Discopunk!

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Kollega

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Jun 5, 2009
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No, this is not about music (although genre of such name does exist... "truth stranger than fiction" indeed). This is about "-punk" settings in fiction, and a neat idea i have for one.

First off, a DISCLAIMER: "-punk" suffix in "Cyberpunk" has originally referred to it's heroes, dark-edgy-and-unfriendly social outcasts fond of leather jackets and ear piercing. Most "-punk" settings are sort-of (or even complete) misnomers, because mad scientists and gentlemanly adventurers of Steampunk or private detectives and brave pilots of Diesel-Punk, cowboys of Western-Punk or pirates of Ocean-Punk can hardly be considered "punks" in the classic sense of the word. Even though those settings can easily have criminals as protagonist, and even dystopian themes (evil aristocrats in Steampunk, Cthulhus and Nazis in Diesel-Punk), i wouldn't call those settings "punk" anyway.

Now with that out of the way, i'm going to tell what i wanted to say. [footnote]Rhyme very, very much intended.[/footnote] I find the disco subculture pretty cool. Don't you dare laugh at me: of course it's not nearly as cool as, say, The Roaring Twenties, but it sure as hell beats modern pop-music. Today, a certain train of thought brought into existence by the beats of "Let's Groove" and involving disco-Ratchet has dropped me off at the fantastic idea: a neon-lit funkadelic electric boogaloo, a deligtfully silly stylized setting utilizing the disco aesthetic! Essentially, it would be sort of a "bright-and-fluffy" twin of Cyberpunk.

* Architecture of Discopunk: lots of primary colors, reflective glass, and chrome with overall blueish tint, most spotlights being colored (including ones on police helicopters), and of course lots of neon lamps and signs all over the place. Most formal of formal places could be decked out in either ominous blues or glossy white.
* Fashions of Discopunk: Well, can't you imagine those for yourself? Costumes could range from plain one-color suits to wearable blingfests. There could also be another side to Discopunk, the side full of New Age Retro Hippies.
* Weapons of Discopunk: conventional guns would be all chromed, and fantastic weaponry would be all about trippiness. Multicoloured laser beams and energy shields, hypnotic tunes you can't help but dance to, hallucinogenic gas grenades, you name it. Some sort of neon-colored mineral from space, like Tiberium, could be incorporated as an energy source for advanced technology. No, the setting itself is not intended as a weapon against epileptic people.
* Social order of Discopunk: i imagine it would be either like Steampunk (heroic exploits of disco dancers in a somewhat nice society) or slightly dystopian yet still ridiculous (
Code:
[u]dance or die, citizen![/u]
)

Would it be tacky? Yes, but that's the whole point. Discussion value is twofold: first, do you like the idea or not? Second, if you like it you could suggest additions, and if you don't like it you can offer criticisms or suggest an aesthetic you think is more suitable for a "-punk" setting.
 

NotSoNimble

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Aug 10, 2010
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I tend to not like things that are tacky. So no, I say Discopunk should not exist.

Steampunk is the flavor of the week.... that's more than enough for me.
 

Vrex360

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Mar 2, 2009
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I could get behind the idea of a disco punk aesthetic design for a game. It could be crazy, stylish and damn near retro.
I'm not trying to imagine the city of Rapture as designed by Disco Stu and it could either be amazing or a complete disaster. But we'll never know until we try it and since Discopunk is not an aesthetic massively popular among games currently a clever developer could try and corner the market.
Though I would love to see the retro scene with burger bars and greasers and Elvis music also get a revamp too.
 

oppp7

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Aug 29, 2009
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Disco is dead, and I'm ok with letting it stay that way.

Biopunking FTW.
 

Omikron009

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May 22, 2009
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I think it's an awesome idea, precisely because it would be so ridiculous and tacky.
 

Xiorell

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Jan 9, 2010
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I generally hate that everything has to be relaunched lately with a "punk" suffix attached to it. I mean it's not new or anything... "steampunk", yeah that's been around for how many years? Just not as steampunk. Cyberpunk? Yep, been kicking about for donkeys, just not called cyberpunk.
I'm eating roast dinner tomorrow, I'm gonna be roastdinnerpunk. Fuck sake.
 

Kollega

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Jun 5, 2009
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Vrex360 said:
But we'll never know until we try it and since Discopunk is not an aesthetic massively popular among games currently.
That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think?

Though I would love to see the retro scene with burger bars and greasers and Elvis music also get a revamp too.
So would i, maybe with a dash of Space Age's "raygun gothic".

