In The '80s, authors like William Gibson and Bruce Sterling wrote dystopian novels set 20 Minutes into the Future, where they explored themes such as the impact of modern technology on everyday life, the rise of the global datasphere as an arena for communication, commerce, conflict, and crime, and invasive cybernetic body modifications. The heroes of these dark and cynical stories were marginalized, disillusioned, and rebellious "punks" striving for survival against overwhelming odds, often futilely, in corrupt megacities and surreal cyberspace realms. Bruce Bethke called this Cyberpunk, and it had tremendous influence on the entire Speculative Fiction community, spawning a whole fountain of derivatives.
William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine was a landmark book that was inspired by Cyberpunk but took things in a different direction. It eschewed Cyberpunk's gritty future setting for a more optimistic Alternate History Victorian one, but paralleled Cyberpunk's focus on the social impacts of computers with a world transformed by highly sophisticated steam engine-based technology. This created the Steampunk genre, and opened the floodgates for a whole legion of new -punk genres, all of which responded to cyberpunk in some way. They varied considerably, but all have one of the following in common with cyberpunk:
- A world built around a particular technology that is pervasive and extrapolated to a highly sophisticated level.
- A gritty or transreal urban style.
- A cyberpunk-inspired approach to exploring social themes within a Speculative Fiction setting.
Humongous Mecha and Powered Armor are not a part of these settings per se, but they're an easy visual shorthand to show how far technology has developed. Similarly, they and their derivatives (Chicken Walkers, Walking Tanks, Cool Airships, Clock of Power etc.) tend to show up sooner or later, particularly in Lighter and Softer works.
Cassette Futurism, Raygun Gothic, Retro Universe, Schizo Tech, and Used Future are all common aesthetics for these genres, although they're not necessary.
It's worth noting that Punk-Punk is not its own genre, but rather an umbrella term used by TV Tropes to describe the entire web of genres that stem from Cyberpunk.
Punk-punk genres with their own pages include:
- The Apunkalypse: The rise of lawless punks leads to the downfall of civilized society, or the apocalypse brings about the emergence of lawless punks.
- Atom Punk: A sleek, futuristic setting with "Atomic Power" logos on everything; popular in the 1950s, 1960s, or early-to-mid 1970s.
- Biopunk: A gritty, futuristic setting with heavy biotechnology-inspired elements.
- Capepunk: Realistic, deconstructive takes on the superhero genre.
- Cattle Punk: The Western with steampunk elements.
- Cassette Futurism: A futuristic setting built on late 20th century analog technology.
- Clock Punk: Widespread use of clockwork-like technologies and machinery beyond simple clocks, often in a Renaissance/Baroque era setting.
- Cyberpunk: A dark and cynical genre based on the impact of advanced computer technology on society, often as a tool for corporate or governmental oppression and resistance towards it.
- Cyberpunk for Flavor: A work includes cyberpunk elements and aesthetics without being fully in on the genre.
- Post-Cyberpunk: Cyberpunk, except in A World Half Full instead of a Crapsack World, with an emphasis on changing the social order for the better from within rather than toppling the system entirely.
- Desert Punk: A sci-fi world set in a desert.
- Diesel Punk: A retro-futuristic setting based on early 20th century technology.
- Dungeon Punk: A dark and gritty world where spells, enchanted artifacts, and magitek take the place of modern technology.
- Fantastic Noir: Film Noir mysteries with a fantasy or sci-fi twist, popularized in The '80s.
- Gaslamp Fantasy: 19th century Steampunk settings with fantastical magic instead of technology.
- Gothic Punk: A modern, fantasy setting which heavily draws on Gothic Horror elements.
- Gunpowder Fantasy: Fantasy works based on the early modern period, roughly spanning The Renaissance through The Napoleonic Wars, i.e. the 15th to very early 19th century.
- Mythpunk: Classical folklore and fairy tales rewritten with darker, postmodern elements.
- Ocean Punk: Modern fantasy or speculative fiction set at sea, often drawing on elements from the age of Wooden Ships and Iron Men.
- Sandal Punk: Science fiction set in the Bronze Age up until the Middle Ages, usually drawing on Ancient Grome and the Middle East (for Biblical stories).
- Scavenged Punk: Culture and technology built out of scavenged junk.
- Solar Punk: A futuristic setting based on renewable energy and sustainability.
- Steampunk: A retro-futuristic setting with steam power as the basis for advanced technology, generally with a late 19th century aesthetic.
- Phlebotinum-Induced Steampunk: Advanced technology run on rare or magical materials.
- Stone Punk: Modern inventions and technology but made with Stone Age materials.
- Teslapunk: Lightning-based technology attributed to Nikola Tesla's alleged scientific genius.
- Urban Fantasy: Fantastical elements in a modern setting.
