November 19th, 2004 - Winner Selected!

Krokodile Cartridge creator Armin Vogl has chosen a label by Nathan Strum as the winning entry for the Krokodile Cartridge Label Contest! Nathan will receive a copy of the Krokodile Cartridge as soon as the cartridges go into production (which will be soon), and of course his label design will grace both the label and the manual. With the high quality of submissions for this contest, we have also decided to award a runner-up prize to Alexius Wronka for his excellent label design. Alexius will receive a $25 gift certificate in the AtariAge Store.

Congratulations to Nathan Strum and Alexius Wronka, and many thanks to everyone who entered and made this a successful contest! We will be launching another label contest soon, so keep those paintbrushes, pencils, and mice warmed up!

The Krokodile Cartridge (pictured to the right) is a programmable game cartridge for the Atari 2600 game console. The cartridge contains 512K of Flash ROM that can be programmed by connecting the cartridge to a Windows PC with a serial cable. Once connected to a PC, the Windows-based Krokodile Commander software is then used to download software into the Krokodile Cartridge. The cartridge also includes 32K of built-in RAM to support games that require additional onboard cartridge memory (such as Atari's SARA-chip games).

Using the provided Windows software, you can directly download Atari 2600 ROM images to the cartridge. In addition to downloading a single ROM binary, the cartridge can be used as a multicart. It can store up to 127 games (4K) which can be selected with a built-in menu system. Bankswitched multicarts are also supported, allowing you to create F8 (8K), F6 (16K) and F4 (32K) bankswitched multicarts. The multicarts can be created with the Krokodile Commander software. You can easily select which games you want to have on the cartridge and once you've made your selections you can download the created multicart image to the Krokodile Cartridge.

Before the Krokodile Cartridge can be sold, an original label design must be created for it. To this end, Krokodile Cartridge creator Armin Vogl and AtariAge have teamed up to sponsor a label contest to design an original label for the Krokodile Cartridge. The winner of the contest will receive their own Krokodile Cartridge, free of charge (a $99 value), as well as his or her name in the credits as listed in the manual. You can learn more about the Krokodile Cartridge in the AtariAge Store, where you can also pre-order the cartridge. If you pre-order the cartridge and win the label contest, your purchase price will be refunded.

The contest will run until 11:59pm (CST), Sunday, November 14th, 2004. All submissions must be received by this time! After the deadline has passed, Armin Vogl and AtariAge will select one of the entries as the label to be used for the Krokodile Cartridge.

How to Enter

For this contest, only a main label is required, since the Krokodile Cartridge does not need a label on the end (this is where the serial and power connectors are located). For your label to be considered, please understand these guidelines and conditions. Any questions may be directed to [email protected]:

• Artwork - This is the most important aspect of the main label. There are no restrictions for the artwork so you are free to create anything your imagination (and artistic skills) can conjure up. Please keep in mind that this artwork will also appear in the manual created for Krokodile Cartridge.
• Krokodile Cartridge - This text must appear on the label.
• Copyright © 2004 Armin Vogl - This text must appear on the label.
• 6V DC and RS232 - There are two connectors on the end of the Krokodile Cartridge--a power connector on the left, and a 9-pin serial connector on the right. The text "6V DC" (for power) and "RS232" must appear at the bottom of the label in the appropriate locations. You can view a prototype label with this text here.
• Use with Multiple Controllers - This text can optionally appear on the label.
• Clearly Legible Text - All text on the label must be clearly legible at the size the label will be printed (see below for actual dimensions). 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.
• Permission to Reprint - By submitting an entry (or entries) to this contest, you agree to allow AtariAge and/or Armin Vogl 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 these graphics to assist in this effort:

• Main Label Template (300dpi)
• Main Label Template (200dpi)

Please do not send your label already attached to one of the 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 templates for inclusion on this page where others may view them. The original, high-resolution submissions will be sent to Armin Vogl when the contest is complete.

The actual label size when printed is 2 3/4" x 3 3/8". If you have artwork that goes to the edge of the label, you will also need a 1/4" bleed around the edges. This bleed isn't necessary for the contest, but if your label design is chosen as the winner it will be necessary in order to print the label.

Label submissions and questions about the contest must be sent to [email protected]. We will post submissions publicly on this page as we receive them. The contest may also be discussed in our Contests Forum.

For some inspiration, feel free to browse through the many labels submitted in our previous Atari 2600 label contests:

• Backfire Label Contest
• Climber 5 Label Contest
• Qb Label Contest
• Gunfight Label Contest
• Mental Kombat Label Contest

Remember, the contest ends at 11:59pm (CST), Sunday, November 14th, 2004! Good luck!