The Real Story Behind The Hoax  

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.

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.

 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 you any of the original unmarked images because I won't. See the "April Doomsday?" feature on the 2600 Doom hoax at Have any comments or questions? E-mail me Check out my other sites! Visit my Atari computer games site Main Home Page Free Fantasy Dice Game Page