Following the recent release of their amazing Boulder Dash® playable demo, programmers Andrew Davie and Thomas Jentzsch, in association with publishers AtariAge and First Star Software, Inc, are very excited to announce that the original game in the Boulder Dash® series, Boulder Dash® Volume 1, will be available for purchase, exclusively from the AtariAge Store, in time for Christmas 2011!

Andrew Davie and Thomas Jentzsch have been working on this Atari 2600 port of Boulder Dash® for almost a decade. Together these two Atari 2600 veterans have used their insight and sophisticated knowledge about the Atari console to bring to life a faithful rendering of the classic, action-puzzle game (first released on the Atari 8-bit computer platform in 1984) from First Star Software, Inc. Game-play, sounds, and graphics have been faithfully reproduced, culminating in a game for the Atari 2600 unlike any previously seen.

If you're not familiar with Boulder Dash®, the Wikipedia Entry for the game contains a wealth of information. And of course, First Star Software also has an informative Boulder Dash® page describing the various versions of the game released to date and history of the game. In short,

"The game's protagonist is called "Rockford". He must dig through caves collecting gems and diamond and reach the exit within a time limit, while avoiding various types of dangerous creatures as well as obstacles like falling rocks and the constant danger of being crushed or trapped by an avalanche, or killed by an underground explosion."

Here's a video of the game showing the title screen and two full levels being played:

With the full cooperation of First Star Software, Inc., this title will finally be available on the 2600!

The game features exact implementations of all 16 caves and 4 intermissions of the original game, playable with 5 levels of difficulty, providing over 80 unique levels of challenging fun. The physics, sound, and graphics are as exact as possible on the Atari 2600, and the game-play and timing are exactly the same as in the original version of the game. In short, this is a not-to-be-missed masterpiece, available in a limited run of only 250 copies.

AtariAge and First Star Software, Inc. are hosting a box and label design competition! The winner will receive a copy of the game signed by Andrew, Thomas, Albert, and Richard M. Spitalny (president of First Star Software, Inc.), as well as a $50 gift certificate in the AtariAge Store!

Here are a few screenshots for additional inspiration:

How to Enter

Both a main label and an end label must be included with your submission. For your label to be considered, please understand these guidelines and conditions. Any questions may be directed to [email protected]:

		Main Label Requirements - The main label should be the focus of your design efforts. artwork for the main label will also appear on the front of the box and manual. Therefore, you should create the artwork at sufficiently high enough resolution to be suitable for these larger applications (600dpi raster art or vector artwork). The title of the game, Boulder Dash®, should appear prominently on the label. The registered trademark symbol can be superscripted but should belegible at printed size. The following text should appear on the main label, preferrably near the bottom of the label. This text can be small in size as long as it is legible at printed size. If you do not include this text on your label entry, it will be added later: Boulder Dash® is a registered trademark of First Star Software, Inc. Copyright© 1984, 2011 First Star Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
		End Label Text - The end label must contain the game's title, Boulder Dash®. The registered trademark symbol can be superscripted but should belegible at printed size.
		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. If we determine you have used copyrighted images on your label (or labels) and you have not obtained the rights to use those images, your entries will be rejected.
		Grant of Rights/Warranty/Indemnification - By submitting an entry (or entries) to this contest, you: (i) grant to AtariAge and First Star Software, Inc. the full right and license to use and reproduce your submission(s) for all purposes, including without limitation for use as the cartridge label for Boulder Dash® on the Atari 2600; (ii) warrant and represent to AtariAge and First Star Software, Inc. that all materials you submit are original to you and that they do not infringe upon any rights of any third parties; (iii) shall indemnify AtariAge and First Star Software, Inc. from any and all claims which might be brought against them pertaining to your warranty above; and, (iv)acknowledge that the above stated grant of rights is made freely without the expectation of any compensation whatsoever, except in the event you are selected as the contest winner you will be given the signed cartridge and AtariAge $50 gift certificate stated elsewhere in these contest terms and conditions.

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 300dpi 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.

Label Templates:

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)
• End Label Template (300dpi)

Please do not send your labels already attached to 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 templates for inclusion on this page where others may view them.

Actual label sizes when printed are 2 3/4" x 3 3/8" for the main label and 2 3/4" x 9/16" for the end label. If you have artwork that goes to the edge of the label, you will also need a 1/8" 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.

Logos:

You can download First Star Software, Inc. and AtariAge logos here:

• First Star Logo
• AtariAge Logo (in vector and raster formats)

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, you can view some of the many labels submitted in previous label contests.

Remember, the contest ends at 11:59pm (CST), Sunday, November 27th, 2011!