Mined-Out

From MinesweeperWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Mined-Out

Screenshot of Mined-Out
Author: Ian Andrew (Quiksilva)
Initial release: 1983
OS: Spectrum / BBC Micro
Language(s): English
Genre: Early Minesweeper Games
Status: Abandonware
Website: Original Games

Mined-Out is a computer game written by Ian Andrew in 1983 for Quicksilva. It directly inspired Relentless Logic and thus led to the creation of Windows Minesweeper.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

The object of the game is to safely cross a minefield. The player crosses from the bottom to the top of the screen. After each move you are told the number of adjacent mines. The bottom and top rows are always safe, and the highest number of mines is 4 because the game does not look diagonally. At the end of each level the player is rewarded with speed points.

The grid for each level is 19x30 of which 17x30 contains mines. Starting on Level 2 each grid has two female worms waiting to be rescued. Navigating to these damsels rewards the player with bonus points. Level 3 introduces a Mine Spreader that places more mines if the player is slow. These new mines are visible. The Mine Spreaders not only add mines, they sometimes remove hidden mines. Level 4 introduces a Bug, which is a mine with legs that follows your path. If you are caught, the game ends. On Level 6 your path starts disappearing behind you, making it very difficult to remember solved mine locations. If you successfully finish Level 9 you rescue Bill the Worm.

There are sound effects throughout the game, mostly various beeps and explosions. The BBC version plays the opening line of "2001: A Space Odyssey" when you enter a new Highscore. Each release for a different computer system has its own set of keyboad controls, but the player only needs to navigate left, right, up and down. Other game controls are for speeding up or ending game replays so the player can start a new game sooner. The original version counts damsels and squares belonging to the fence when it warns you of adjacent mines, while the BBC versions consider these as safe squares. Other differences between versions include varying levels of graphics quality, changes to text and sound effects.

[edit] History

Mined-Out was the first commercial computer game written by Ian Andrew (UK) and was released by Quicksilva in 1983 for the ZX Spectrum 48K. The Spectrum computer had just been released in April 1982. Ian wrote several more games but released them through Incentive, a company he founded. After watching his mother play Mined-Out, Ian decided to add more levels to the game. At the time this was still a novel idea. He sent the game to Quicksilva after seeing an advertisement, who then sold it in the UK for £4.95. The game was ported to the BBC Micro by Ian Rowling, and various programmers wrote versions for BBC Electron, Lynx, Oric and Dragon systems. It was also re-released in Spain by Microparadise Software as 'Mined-Out' (1983) and by Investronica SA as 'Campo de Minas' (1983).

[edit] Importance

Mined-Out is the first known computer game where a player must cross a field of mines using number clues. It almost certainly inspired Relentless Logic (1985), a precursor of Windows Minesweeper that similarly featured a field of mines that must be crossed and warned the player of adjacent mines in the same manner. It is interesting that one Spanish re-release named it 'Campo de Minas' (Field of Mines), which is the literal translation of Minesweeper in other languages; for instance, it is 'Campo Minato' in Italian and 'Campo Minado' in Portuguese.

[edit] Screenshots

Full cover for the original Spectrum release.
Box cover and key cover for the original Spectrum release.
Cover of the BBC Micro version.
Cover of the BBC Electron version.
Cover of Investronica version
Ian Andrew in 1985, as photographed by Crash.
Opening screen (Spectrum).
Level 1 replay (Spectrum).
Rescuing a damsel (Spectrum).
Opening screen (BBC Micro).
Screen after game has loaded (BBC Micro).
Action Replay (BBC Micro). The two larger objects are damsels.
Action Replay (BBC Micro). Black mines were placed by the Mine Spreader.
The Mine Spreader in action (BBC Micro). It is located on the right middle of the screen.
Action Replay (BBC Micro) of Level 4. Yellow mines were hidden, black were added by the Spreader.
Level 5 completed (BBC Micro). A Bug is following the path of the player.

[edit] Downloads

Copies of the original game tape are available online. To play on modern computers you can download the files here and open with an emulator. There are many emulators online, two are suggested here.

