Miner 2049er

This site is designed as a tribute and historical reference to the classic game "Miner 2049er" which was created by Bill Hogue and released in 1982/83 by Big Five Software.

The game was licensed in conjunction with ICG (International Computer Group).

This web site created by Nickolas Marentes with assistance and contribution by Pete Schlepphorst.

Bill Hogue began programming commercial computer games in the late 70's for the Radio Shack TRS-80 computer under the name "Big Five Software". 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 Defence Command. Robot Attack was the first commercial game for the TRS-80 that featured voice. Bill Hogue and his company Big Five Software was regarded as the benchmark for arcade games on the TRS-80 with their arcade quality graphics, studder free sound effects and full page color magazine ads.

Galaxy Invasion

Robot Attack

By 1982, the TRS-80 with it's low resolution monochrome graphics was beginning to reach the end of it's lifespan and Bill decided to go looking for another computer platform to write his next hit game. After looking at both the Apple II and Atari computers, he settled on the Atari 800 and in 1983, he released Miner 2049er. Miner was an instant hit, not only because of how good the game was but also by how widely distributed it became. Up to 15 separate companies were scheduled to create ports of Bill's original Atari 800 version. Not all of those ports came through but even so, Miner 2049er could still possibly lay claim to being the most widely licensed computer game via separate software companies in history.

After a false start in 1984 with the release of the Miner 2049er sequel titled "Scraper Caper", Bill finally released in 1985 the official sequel, "Bounty Bob Strikes Back". Unfortunately, while offering more than double the levels of the original and several new and exciting game elements, by this time the Miner 2049er rollercoaster ride had run to a close and this game never achieved the same level of success as its predecessor.

Bill Hogue and Jeff Konyu have now created the official Big Five Software web site which goes into detail about the rise of Big Five Software and about the people involved. It features many exclusive photos, a custom written emulator that runs both Miner 2049er and Bounty Bob Strikes back and includes streaming video of the television interview that both Bill Hogue and Jeff Konyu conducted on "Good Morning America".

The 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, your 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 (11 in the Colecovision version).

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 will 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 in "Star Trek Style", Chutes which slide you off a platform often against your will, "The Pulverizers" which can crush you if you get in their way and the ultimate, "The Canon"!