All About Miner 2049er

The History of Miner 2049er

How Miner 2049er came to be

Under the name Big Five Software, Bill Hogue began programming commercial computer games in the late 1970s for the Radio Shack TRS-80 computer. He created several games based on actual arcade games such as Super Nova (Asteroids), Attack Force (Targ), Cosmic Fighter (Astro Fighter), Galaxy Invasion (Galaxian), Meteor Mission II (Lunar Rescue), Robot Attack (Berzerk) and Defense Command (Missile Command). Robot Attack was the first commercial game for the TRS-80 that featured digitized voice.

By 1982, the TRS-80, with its low resolution monochrome graphics, was beginning to reach the end of its lifespan, so Hogue wrote his next game on the Atari 800. Called Miner 2049er, it was widely licensed, distributed, and ported to many platforms.

The Miner 2049er Back Story

Bounty Bob is a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He is on a mission to search through all of Nuclear Ned's abandoned uranium mines for the treacherous Yukon Yohan. Bob must claim each section of each mine by running over it. There are a wide variety of futuristic obstacles that he must deal with such as matter transporters, hydraulic scaffolds, and jet-speed floaters as well as avoiding the radioactive creatures that have been left behind.

The Game

As Bounty Bob, the player's goal is to inspect every section of each mine in search of the evil Yukon Yohan while avoiding the various radioactive creatures that inhabit the mine. As Bounty Bob walks over a section of flooring, it fills with color. To complete the level, every section of flooring must be colored. There are 10 mines in total.

Along the way, Bob will encounter many objects left behind by past miners. By collecting these, bonus points are achieved and the radioactive creatures smile and turn green. While in this state, Bob can collect them and earn extra points.

Various obstacles in each mine aid and hinder Bob's progress. Ladders allow him to climb up or down to the next platform, Matter Transporters teleport him to other matter transporters in that mine, chutes can slide Bob off a platform (often against his will), and pulverizers can crush Bob if he gets in their way.