#formicapunk

I love retrofuturism. There are many types, usually called something-punk and I pretty much love them all.

We all know Steampunk and Cyberpunk. A little less well known are Atompunk (e.g., Fallout), Raypunk (e.g., Mars Attacks, maybe? Amazing stories magazine), and Dieselpunk (e.g., Scythe).

Formicapunk / Cassette futurism is somewhere in the middle. To Gen X and early Millennials, the technology that forms the foundation of cassette futurism is intimately familiar. Growing up, my parents had cassettes, computers programs were stored on tape (at least at first) and floppies were not limited to the save icon in Microsoft Office. The first time I played Sim City was on an orange 3.5" floppy.

So maybe that explains why our generations feel a strong kinship with this branch of science fiction, which imagines a future if the technology had stopped there. Heck, TV shows like Loki are clearly targeting that side of us.

Making a mental note to talk about Loki at some point, because I just love the art in the series.

Anyway, back to Signalis. Everything in this game screams cassette futurism, from the objects you find and interact with, right to the interface of the game itself. Let me show you what I mean.

Everything operates with big pushbuttons, floppies, magnetic key passes, CRT screens...

I know I've said it before, but I find the art of the game to be really wonderful. It's very pleasing, coherent and evocative. It really contributes to the player's immersion, making this world that much more believable.

By the way, I am not sure who coined the term "Formicapunk" for this style, but I love the comic from Boulet about it. Well worth a read in my opinion:

Cassette Futurism/Formicapunk is another of my favorites and is often described as “mainframe chic” with clunky, geometric technology with either loud bright colors or plain ones. Most works take on the mid-late  '70s, '80s, and '90s. I personally like to include Vaporwave as part of the aesthetic, though it emerged in the 2010s. 

When trying to pin down cassette futurism, I think VHS, cassettes, Polaroid, radios, and retro gaming systems. Mostly cassette futurism is the aesthetic of outdated technology in a neo-world. Sometimes its future technology in an outdated world.

I don’t have many sources to give you on this one unfortunately. Though I’m sure you’ll do some research of your own.

Comic:

Paper Girls

Television:

Battlestar Galactica

Movie: 

AKIRA (アキラ) 

Book: 

Back to the Future by George Gipe

For More on the Subject: 

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CassetteFuturism

http://formicapunk.tumblr.com/

Rules: For each aspect, roll a ten-sided die. The “Hybrid” option implies that you can roll for two different aspects of the same type. Note that each aspect need not be literally expressed.

> Creature 0 - Hybrid 1 - Alien 2 - Amphibian 3 - Beast 4 - Bird 5 - Bug 6 - Fish 7 - Humanoid 8 - Plant 9 - Reptile

> Element 0 - Hybrid 1 - No element or an element of your choice not listed here. 2 - Earth 3 - Fire 4 - Air 5 - Water 6 - Life 7 - Death 8 - Light 9 - Darkness

> Archetype 0 - Hybrid 1 - Hybrid 2 - Animal 3 - Animal 4 - Fighter 5 - Mage 6 - Thief 7 - Cleric 8 - Ranger 9 - Artificer

> Environment 0 - Hybrid 1 - Aquatic 2 - City 3 - Desert 4 - Forest/Jungle 5 - Grassland 6 - Mountain 7 - Subterrainian 8 - Swamp 9 - Tundra

> Aesthetic 0 - Hybrid 1 - Stonepunk 2 - Sandalpunk 3 - Clockpunk 4 - Steampunk 5 - Dieselpunk 6 - Atompunk 7 - Formicapunk 8 - Cyberpunk 9 - Solarpunk

> Alignment 0 - Roll Again 1 - Lawful/Good 2 - Lawful/Neutral 3 - Lawful/Evil 4 - Neutral/Good 5 - True Neutral 6 - Neutral/Evil 7 - Chaotic/Good 8 - Chaotic/Neutral 9 - Chaotic/Evil

A random generator for folks who want some inspiration for a fantastical character concept. Not necessarily an art prompt, but it would tickle me all shades of pink if that happened.