Syd Bolton catches up with the creator of the classic Miner 2049er.

Above: Bill Hogue

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Memories of Miner 2049er

An Interview with Big Five Software’s Bill Hogue

By Syd Bolton

February 15, 2007

If the mere mention of Miner 2049er brings back great memories to you, you’ll probably be interested in learning more about Bounty Bob and how Miner was created back in the 80’s. If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, read on anyways – you’re not too late to experience what all the fuss was about back in the ‘old days’ of personal computing.

Miner 2049er brought both critical and financial success to Big Five Software, founded by Bill Hogue and Jeff Konyu. It contains elements of Donkey Kong and Pac-Man—yet feels like neither. It was one of the first games to have a cross-platform licensing arrangement where the original creators had little or no involvement in making the game available for other systems. It is a major milestone in computer video games – yet often only remembered by those who are very dedicated fans.

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Miner has also become a valuable collectible. The Atari 5200 version of the sequel, “Bounty Bob Strikes Back” often nets $200 or more on eBay – that is, if you can find it. Most of the other versions tend to go for more than your average game.

I was recently able to catch up with Bill Hogue, Miner’s creator, and ask him some questions about the past, present and future.

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Syd Bolton (SB): You have described Scraper Caper, the never released sequel to Miner 2049er, as a game that seemed to go nowhere but you've also indicated that you should have just released it as it was. Based on the quality of your other games, you obviously set your standards really high. Is there any chance we might see Scraper Caper or any other unreleased variants released just so we can see what they were like? Screenshots even?

Bill Hogue (BH): Sadly I don't think anyone will ever get to see either version of Scraper Caper as I foolishly tossed out every disk and tape I had many years ago.

SB: (Gasp). Miner 2049er has become a favorite for a lot of people and when they think back to games they played on the Atari or Commodore 64, Miner often comes up. In your opinion, what made Miner a game that has easily withstood the test of time?

BH: It's a simple game and it's clear at first glance what needs to be done to finish a level. But as you're playing along you discover it wasn't quite as easy as you thought. I wonder, though, if kids of today think of Miner like we do. Miner returns us to a simpler time and perhaps that's why people like to play it again.

SB: What was your original inspiration for the game? There are obvious elements of Donkey Kong & Pac-Man, but many other elements are very original. Is there a story behind the character Bounty Bob? Was Bob the name of your neighbor or something?

BH: Ha ha, no, there wasn't a neighbor named Bob! Some of the earlier TRS-80 games I did were mostly derivatives of arcade games. Miner was my first "color" game and perhaps having all that extra graphic and sound horsepower gave me the freedom to create something totally new.

SB: I often blog about classic games I think deserve the "next generation" treatment. Have you ever thought about what a true next generation game featuring Bounty Bob and the enemy characters would be like? Is there even a possibility of this ever happening?

BH: Perhaps. Many people have suggested that over the years. Good ol' Bounty Bob might just materialize in a new form in the coming months. So keep those fingers crossed!

SB: You chose to create your own emulator specifically for Miner and Bounty Bob Strikes back. There are lots of Atari (and other classic computer) emulators out there that can run your game. Why did you, in a sense, re-invent the wheel just for these two classics? (by the way, I appreciate the fact that I can play those games without 'installing' anything at all).

BH: I wanted to be able to give away a single executable that would be able to play both games without the additional steps of hunting around the internet for ROM or cartridge images. And besides, at the time, I wasn't aware of any that played the original Atari version of Bounty Bob Strikes Back due to the bank-selecting built into the ROM. I really enjoyed the challenge of re-learning the nuances of 6502 assembly language and the details of Atari's custom chips Antic and Pokey!

You can download the emulator for free here:

http://www.bigfivesoftware.com/Emulator/emulator.htm

SB: Any chance of putting together your TRS-80 games into a package and calling it "Bill Hogue's Greatest Hits (Volume 1)"? I am sure there are a lot of Miner 2049er fans out there that have never experienced your previous work but would be interested.

BH: That's not a bad idea. I suppose I could do a TRS-80 emulator. Or at least I could point people toward some of the good ones that already exist.

SB: So what are you up to these days? Do you miss programming videogames?

BH: I program film printing machines for Technicolor. So if you go to the movies and see a film there's an excellent chance it was printed on a machine running my software. I've written code for machines that have dozens and dozens of servo motors moving film around at high speed. We even built a machine several years back that had over 200 motors as it made film on a new version of a "dye transfer" printer. That was a something to see! My game writing days were pretty good training for what I do now.

SB: You've mentioned previously about a combination cartridge for the 5200 that contains both Miner 2049er and Bounty Bob Strikes Back. Are you still considering releasing this?

BH: I decided it wouldn't be profitable so I shelved it.

SB: Tell us what you remember most about the height of your success with Big Five.

BH: It would probably have to be the time that ABC flew Jeff and I out to New York for "Good Morning America". That was a blast!

If you are interested in learning more about Miner and the history of Big Five Software, check out http://www.bigfivesoftware.com/

Syd Bolton has been collecting game consoles for over 20 years and has dozens of systems and over 5,000 games. Have any interesting stories about your Miner 2049er experience? Make sure you share with us here.


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