What style, level, and source of real-world inspiration do you all enjoy in Alternate Universe settings? For example, are you more prone to enjoying the Victorian stylizings, brass clockwork, and steam-powered worlds of steampunk? Or are you happier with levels as advanced as cyberpunk worlds, full of neon, holograms, and cybernetic augmentation, inspired by extrapolations of more modern technology? Maybe something in-between, or far beyond in either direction?

For examples of weirder (which is by no means a bad thing) tech, there's the whale oil-powered technologies of the "Dishonored" franchise, or the anachronistic blend of eighteenth-century Europe and time travel tech from the future found in the short story, "Mozart in Mirrorshades."

What are your thoughts?

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I prefer to simulate the level of technology in the real world but with magic, it offers a degree of familiarity but it becomes more interesting as the reader discovers the inner working of the world they are reading about, plus the similar level of technology offers a better frame of reference even if appears slightly futuristic. It gets better when you start to explore what Magic and Science can do individually and what they can do together, I actually compiled a list of magic systems and it's interesting to think how they can be integrated into technology or how technology can be integrated into it. For that see my blog, be sure to check the end where I make a note about Magitek, here: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/766902/magic

It all depends on the story I'm telling. Though I have a massive soft spot for space opera, and another one for steampunk, and both of those mix well with magic. (I mean, space opera plus "magic" aka. The Force is basically Star Trek, so it really does work well.)