  • Original release for ZX Spectrum 48K (1983), TZX format. Download the Eighty-One emulator (free) and simply load from the menu.
  • BBC release for the BBC Micro, SSD format. Download the Model-B emulator (free) by Tom Sneddon and load the game using the Quickstart menu. You will need to change the Keymap and replace the command keys with keys that exist on your computer. Choose 'Keymap' from the menu, click the BBC key you want to change and press the key on your computer you prefer. Remember to save your settings and then choose your new keymap from the menu instead of the default.
  • Campo de Minas - Investronica Spanish version released in TZX format.

[edit] Links

[edit] Clones

Mined-Out inspired several copycat versions for the Spectrum computer. You can play most of them using the free Eighty-One emulator. One version though requires a TR-DOS emulator (such as Spectaculator). In addition to those listed below, there was also a clone called 'Mine-Field' released by VideoSpectrum in 1984 in Spain that no longer exists. You can also argue that Relentless Logic and all its clones leading up to the creation of Windows Minesweeper are variations of Mined-Out.

[edit] Bomb Ed

Theo Develegas
Hellenic Software (Greece)
1992-04 		Download: Bomb Ed
Link: World of Spectrum
Written for the ZX Spectrum 48K and published in the April 1992 issue of Sinclair User. The magazine hosted a competition where the user with the highest submitted score won a game console. It is a clone of Mined-Out but with only 1 level and better graphics. Ed is lost in a forest and the goal is to get him home, from the bottom right corner to the top left corner. Maximum score is 500 and the timer counts down as you play. If you are near a mine a warning message appears telling you the number of touching mines. Screenshot is from an action replay of a finished game.

[edit] Minas


Mario Aporta Cruz
Grupo de Trabajo Software (Spain)
1985 		Download: Minas 1
Link: World of Spectrum
Download: Minas 2
Link: World of Spectrum
Written for the ZX Spectrum 48K and released as part of a 19 game compilation, then an updated version later that year in a 15 game collection. In Minas 2 the goal is to cross the grid while collecting green dots, at the same time trying to avoid mines. You start with 5 lives and progress through the levels until no lives are left. Mine locations are briefly shown before each level starts and you must avoid them from memory.

Note: Author could not get Minas 1 to run on various emulators. To play Minas 2, load into the Spectaculator emulator. After it is done showing you all the menus, type 'C' and hit enter. Then click on the Casette icon and select Minas from the list of 15 games, then press 'Play'.

[edit] MineMan 2

Triumph Game Labs (Russia)
2005 		Download: MineMan 2
Link: World of Spectrum
Written for the ZX Spectrum 48K or 128K. Grid is 20x20 and player must navigate from the top right corner to the flag at the bottom left corner. After each move you are warned of adjacent mines. Player starts with 3 lives and keeps playing the game over again until lives are lost, meanwhile accumulating points for opening squares and bonus points for completing games.

[edit] Minefield

Stephen Corry (UK)
1987 		Download: Minefield
Link: World of Spectrum
Written for the ZX Spectrum 48K. The player must get Fred across a field of mines. Every square is a mine, but only some of them explode when stepped on. Crossing is pure luck, and there are 5 levels of increasing difficulty. You get 10 points for moving to a square, and bonus points for completing levels.

[edit] Yomp

Oz Software, for Virgin Games (UK)
1983 		Download: Yomp
Link: World of Spectrum
Written for the ZX Spectrum 16K. The player must get 3 of his 5 paratroopers across four lanes of traffic in an obvious imitation of the more famous Frogger game. The survivors must cross a field of mines to get reinforcements. Crossing the minefield is easy because there is an inset screen showing your position and all the mine locations - you simply have to guide your player around the mines and trees while avoiding a moving purple object. There are 6 levels of difficulty. This game was released in 1983 and tried to imitate the success of Frogger (1981) and Mined-Out (earlier in 1983). According to 'Crash' magazine, "There’s no disguising the fact that this is a frogger game with ‘mined-out’ pretensions".
Retrieved from "http://www.minesweeper.info/wiki/Mined-Out"
Views
Personal tools