Customizable Disk Game Based on Dream Pod 9's Popular Science- Fiction Universe Set for GenCon 2001 Debut

Roseville, Minnesota, September 29th, 2000 -- Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce that it has acquired the license to publish a customizable disk game (CDG) based on Dream Pod 9's acclaimed Heavy Gear (tm) universe. The Heavy Gear CDG will be designed and published by Fantasy Flight and is scheduled to debut at GenCon '01 (August 2001). The Heavy Gear game will use Fantasy Flight's proprietary customizable disk-game mechanic, introduced in the best-selling and award-winning DISKWARS(tm) game. With a new CDG system designed specifically for Heavy Gear, it promises a unique and exciting brand of table-top mechanized combat.

"Heavy Gear is an exciting, evolving property in a strong and compelling genre -- one we believe is perfect for a customizable disk game," said Christian Petersen, Fantasy Flight's CEO. "We look forward to working with Dream Pod 9 to create an exciting new game system that will appeal to fans of both Heavy Gear and Fantasy Flight's CDGs."

"DISKWARS is an incredible new concept in gaming, and we're very excited to get in on the ground floor," added Pierre Ouellette, President of Dream Pod 9. "The Heavy Gear CDG license will be a great addition to the upcoming television series by Sony."

Fantasy Flight, Inc., a corporation with offices in Roseville, Minnesota, is a leading U.S. hobby market producer of board games, role-playing games, card games, and customizable disk games. FFG's Origins Award-winning DISKWARS game introduced the customizable disk-game category to the hobby market and has been followed by releases adapted for some of the hobby's most popular properties, including Star Trek, Deadlands, and Legend of the Five Rings.

Dream Pod 9, Inc. is a Montreal-based entertainment properties design studio. In addition to publishing games based on their creations, they also work on a large number of special projects, creating worlds and stories to order for a variety of clients. They are best known for their Heavy Gear, Jovian Chronicles, Tribe 8 and Gear Krieg universes, which have generated many games, models and miniatures. Heavy Gear has been licensed for computer games by Activision, a 40-episode television series by Sony Pictures Family Entertainment (coming first quarter 2001) and a line of toys by Bandai.

DISKWARS is a trademark of Fantasy Flight, Inc. Deadlands is a trademark of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. Legend of the Five Rings is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Star Trek is a trademark of Paramount, Inc. Heavy Gear, Jovian Chronicles, Tribe 8, and Gear Krieg are trademarks of Dream Pod 9, Inc. All rights reserved.

Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 20:25:45 -0500
From: "Greg Benage" <gbenage@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: [HGML] Heavy Gear CDG

Hey all. My name is Greg Benage -- I'll be the lead developer for the Heavy Gear customizable disk game here at Fantasy Flight. I'm not going to respond to the discussion thus far point-by-point, but I do want to give those interested a short brief and address some specific concerns.

1. The Heavy Gear CDG will *not* be Diskwars. We will be developing a new game system specifically tailored to Heavy Gear. The only elements the two are likely to have in common are the "core" disk- game concepts: a) illustrated cardstock disks are used to represent combat units, and b) you turn the disks end-over-end to move them across the playing area.

2. We do not want or expect the CDG to replace the Heavy Gear tactical miniatures wargame. It's not clear to me why this partnership would have been at all in Dream Pod 9's interests if hat were the case. Despite some common themes and elements, they will be two very different game-play experiences and they're likely to appeal to different gamers. We do, of course, hope there is significant overlap: perhaps you, as a miniatures enthusiast, will want to play the disk game when there isn't time or space for a miniatures game. Or perhaps you will play the disk game with gaming friends who aren't into miniatures.

3. The disk game will feature Dream Pod 9's proprietary full-color illustrations. So, yes, the illustrations will be computer colored, but the style will be "Heavy Gear," not the comic-book style used in Diskwars.

On a more personal note, I'm a big fan of the Heavy Gear universe and the Silhouette engine, and I'm very excited about this opportunity. I'll do my best to make sure the disk game does Heavy Gear justice. For those of you who are interested in the game, I also very much want to hear what you have to say. I'll be lurking around the mailing list, and perhaps when the design gets underway I'll create a dedicated list on egroups or something. That way, we can discuss the CDG design process at length without troubling the Heavy Gear fans with no interest in it.

Thanks for your time!

Greg Benage
Fantasy Flight, Inc.