Is steampunk inherently the worst genre, or is it just really unlucky?

Is steampunk inherently the worst genre, or is it just really unlucky?

Like cyberpunk, it is chiefly concerned with aesthetic.

Whenever it tries to incorporate ideas into a compelling dramatic story, it fails miserably.

Steampunk is one of those things that only works well on videogames
Arcanum filled me with this sense of nostalgia for things I never lost, but steampunk "literature" seems more concerned with aesthetics than anything else.

unless you count some old speculative fiction as steampunk, you might be luckier there

I think the problem lies in a pervasive attempt at the constant visualization of the a e s t h e t i c s of the story; always having to describe what things look like. This is why authors only write in certain famous periods, we all already know what everything looks like.

Like cyberpunk, it's difficult to portray the aesthetic of your imagination without clogging the book with descriptions.

And the descriptions are always retarded since the technology is retard once you have to pretend like it makes sense

you're supposed to mention the problem of the inescapable focus on aesthetics

I think that the biggest problem is that they can't avoid focusing on the aesthetics of the world. This may be an unpopular opinion around here but I believe it's true.

I don't know about the rest of these guys, but I think it's main problem is it focuses too much aesthetics.

the people who write Steampunk and Cyberpunk are autistic neckbeard STEM faggots, nothing these people create is beautiful, they're sterile maggot men

A genre concerned with visuals over everything else has no place in a text based art form.

this
steampunk has real potential tho it's just very unlucky in this aspect
just watch some classical anime like chihiro or flying castle and you'll see what i'm talking about

>cyberpunk was an aesthetic movement
nope

Cyberpunk isn't just an aesthetic.

The "aesthetics" part isn't necessarily a problem, what really cripples it is the way those aesthetic concerns are attached to the fetishization and faux-nostalgia of Victorian England, when in reality that's a horror show of an era with little or no redeeming quality.

>The genre has started to write about itself, the way Cat Ballou or Blazing Saddles addressed the western. Steampunk no longer examines context and history but now looks ironically at its own roots, tropes and clichés. It's a one-trick literary subgenre, not a youth movement, unless the 153,954 who like the Steampunk facebook page really do wax up their moustaches every weekend and get hammered on absinthe and drawing room techno. The entire schtick is so hopelessly mannered that you could bang out your average steampunk novel on a child's origami fortune teller, never mind that generic coal-fired Babbage engine. The comically Victorian + technology = steampunk and so we end up with The D'Israeli Undertaking, The Mafeking Modem, and The Splendiferous Escapades of Mr. Quentin Internet because this is a genre in which everything is worked out in advance and which succeeds (supposedly) through parody and collage and not a whole lot else. It's a return to ripping yarns and morally unambiguous superheroes, the comforting familiarity of Victoriana spruced up with a touch of console game and a knowing wink just to confirm that this is where the cool kids hang out, the cool kids as opposed to all those nerds and sad sacks with their Isaac Asimov and hilariously intact virginity. Steampunk = Wank.

Ada, or Adore is pretty good

its a terrible genre and everything connected with it is just horrible
cyberpunk isn't just an aesthetic, its also a commentary on technology progress leading to a grim future, steampunk has no value and is just worthless garbage for dumb people
the ONLY good thing connected with steampunk is the videogame Arcanum

that pic. kek

>tfw modern technology is even scarier than cyberpunk envisioned

Easy Charlie Brooker

WOT IF A STEAM ENGINE BUT IT KILLED YOU

Anything with "punk" attached to it is usually a style rather than substance. Cyberpunk has transcended this due to its roots coming from substance and the style was merely a cream on top. The majority of steampunk content is too focused on style without substance, barring a few examples like Steampunk is basically just a worldbuilding/stylistic layer you can add to high fantasy (doesnt really work with low fantasy which cyberpunk can do due to usually happening in the future). If a talented author wanted to, they could probably create a masterpiece that is merely enhanced by the steampunk aesthetic rather than just being retarded wank for con inhabiting cosplayer autists

>this thing would be less stupid if it was used more like anime

My man stop please

What is the best "___-punk" prefix?

Flying castle was really good though

wot if ya mum was a smartphone

t. Never Read A Cyberpunk Novel

Who are you quoting?