Fans of the Atari 2600 game Haunted House will be glad to learn that John Swiderski is working on an updated version for the Atari 5200, titled Haunted House II 3-D. This new version is similar to the Atari 2600 version in terms of gameplay, but features over 90 rooms in two different mazes, new creatures, new treasure, and more. The game is nearly complete at this point and John plans on having it ready in time for the Classic Gaming Expo in August.

AtariAge is sponsoring a contest to create a label for Haunted House II 3-D. The winning label will be used for all Haunted House II 3-D produced, including those at this year's Classic Gaming Expo. The winner of the contest will receive an a free copy of Haunted House II 3-D.

The contest will run until Midnight (CST), Sunday, July 21st, 2002. All submissions must be received by this time! After the contest has ended, John Swiderski will then select one of the submitted labels as the label to be used for Haunted House II 3-D.

For your label to be considered, please understand these guidelines and conditions. Any questions may be directed to editor@atariage.com:

• Layout and Artwork - This is the most important aspect of the label. Since this is a sequel to an Atari 2600 game, John Swiderski wishes to use an Atari style 5200 label. You can find many such examples here.

• Required Text - The following text must be appear on the label (it does not need to be grouped together as follows):
  
  Haunted House II 3-D
  For 1 Player
  Written by John Swiderski
  Copyright © 2002 Mean Hamster Software

• Clearly Legible Text - All text on the label must be clearly legible at the size the label will be printed. Please keep this important consideration in mind while you are designing your label.

• Multiple Submissions - While we will gladly accept multiple submissions, we ask that each label be unique from your any previous submissions in some significant fashion. We reserve the right to reject labels that differ only in color or some other minor attribute from previous entries. We will gladly replace previous submissions with new entries if you so request.

• Use of Copyrighted Images - If you use any copyrighted images, you must seek permission from the copyright holder before using that image as part of your label. Likewise, any labels that use artwork from a previously submitted label will be rejected. Please do not use original artwork from the Atari 2600 Haunted House.

• Permission to Reprint - By submitting an entry (or entries) to this contest, you agree to allow AtariAge and/or John Swiderski to reproduce your submission(s) without your having to grant permission or receiving compensation for the right to do so.

Labels should be saved in a non-lossy image format such as PNG, TIFF, PCX, or BMP. If you need to save your image using JPEG for some reason, please use a minimal amount of compression. In order for the label to look good when printed, it should be saved at at 200dpi or better. If you are concerned about large file sizes you can drop us a line before mailing the file, but generally anything under 10MB will not be a problem.

Please take care to make sure your label is proportioned correctly. You may download the following templates to assist in this effort:

• Atari 5200 Label Template (600 pixels wide)
• Atari 5200 Label Template (200dpi)
• Atari 5200 Label Template (300dpi)

The first file is what we will display your image in on AtariAge. The second and third files are higher resolution (200dpi and 300dpi) versions of the template to assist you in creating a higher-resolution image that we can then scale down. We suggest using one of the higher resolution templates to create your label(s), as they will then look better when printed.

Please do not send your labels already attached to one of these templates, they are provided only to help you properly frame your label. We will shrink and crop your label to the correct size and place it on the first template for inclusion on this page where others may view them. The original, high-resolution submissions will be sent to John Swiderski when the contest is complete.

Label submissions and questions about the contest must be sent to editor@atariage.com. We will post submissions publicly on this page as we receive them. The contest may also be discussed in our 5200 message board. For some examples of labels submitted in our previous label contests, please visit the Castle Blast, Qb, Gunfight, and Mental Kombat Label Contest Pages.

Remember, the contest ends at Midnight (CST), Sunday, July 21st, 2002!