Editing Steampunk (section)

====Alternative world====
[[File:SteampunkProp(byMollyPorkshanksFriedrich).jpg|thumb|Steampunk-style composite apparatus]]

Since the 1990s, the application of the steampunk label has expanded beyond works set in recognisable historical periods, to works set in fantasy worlds that rely heavily on steam- or spring-powered technology.<ref name=Grossman/> One of the earliest short stories relying on steam-powered flying machines is "The Aerial Burglar" of 1844.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barger|first1=Andrew|title=Mesaerion: The Best Science Fiction Short Stories 1800–1849|date=2013|publisher=Bottletree Books Llc|isbn=978-1-933747-49-1|page=31}}</ref> An example from juvenile fiction is ''[[The Edge Chronicles]]'' by Paul Stewart and [[Chris Riddell]].

Fantasy steampunk settings abound in [[tabletop role-playing game|tabletop]] and [[Role-playing video game|computer role-playing games]]. Notable examples include ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9134.phtml|title=Skies of Arcadia review on RPGnet|publisher=RPG.net|access-date=September 8, 2009|archive-date=March 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323052846/http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9134.phtml|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/005141.php|title=Rise of legends as steampunk video game|publisher=Dailygame.net|access-date=September 8, 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217160302/http://dailygame.net/news/archives/005141.php|archive-date=February 17, 2009}}</ref> and ''[[Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura]]''.<ref name="HSW Steampunk"/>

One of the first steampunk novels set in a [[Middle-earth]]-like world was the ''[[Forest of Boland Light Railway]]'' by [[BB (author)|BB]], about [[gnome]]s who build a [[steam locomotive]]. Fifty years later, [[Terry Pratchett]] wrote the [[Discworld]] novel ''[[Raising Steam]],'' about the ongoing [[industrial revolution]] and [[railway mania]] in [[Ankh-Morpork]].

The gnomes and goblins in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' also have technological societies that could be described as steampunk,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/lore/steampunk-paradise|title=WoW: Loremaster's Corner #5: A Steampunk Paradise|publisher=Ten Ton Hammer|date=March 9, 2010|author=Xerin|quote=World of Warcraft is almost a steampunk paradise if you look at the various technological advancements the gnomes have made. Most engines are powered by steam and there are giant airships floating around everywhere.|access-date=May 30, 2010|archive-date=July 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715110527/http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/lore/steampunk-paradise|url-status=live}}</ref> as they are vastly ahead of the technologies of [[human|men]], but still run on steam and mechanical power.

The Dwarves of the [[The Elder Scrolls|''Elder Scrolls'' series]], described therein as a race of Elves called the [[Dwemer]], also use steam-powered machinery, with gigantic brass-like gears, throughout their underground cities. However, magical means are used to keep ancient devices in motion despite the Dwemer's ancient disappearance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dwemer_Animunculi|title=Lore:Dwemer Animunculi – The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages|publisher=UESP|date=Apr 24, 2017|access-date=Jun 5, 2017|archive-date=November 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128215429/http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dwemer_Animunculi|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 1998 game ''[[Thief: The Dark Project]]'', as well as the other sequels including its [[Thief (2014 video game)|2014 reboot]], feature heavy steampunk-inspired architecture, setting, and technology.

Amidst the historical and fantasy subgenres of steampunk is a type that takes place in a hypothetical future or a fantasy equivalent of our future involving the domination of steampunk-style technology and aesthetics. Examples include [[Jean-Pierre Jeunet]] and [[Marc Caro]]'s ''[[The City of Lost Children]]'' (1995), ''[[Turn A Gundam]]'' (1999–2000), ''[[Trigun]]'',<ref name="Neo Steam"/> and [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney's]] film ''[[Treasure Planet]]'' (2002). In 2011, musician [[Thomas Dolby]] heralded his return to music after a 20-year hiatus with an online steampunk alternate fantasy world called the Floating City, to promote his album ''[[A Map of the Floating City]]''.<ref name="HSW Steampunk"/>