dieselpunk
Grimy art-deco futurism
Dieselpunk is a genre of speculative fiction and aesthetic design evoking the interwar period through the 1950s—the era of diesel engines, art deco architecture, and industrial machinery.
Like steampunk but later in history, it imagines alternate worlds shaped by oil-powered technology, often with noir undertones and militaristic themes: The game's dieselpunk setting featured towering factories and zeppelin-filled skies.
Between major conflicts
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- flappers1920s modern young women
- speakeasiesIllicit liquor establishments
- cabaretLive entertainment venue
fedoras · gangsters · bootleggers · radios · gramophones · phonographs · zeppelins · biplanes
Coarse or courageous
- sootCarbon from incomplete burning
- smogSunlight-activated urban pollution
- grimeIngrained surface dirt
- rustIron oxide coating
industrial · riveted · chrome · brass · weathered · patina · factory · warship
Tough, cynical fiction style
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
- shadowyObscured by darkness
- smokyFilled with combustion haze
- underworldRealm of the departed
intrigue · blackmail · conspiracy · gumshoe · sleuth · whodunit · alleyway · double-cross
Gradual organic breakdown
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- bleaknessQuality of being dreary
- totalitarianDictatorial, all-controlling regime
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
desolation · wasteland · ruins · survival · struggle · oppression · propaganda · rationing
Historical time-placement error
- raygunFictional energy weapon
- rocket-packPersonal aerial propulsion device
- death-rayFictional lethal energy beam
- atomicOf elemental particles
Railway pulling machine
- pistonReciprocating cylinder component
- crankshaftRotating engine shaft
- turbineBlade-driven energy converter
- boilerWater-heating vessel
gearbox · propeller · rivet · hydraulics · flywheel · cogwheel · dynamo · compressor
Dressing as media characters
- conventionAgreed standard of behavior
- worldbuildingConstructing imaginary universes for fiction
- roleplayAdopt another's perspective
- tabletopHorizontal furniture surface
interwar
Between major conflicts
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- flappers1920s modern young women
- speakeasiesIllicit liquor establishments
cabaret · fedoras · gangsters · bootleggers · radios · gramophones · phonographs · zeppelins · biplanes · newsreels
gritty
Coarse or courageous
rust · industrial · riveted · chrome · brass · weathered · patina · factory · warship · tank
hardboiled
Tough, cynical fiction style
underworld · intrigue · blackmail · conspiracy · gumshoe · sleuth · whodunit · alleyway · double-cross · cynicism
decay
Gradual organic breakdown
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- bleaknessQuality of being dreary
- totalitarianDictatorial, all-controlling regime
warfare · desolation · wasteland · ruins · survival · struggle · oppression · propaganda · rationing · occupation
anachronism
Historical time-placement error
- raygunFictional energy weapon
- rocket-packPersonal aerial propulsion device
- death-rayFictional lethal energy beam
locomotive
Railway pulling machine
- pistonReciprocating cylinder component
- crankshaftRotating engine shaft
- turbineBlade-driven energy converter
boiler · gearbox · propeller · rivet · hydraulics · flywheel · cogwheel · dynamo · compressor · camshaft
cosplay
Dressing as media characters
- conventionAgreed standard of behavior
- worldbuildingConstructing imaginary universes for fiction
- roleplayAdopt another's perspective
- genre fictionhigh fantasy, detective fiction, low fantasy, spy fiction, dark fantasy
- hybrid genresjazz fusion, rock opera, blues rock, folk rock, country rock
- retrofuturismray guns, jetpacks, rocket ships, space helmets, bubble helmets
- Sci-Fi Artconcept art, alien landscapes, retrofuturism, space opera, starships
- aestheticsaesthetics, aesthetic, beauty, beautiful, ugly
- Alternate Historyalternate history, alternate timeline, alternate timelines, alternate reality, alternate world
dieselpunksteampunk
Retrofuturistic Victorian science fiction
cyberpunk · clockpunk · Victorian aesthetic · solarpunk · biopunk
punk, diesel, diesels, cyberpunk, steampunk, punkish, biopunk, diesel-electric, post-punk