Does steampunk taint fantasy MMOs?

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With the recent news that Guild Wars 2 is including a technologically savvy Engineer class, purists have come out in force to bring back up the long-running argument of steampunk themes in fantasy MMOs. To put it succinctly, some people are all right with it, and some consider it the most insidious plot to ruin lives since Enron.

I've heard this argument before, in many other places: World of Warcraft, RIFT, Warhammer Online, and Allods Online (to cite a few examples) all have elements of steampunk in an otherwise straight-forward fantasy setting, and some folks just don't care for it. Steampunk, to them, represents a jarring juxtaposition between the old and (semi-)new, and even suggests that the world is becoming outdated even as we play it.

So I'm curious today to know what you think. Yes, you, the person with the mismatching socks -- do you think steampunk elements taint fantasy MMOs, or can they coexist peacefully?

TH

Not really. I know say WoW wont become a techno shooter, so what's the big deal?

There was a period where guns were used during the swords and shields times, just not very frequently.

Half of the people moaning about this have waaaay too much time to think.

TH