Needs Help: Scavenged Punk

Scavenged Punk is not an evocative term. "Scavenged" is unclear and technically abstract and the name does not lend itself to a theme or mood. The naming convention of most other Punk Punks usually follow <Setting/Technology> Punk (e.g. Steampunk, Cyberpunk, Desertpunk, Biopunk) and these immediately bring into mind what it's about. "Scavenged" is accurate, but it isn't a technology or setting that is easily imagined.

I think Scavenged Punk would benefit from a better name and a clearer description to differentiate it from similar tropes. As a trope, it is underused and hasn't seen much activity since it was first made in 2012.

The main emphasis in Scavenged Punk is on the aesthetic of improvisation. Whatever's lying around is used, even if they're worn and dirty. Technology and culture is made and defined by things usually considered trash.

My own example would be Rumble "The Mechanized Menace" from League of Legends. He's what I think of when I imagine a Trashpunk aesthetic. He made his mini-mecha suit from junkyard scraps and one of his skills pulls up a shield of scrap metal to protect him, fittingly called Scrap Shield.

Some suggestions for names and alternative titles:

Trash Punk is evocative. It is immediately associated with things that are thrown away and not useful anymore. It brings into mind the scavenged aesthetic by focusing more on the materials the technology is made of.

Junk Punk is another option, and it's already an alternative title, but the rhyme made it sound too light-hearted and didn't convey the same level of grit. That might just be my bias.

Salvage Punk is my third choice. It flows better than "Scavenged Punk" and still denotes the "Scavenged" aspect. However, there's some ambiguity with the other uses of the word "salvage" and doesn't quite convey a mood or atmosphere.

In short, Trashpunk sounds better, and a better name will hopefully clarify this trope and help it see more use. At the very least, Trash Punk should be a recognized alternative title.

Comparisons to similar tropes:

Scavenger World is very similar (which is where the name Scavenged Punk may have originally came from) but in a Scavenger World the things scavenged are existing technology, usually used for what they were originally meant for. Trash Punk is creating technology from scraps or repurposing said scraps. It's finding an old worn-out gun relic versus making a scrapped-together gun from whatever is lying around. It's living in an old relic bunker versus making one out of random bits.

Homemade Inventions and Trash Punk both use whatever's lying around to create technology, resulting in a distinctive cobbled-together look. However, I'm not sure how it's different from Trash Punk. Homemade Inventions is somewhat ambiguous (I also think it should be renamed to something that better describes a trope of cobbled-together technology), but I think it's about these kinds of devices in general whereas Trash Punk exaggerates that into an entire setting/aesthetic.

McGvyering is basically the same as above with Homemade Inventions and Trash Punk but with more focus on using whatever's on hand and the unlikeliness of the materials used.

Used Future is just technology being worn down and used. Trash Punk makes technology from worn down and used materials.

Bamboo Technology is modern/futurist technology made out of simple/natural materials. Trash Punk is said technology made out of junk and repurposed materials.

Improvised Weapons and Improvised Armor are part of Trash Punk.

edited 4th Nov '15 12:56:20 AM by RykeDaxter

Locking per New Year Purge.