This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Ortin: I removed the The Dresden Files entry from Dungeon Punk. It was under this entry as well as the Urban Fantasy one, and it fits more clearly within Urban Fantasy than it does with punk because there's really nothing Punk Punk about it. My chief evidence is the lack of Magitek and the existence of a Masquerade that separates the traditional modern setting from a fantasy one.
Robert: The Discworld isn't grittily realistic; it's a satirical mirror of reality. I don't think it qualifies as dungeon punk. Also, the clacks aren't at all magical; they're an alternate technology - something we could have developed if we hadn't had radio.
Ununnilium: True, true. After thinking about it a bit more, I'm pulling it out, and clarifying the entry to reflect the reason why.
Burai: Yah — I've thought since the first glance at this entry that putting in Discworld raises questions about what Dungeonpunk is other than Functional Magic qua Bamboo Technology.
On the gripping hand, it reminds me that I've always disliked the term breakdown of "Idealism vs. Realism", when it's really optimism vs. pessimism. It's easily possible for a genre to be more "realistic" (i.e. grotty) than actual reality; and as one adds fantastic elements to a background, it starts becoming less plausible to keep it depicted as "realistically" as typical "punk" fiction. "Wait — if they can do this, why can't they do that with the same magic/phlebotinum?" "Because it could make people happy."
Ununnilium: Heh, yeah. That's why I always put "realism" in quotes when I talk about it. I wouldn't quite put it at optimism vs. pessimism, though that's definitely related. I can't really think of a better name for the "realism", but there must be one...
Robert: Cynicism?
Mister Six: How does this not apply to the Discworld? Clacks aside, there are loads of elements of Discworld stories that are real-life things through a magical lens; stone circles as computers, Hex as a magical PC etc.
Daibhid C: That's Magitek. There's not much punk to the Discworld, with the possible exception of the computer game Discworld Noir.
Nevrmore: When I was hosting an RP called "Punk" on a forum I visit I called Dungeon Punk "Iron Punk"...I like the ring of that better, but that's just my two cents.
Mister Six: I like that. It meshes nicely with Steampunk.
Wanders Nowhere: Hmmm, would anyone consider Final Fantasy VI / VII to apply here? Both settings feature coexisting magic and technology - VI has an entire empire built on Magitek, robots that cast spells and a medieval castle that can technologically shift its location. And VII - just - all of VII, which has sword-toting protagonists, overt magic and a mystical/spiritual theme but also Midgar, the Mako reactors, mechs, guns, etc mixed in.
