Science fiction
Steampunk is the idea of future technology in the past. These stories are usually in the 19th century and often in Victorian era England. Steampunk stories have strong images from either science fiction or fantasy. Steampunk can have imaginary inventions like those found in books by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. Imagining a world where computers were invented a long time ago is also popular. Examples include The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, and the Girl Genius series by Phil and Kaja Foglio. The start of this style may be seen in some writing by Michael Moorcock, Philip Jose Farmer and Steve Stiles. Games like Space 1889 and Marcus Rowland's Forgotten Futures can also be Steampunk. The name comes from the fact that machines are most often powered by steam in this genre.