic Expeditionary League in Fairbanks, Alaska at the Sipping Streams Tea House, I began work on modifications of the device. I had previously found a wonderful leather case for $3 at a thrift store which fit the device perfectly. Simple materials: contact paper, spraypaint, gears and glue combined to make it so much more fun to play with. I plan to also mod the dock and other parts late”
More pics at:
See the video here : Steamed or Whos art is who
Tonight it was discovered that the promotional video for Katie MacAlister’s new book “Steamed” (a steampunk romance novel now on the shelves at your local bookstore) included images by various artists who were not credited. Whoever put the video together failed to give proper recognition to the people whose art made it possible to create the video. It is up to the artists to contact the publisher and sort this out, but hopefully it can be resolved positively so that the artists can still benefit from having their work (properly credited) available to such a wide potential audience.
In the meantime, I think it’s best to credit the artists. I am including names and links for all of the ones that I recognized, but if I miss anyone, please leave their name and website in the comments.
The model in the photo of the gentleman with the clockwork arm is author G. D. Falksen. The photo is by Tarilyn Quinn. The original image can be seen here.
The background image at 0:51 is Gears and Wrought Iron by steampunkwallpaper.com.
The illustration of the city was created by Alberto Gordillo, as seen here.
The watches flashed one at a time are by the wonderful Haruo Suekichi of Japan.
These are the ones I could identify right away, but there were more images in the video so if you recognize the ones I have missed, sound off in the comments.
On the one hand, this should assert to all the artists who have had their work used in this video that they are doing a great job. The art is wonderful enough to be used in a commercial to advertise a book put out by a major publisher. But the publisher should have contacted each artist for permission. At the very, very, very least they should have credited their sources. I know a number of the artists identified here have contacted the publisher to get credited for their work, so it should all work out one way or another. It also should be noted that typically the author never really has any say in the production of advertisements like this, and so this is in no way, shape or form Katie MacAlister’s fault. She did her job and wrote a steampunk book for everyone to enjoy, and I’m certain had she known she would have insisted that the artists all receive the recognition due their work. But the publishing company, which was responsible for the video’s creation, should have known better. Whoever was delegated to for making the video should be in hot water right now.
“In the town where I was born, lived a man who drank a lot of tea, and he told us of his life, in the land of tea-infusing submarines”
Well, there you have it, Tea is Steampunk, Submarines are Steampunk, so how could this not be?
The question now becomes – What tea would Nemo drink? – and with lemon, or cream, or sugar, or honey or??
The Music Artist, Arthur van Poppel, a Dutch entertainer with more than twenty years experience, has created his latest invention, The Nautilus , complete with an arsenal of wheels, handles, chains, gears, connections and complicated transmissions, this Music Artist has again been able to create an amazing insturment for his one-man band act.
More pictures and info can be found at: The Music Artist
The Steampunk Lab has a page devoted to watches in the Steampunk Style. They include a few of my favorites, including the Vianney Halter “Perpetua Antiqua”
They might be a bit short in info, but its a very successful attempt at creating a collection of watches a la Steampunk.
In keeping with yesterday’s post, we present a few more tractor, but unlike those previous, these are true steam tractors.
Foden Type “C” Estate Tractor:
Foden Type ‘D” Timber Tractor:
Lastly, Sentinel GB Timber Tractor “Brutus“
Steam-powered that is. Those who know me know that I’m a sucker for steam locomotives (the result of the last 6 years of my railroad career having been involved with the restoration and running of a Class 1 mainline steam loco), and even more of a lover of streamlined steam locos. That’s why these, although not steampunk per se, struck my fancy.
I give you vintage Porsche tractors:
the 1963 Master AP 144
Which conjures up images of this:
And the Coffee Train P312: (which was designed with streamlined shrouding, as it was meant to work in the coffee plantations. This way the plants could be gently slid aside by the tractors bodywork, thus avoiding damage.
Which really makes me think of Mallard:
The new official AGIE website has now been launched into Beta testing. Our latest newsletter is available here: http://eepurl.com/gG0l
A big thank you to the Brass Goggles blog and forums for getting us of the ground! We couldn’t of done it without you!
Leonardo Wolfe – AGIE Founder (www.theagie.org)
“After the destruction of the earths surface during the last War of Domination, not much was left of humanity as it was known. With only scrap metal and wood remaining, the few survivors have learned to adapt to their new way of life. As the years pass on, only a handful of the original survivors are left from the war.”
That’s how the storyline for a new free text based Browser-based MMPORG, Pervagus, reads (sic).
From their website (sic):
“Your first evaluation of text based Browser based MMORPGs may be negative. Obviously the first thing you will notice is the graphics are usually not as exciting as a 3D world. Back in the day, Role Playing games were carried out with small groups of players with pencils, paper and alot of imagination.
The dawn of the 3D MMORPG has left us constantly seeking something more. True roleplaying starts with you and not just a character you you have created. As more games advance graphically we lose our creative imagination when we no longer need to draw images in our head. 3D MMORPGs are always at a loss when it comes to roleplaying the main reason being that everyone is only able to use and interact with the world the way it is setup, and it will forever be the same for years to come.
Pervagus is looking to change the way players look at browser based mmorpgs with a true ever changing environment where players like you can make a difference. Pervagus’s turn based group adventuring will leave everyone asking for more. We designed Pervagus to be played in Groups or Solo. Wether you are currently running a roleplaying campaign with your friends or are looking for a quick game on your lunch break we want to make this browser based mmorpg the best.”
Submit your links to submission at brassgoggles.co.uk
