Dream Pod 9
Encyclopedia
Dream Pod 9 is a Montreal
-based Canadian game
publisher. In addition to games, they have been known to work on special projects, creating worlds and stories to order for a variety of clients.
, Protoculture Addicts
). The team took care of the gaming sections of the magazines. They started publishing games on their own, releasing licensed Cyberpunk 2020
supplements and two Mekton
books in the early 1990s. The group split off in 1994 to become DP9.
The company had a rise to fame in the mid and late 1990, fueled by the purported quality and depth of their books. It suffered from the general depression of the game industry after 9/11. Since 2004, the company has put an increased emphasis on wargames and has recently released the Heavy Gear Blitz! miniature game; both actions have done a great deal to counteract the problems encountered after the market downturn. While the company has not published RPG
books prior to 2009, they have repeatedly stated they will continue to support the SilCORE system and the game lines, and have also noted they will publish new books once the company can branch out again. In August 2008, the DP9 brokered a deal with Steve Jackson Games
to publish Heavy Gear RPG for DP9 using their new Silcore rpg system.
sci-fi flair.
, Jovian Chronicles
, Tribe 8 and Gear Krieg
universes, on which role-playing games, wargames
, scale model
s and miniatures have been based. The company also created a few other settings for use in various publications, though they are less well-known.
Heavy Gear
is a military science-fiction universe where human worlds wage war against one another with mecha
.
Jovian Chronicles
follows the exploration of the solar system
in the 23rd century and the conflicts that arise between the Earth and the space colonies.
Tribe 8 is a tribal, post-apocalyptic fantasy
game of horror and epic adventures.
Gear Krieg
takes place in an alternate reality
World War II
firmly set in the pulp
genre.
CORE Command
is a space opera universe set millennia in the far future.
produced two PC games in the mid-1990s: Heavy Gear: the New Breed, and its sequel, Heavy Gear II: Black Talon.
In late 1999, Dream Pod 9 licensed the worldwide television rights to its Heavy Gear
game universe to Sony Pictures Entertainment
. The 40-episode computer animated series was made by Mainframe Entertainment
. It debuted in syndication across the world in Spring 2001, and was shown in the United States in the Fall of 2001. It is now available on DVD. It is generally thought to be not as complex or engrossing as the world of Heavy Gear as shown in the RPG and tabletop game, aiming instead at a considerably lower age demographic.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-based Canadian game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
publisher. In addition to games, they have been known to work on special projects, creating worlds and stories to order for a variety of clients.
History
The company got its start as the game design studio of what was then IANUS Publications, a Canadian publisher of anime-related magazines (Mecha PressMecha Press
Mecha Press is a North American anime and manga magazine that was published by IANVS Publications in the early 1990.The magazine was released on a roughly bimensual schedule, with 5 to 6 issues per year...
, Protoculture Addicts
Protoculture Addicts
Protoculture Addicts was a Canadian-based North American anime and manga magazine published by Protoculture Inc., an Anime News Network company...
). The team took care of the gaming sections of the magazines. They started publishing games on their own, releasing licensed Cyberpunk 2020
Cyberpunk 2020
Cyberpunk 2020 is a cyberpunk role-playing game written by Mike Pondsmith and published by R. Talsorian Games.- Overview :This role-playing game is based on the works of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and other authors of the "Mirrorshades group"...
supplements and two Mekton
Mekton
Mekton is a role-playing game which centers on the conventions of mecha anime and science fiction...
books in the early 1990s. The group split off in 1994 to become DP9.
The company had a rise to fame in the mid and late 1990, fueled by the purported quality and depth of their books. It suffered from the general depression of the game industry after 9/11. Since 2004, the company has put an increased emphasis on wargames and has recently released the Heavy Gear Blitz! miniature game; both actions have done a great deal to counteract the problems encountered after the market downturn. While the company has not published RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
books prior to 2009, they have repeatedly stated they will continue to support the SilCORE system and the game lines, and have also noted they will publish new books once the company can branch out again. In August 2008, the DP9 brokered a deal with Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
to publish Heavy Gear RPG for DP9 using their new Silcore rpg system.
The name
The group needed a name for their game design studio, and did not want the tired form "Such-and-such Games, Inc." An intense late night brainstorming session brought forth the name "Dream Pod." The number "9" was added to add a bit of pulpPulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
sci-fi flair.
Properties
The company is best known for the Heavy GearHeavy Gear
Heavy Gear is a game universe published since 1994 by Canadian publisher Dream Pod 9. It includes a tabletop tactical wargame, a role-playing game and a lesser known combat card game...
, Jovian Chronicles
Jovian Chronicles
Jovian Chronicles is a science fiction game setting published by Dream Pod 9 since 1992. It introduces a complete universe for role-playing and wargaming space combat, featuring mecha, giant spacecraft and epic space battles....
, Tribe 8 and Gear Krieg
Gear Krieg
Gear Krieg is an alternate history game setting published by Dream Pod 9. It contains information suitable for role-playing and wargaming a pulp-fueled World War II, featuring walking tanks and epic tabletop battles.- Setting:...
universes, on which role-playing games, wargames
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
, scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
s and miniatures have been based. The company also created a few other settings for use in various publications, though they are less well-known.
Heavy Gear
Heavy Gear
Heavy Gear is a game universe published since 1994 by Canadian publisher Dream Pod 9. It includes a tabletop tactical wargame, a role-playing game and a lesser known combat card game...
is a military science-fiction universe where human worlds wage war against one another with mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
.
Jovian Chronicles
Jovian Chronicles
Jovian Chronicles is a science fiction game setting published by Dream Pod 9 since 1992. It introduces a complete universe for role-playing and wargaming space combat, featuring mecha, giant spacecraft and epic space battles....
follows the exploration of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
in the 23rd century and the conflicts that arise between the Earth and the space colonies.
Tribe 8 is a tribal, post-apocalyptic fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
game of horror and epic adventures.
Gear Krieg
Gear Krieg
Gear Krieg is an alternate history game setting published by Dream Pod 9. It contains information suitable for role-playing and wargaming a pulp-fueled World War II, featuring walking tanks and epic tabletop battles.- Setting:...
takes place in an alternate reality
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
firmly set in the pulp
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
genre.
CORE Command
CORE Command
CORE Command is a science fiction role-playing game published by Dream Pod 9 since 2002. It introduces a far future space opera universe for role-playing, featuring advanced science, gigantic spacecraft and epic space battles.-Setting:...
is a space opera universe set millennia in the far future.
Derived Products
The company also tells its stories through the media of computer games. A partnership with computer game giant ActivisionActivision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
produced two PC games in the mid-1990s: Heavy Gear: the New Breed, and its sequel, Heavy Gear II: Black Talon.
In late 1999, Dream Pod 9 licensed the worldwide television rights to its Heavy Gear
Heavy Gear
Heavy Gear is a game universe published since 1994 by Canadian publisher Dream Pod 9. It includes a tabletop tactical wargame, a role-playing game and a lesser known combat card game...
game universe to Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
. The 40-episode computer animated series was made by Mainframe Entertainment
Mainframe Entertainment
Rainmaker Entertainment, Inc. is a Canadian computer animation and design company based in Vancouver, British Columbia and Los Angeles, California. It produces computer animation TV series and movies. They are best known for producing the first ever CGI animated series ReBoot, as well as the...
. It debuted in syndication across the world in Spring 2001, and was shown in the United States in the Fall of 2001. It is now available on DVD. It is generally thought to be not as complex or engrossing as the world of Heavy Gear as shown in the RPG and tabletop game, aiming instead at a considerably lower age demographic.