This year I went to my first Dragon*Con EVER. For a geek/nerd/technophile/comic book freak/RPG fan, this is something I have wanted to do for years. Well, I finally did it! While there were lots of really cool things going on, I am going to keep my breakdown centered around the modding scene and its relation to geek culture as a whole.
While I have not yet really written much about the SteamPunk modding scene here on this blog, I have been following the trend for years. From that first REALLY awesome keyboard to the now ever popular mod of your entire computer, mouse, or just your case. Give it a Google, SteamPunk is picking up steam in not only the modding community, but in other areas as well. Nothing made this more evident to me than when I attended Dragon*Con. There were TONS of people dressed to the 9’s in SteamPunk fasion. I asked some fellow *coners if this was normal and they thought there were way more SteamPunks out this year than in previous. Now this caught me off guard, considering there are TONS of anime/manga/comics that have settings similar to the SteamPunk world, hell even Final Fantasy can be called SteamPunk not to mention CronoTrigger!! So why is it that all of a sudden its blown up as much as it has? I have your answer, it is us computer geeks. That’s right. SquareSoft could not get done what some dorks with some brass cutting skills could accomplish in a matter of a few years: bring SteamPunk off of the shelf, dust it off and make it cooler than it ever was. While the fantasy world is what Dragon*Con is all about, you all in the modding community bringing SteamPunk to life is what did it! So thanks to all you awesome metal workers, wood carvers, and computer geeks out there.
Another contributing factor to this boost in popularity can also be atributed to all you fellow Nicola Tesla fans out there. Not only does the SteamPunk world almost seem like something he brought out of the ether with some interdimensional ripper, the Tesla Coil is a living example of SteamPunkish design. Speaking of, I got to see my first singing Tesla Coil’s at the Mad Scientist Ball at Dragon*Con, and I was honored to have been at such an event.
In short, the mode scene just made life and geek fasion a whole lot more interesting!!