Xiorell said:
I generally hate that everything has to be relaunched lately with a "punk" suffix attached to it. I mean it's not new or anything... "steampunk", yeah that's been around for how many years? Just not as steampunk. Cyberpunk? Yep, been kicking about for donkeys, just not called cyberpunk.
I'm eating roast dinner tomorrow, I'm gonna be roastdinnerpunk. Fuck sake.
Didn't you read the disclaimer at the beginning? It specifically adresses this issue.
 

Xiorell

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Kollega said:
Xiorell said:
I generally hate that everything has to be relaunched lately with a "punk" suffix attached to it. I mean it's not new or anything... "steampunk", yeah that's been around for how many years? Just not as steampunk. Cyberpunk? Yep, been kicking about for donkeys, just not called cyberpunk.
I'm eating roast dinner tomorrow, I'm gonna be roastdinnerpunk. Fuck sake.
Didn't you read the disclaimer at the beginning? It specifically adresses this issue.
Yes, my rant wasn't directed "at you" don't take it that way... Just as soon as I see something with the punk suffix it looses ANY cred to me. Unless ya know, its PUNK, actual PUNK, in which case it's not a suffix I suppose. Or I guess if someone came up with a genuine new brach of punk, which I've yet to see in recent times.

Kinda like when people feel the need to attached the **ahem** "XCore" suffix to music in an attemp to make it new and edgy to that given flavor of the month. Ya know, GrindXcore, ThrashXcore... all that bollocks, can all fuck of, it's the same shit we've had for years just now some little prick tries to dress it up as something else.

Just really honestly rattles my balls.
 

Kollega

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Jun 5, 2009
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Xiorell said:
Yes, my rant wasn't directed "at you" don't take it that way... Just as soon as I see something with the punk suffix it looses ANY cred to me. Unless ya know, its PUNK, actual PUNK, in which case it's not a suffix I suppose. Or I guess if someone came up with a genuine new brach of punk, which I've yet to see in recent times.
With that, i completely agree. Discopunk is not that good name for a setting - maybe "discotech fiction" would be better? Sure, it's more clunky, but it's at least right.
 

Hollyosaur

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Aug 21, 2010
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Bright, tacky and wonderfully garish :D Gets my vote!

Also, I like the "DiscoTech" name. Even though you think it seems clunky it seems to fit, IMO.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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My avatar says this is a fantastic and amazing idea and would love to see it.

Sure, it may not make for the best games, but it could fall into the "so bad its awesomely good" area.

As I said, love the idea.
 

Kollega

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Jun 5, 2009
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Irridium said:
My avatar says this is a fantastic and amazing idea and would love to see it.

Sure, it may not make for the best games, but it could fall into the "so bad its awesomely good" area.

As I said, love the idea.
Do you have any ideas it could use, anything to add? I'd appreciate very much if there was more to this thread than simple yays or nays.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Kollega said:
Irridium said:
My avatar says this is a fantastic and amazing idea and would love to see it.

Sure, it may not make for the best games, but it could fall into the "so bad its awesomely good" area.

As I said, love the idea.
Do you have any ideas it could use, anything to add? I'd appreciate very much if there was more to this thread than simple yays or nays.
Well apart from boss battles taking place in disco clubs, not much. And the bosses wear funky 70's style clothes.
 

Kollega

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Irridium said:
Well apart from boss battles taking place in disco clubs, not much. And the bosses wear funky 70's style clothes.
I presume that you mean "funky 70s style clothes exagerrated to the point of absurdity" - because one of the main ideas is that everyone's clothes would be more or less funky. By the way - just thought that of several disco-bandit groups, leader of one could have a disco airship as his homebase.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Kollega said:
Irridium said:
Well apart from boss battles taking place in disco clubs, not much. And the bosses wear funky 70's style clothes.
I presume that you mean "funky 70s style clothes exagerrated to the point of absurdity" - because one of the main ideas is that everyone's clothes would be more or less funky. By the way - just thought that of several disco-bandit groups, leader of one could have a disco airship as his homebase.
Indeed. And they must have hilariously oversized medallions. And afro's. And Bellbottoms.
 

Kollega

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Irridium said:
Indeed. And they must have hilariously oversized medallions. And afro's. And Bellbottoms.
Another ridiculous idea i've had, to fit with the whole "disco technology" idea, is a medallion constructed out of neon tubes, lighting up in sequence and everything. How disco is that?
 

Hollyosaur

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Aug 21, 2010
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You could have things like groups of people who's gimmicks are various fads form the 70's like the Farrah Faucet Hair dos and the 70's porn star look.

And someone with OUTRAGEOUSLY high platform shoes.
 

Kiefer13

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Jul 31, 2008
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It's not something that I would personally find appealing, but it does sound like an interesting idea.