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Due to the e-mail response generated by my 2600 Doom hoax, which was featured as the "Psycho Hoax of the Month" in issue #102 of Electronic Gaming Monthly, I've created this page to tell the story behind the hoax and how it all started.
In The Beginning
2600 Doom was originally created as a final project for a 2D computer imaging class I was taking in college. The objective of the project was to create 3 ad images for a product that was either real or made up, and apply each in a different way. For 2600 Doom, a magazine ad was made along with a actual mock box and cartridge.
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Having A Little Fun
With the result of the project turning out looking quite real, I decided to have a little fun with it and start a hoax in the video game world.
With the help of my e-mail pen pal friend Bill Haslacher, news of a release of an Atari 2600 version of Doom was spread across the internet. With that, even before being featured in EGM, the hoax drew quite a response. By the way, I ended up getting an A for the project.
How Did You Do That?
The one thing I am asked by everybody who has e-mailed me on this little hoax is how the screen shots for the game were created. They were made on a Atari 800XL 8-bit computer in a graphics mode that was close in display to what a 2600 might show, and then photographed off of a TV. That is the secret of why they look so real.
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And That Is It
So there you have it, the real story behind the hoax of Doom for the Atari 2600 from the one who actually created it.
James Catalano
NOTE: While I hated to mark the images, the reason for this is because there have been a few assholes who have used the original unmarked images to take credit for the hoax saying that they created them. Marking the images stops anyone from trying to take credit on creating the images or the hoax. And for those who would ask, don't even bother to ask me to e-mail youany of the original unmarked images because I won't.
See the "April Doomsday?" feature on the 2600 Doom hoax at
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GameSpot News
April Doomsday?
After the lashing that videogames.com got over Electronic Gaming Monthly's "All Bonds" gag (see page 110 in EGM's April issue), you'd think we'd be a bit gun-shy to tread in the elusive waters of tomfoolery again. But since EGM started the rumor mill churning with the Doom 2600 Hoax in issue #102 (January) too, videogames.com decided to talk to the man behind the myth, to discover just what the fuss over Doom 2600 was all about.
If you haven't heard, the whole thing started when student James Catalano's 2D computer imaging class's final project required he create advertising images for a fictional or real product of his choice. He elected to create a magazine ad, box, and cartridge for the Atari 2600, and the game he was "selling" was Doom. And judging from Catalano's e-mail responses, about 90 percent of the people that heard about it, bought it.
And that's because the fun didn't stop in the school yard. Catalano, by way of his friend Bill Haslacher, launched Doom 2600 into the annals of the Web, via newsgroups and classic game web sites. EGM was the only print publication to "play along," even though editor Dan Hsu was allegedly wavering over its truth factor (Hey Dan, did you know that the word gullible isn't in the dictionary?).
Catalano was flooded with e-mail rants and raves, but did he ever consider that there could be legal repercussions? "Not really, seeing as there wasn't an actual game to make money off of," said Catalano. "The hoax was all in good fun. If anything, I'd think id Software [Doom's developer] would find the hoax amusing."
Videogames.com spoke with the Director of Business Development for id Software, Barrett Alexander, and asked him just how amusing id found the hoax to be, "I definitely find that amusing," said Alexander. "We're always flattered when people are having fun, as long as they don't step over the boundaries."
Even though Catalano just created packaging, gamers who fell for this hoax still barraged him (several even offered to pay US$150 for the nonexistent title). So obviously there is an interest in Doom 2600 - at some level.
Videogames.com asked Catalano if he's considered actually creating such a game. "The idea had crossed my mind," said Catalano. "But the only Atari system I'd be able to do the game on would be the 800XL, as that is the only system I have experience programming for - not the 2600." Catalano has, in fact, created about 60 games for the 800XL, all viewable from his 8-bit Atari web site.
Why did Catalano choose Doom? "Around that time, I had really been into playing Doom for the 32X," said Catalano. "That being the case, the game came to mind when it was time to pick a subject for my project. I picked the Atari 2600 as the system for this "new" game. Being a die-hard Atari and retro-gaming fan, the VCS was pretty much an automatic choice. I did consider using the Atari Lynx, but I also wanted to choose a system that nobody would ever think that Doom could be done on."
With the smoke finally clearing from the Doom 2600 ruse, videogames.com asked Catalano if anymore hoaxes were on the horizon, "Well, the idea of Mortal Kombat II for the 2600 has been toyed with!"
Catalano turned in his Doom 2600 final project early and got an "A," but failed to make it to the last day of class.
By Lauren Fielder, videogames.com
Source :
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http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/8691/2600DOOM.HTM
ICWhen article :
Q: I've seen pictures of 2600 Doom. Where can I buy it?
A: You can't. It's a hoax. Here are the ones we currently know about:
2600 Doom. Electronic Gaming Monthly covered this in their January 1998 (#102) letters section.
Pitfall III. Lee Krueger's bit of hijinx is documented on page 224 of DP #5.
Garfield. The cart has never been found, but some clever chap faked a label for it. The DP cdrom has a jpg of the label.
Original artwork for the Starpath games Swords of Saros, Survival Island and Sweat!. The artwork for these games on the Stella CD was created by Dan Skelton. This item is not a hoax, as the CyberPuNKS were going after completeness, not deception.
perl for the 2600. Issue #12 (vol 3, no 4; winter 1998) of the Perl Journal shows perl as one of the carts in a 2600 cart stack. For all you future deceivers, this image modification was done with "the gimp."
The Mar/Apr 1999 2600 Connection takes April 1 very seriously by reporting on Quake 3, Timber, Tron, Wacko, Lucky Charms, a Camel Cigarettes game, (big breath here) Tomb Raider, Street Fighter II and a Microvision Emulator.
The Spring Special 1998 2600 Connection is also chock full of hoax. Therein lie ET 2000, The Battle of Jericho, Alien Vs. Predator Vs. Men In Black, the 2600 CD, Sonic the Hedgehog, the Atari 26000, MS Windows, Word and Excel 2600, and a 2600 Robot. Many other hoaxes are mentioned but not shown.
Final Fantasy VII.
Mortal Kombat Trilogy. On his old web site, Ed Boon displayed the box art for MKT for the Atari 7800 (and the Astrocade and the Channel F). These pictures were not carried over to his new web site. Did anyone save these pictures?
The John Deere Atari, complete with Johnny Tractor cart.
Metrowerks Codewarrior.
Battlesphere.
Russ Perry Jr. mentioned (in a personal email) some other hoaxes: Space Haggis, Frank Traut's Jiminy's Farm and Barn and The Monkey Adventure, and an anonymous someone's Cybermorph.
