Genre Information: Steampunk - What is it?

Wikipedia wrote:

Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles or analog computers; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or a presumption of functionality.

This list of Steampunk works can be used to get your head into it: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SteamPunk

Full Metal Alchemist is a useful place to start to get your head into the genre. Also, many of Hayao Miyazaki's works utilize forms of Steampunk, particularly Howl's Moving Castle (which you should watch anyway, if you haven't).

Many Final Fantasy Games use Steampunk as a setting, though they tend to lean on the modern-side in more recent times. The best titles to look at would be Final Fantasy IX and the series of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Flipping through the first few pages of Girl Genius, a webcomic, without even reading the words, is a good primer as well.

The Myst games are sorta steam-punky. Find some pictures, you'll see.

Ryu gave me this tip: http://iro.ragnarokonline.com/game/jobintro.asp
Has some good ideas for characters/abilities, etc.