How Pacific Drive uses mood to motivate its players
The motivation for playing through Pacific Drive isn’t conventional - it comes from trusting the player and its world through the immersive design to want to explore its environment.
Pacific Drive is a game I loved playing; very rarely does something like this come along. Every part of its game design comes down to serving the mood, and so the sense of presence in Pacific Drive is nearly unmatched. On top of all this, the relationship it manages to build between the player and the car is impressive for many reasons, and I’ve tried to do it justice in my analysis.
Hope you enjoy! :)
Game Maker’s Notebook video source:
Pacific Drive’s playlist:
Footage used from (in order of appearance):
Pacific Drive, The Last Guardian, Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon Forbidden West, Subnautica, Death Stranding, Dark Souls, Firewatch, Return of the Obra Dinn, Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Outer Wilds
0:00 Introduction
5:32 The Car is the Main Character
15:25 Frictional Game Design
22:52 Dedication to Mood
31:56 Narrative and Themes
42:04 Inconsistent World-Building
47:29 The Hands-Off Approach
52:14 Closing Thoughts
A deep dive analysis and critique of Pacific Drive. I guess you could call it a video game video essay.
1 view
21
4
2 months ago 00:56:05 1
Cascades Volcanoes: When Sleeping Giants Wake
2 months ago 01:25:49 1
Cascadia MEGAQUAKE: The Future Mega-Seaquake That Will Destroy Westcoast America!
2 months ago 01:51:22 1
China vs. United States | Cold War | Nuclear Threat | Investigative Journalism
2 months ago 00:06:55 1
Why the U.S. Military Is Reviving Abandoned WWII-Era Airfields | WSJ
2 months ago 00:12:58 1
My 5 Top Picks - The Best Peacocks to Start Your African Cichlid Aquarium!
2 months ago 00:00:58 1
The Day That Shaped Modern History: October 25th EXPOSED #ytshorts #shorts
2 months ago 00:00:00 1
Missing Plane Discovered at the Bottom of the Pacific by Divers – Decades-Old Mystery Solved
2 months ago 01:00:55 1
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg farewell speech and conversation, 19 SEP 2024
2 months ago 00:11:51 5
The Double Bubble Theorem
2 months ago 03:42:50 1
Dr. Paul Conti: How to Understand & Assess Your Mental Health | Huberman Lab Guest Series
2 months ago 00:04:35 1
How do drug cartels use submarines and semi-submersibles to smuggle cocaine underwater? | DW News
2 months ago 00:17:38 1
Compose Romantic Music in 5 Easy Steps
2 months ago 00:00:20 1
He forgot how to spell 😂🇵🇭
2 months ago 00:05:01 1
Does Oil Spill Damage Last Forever?
2 months ago 01:11:09 1
The War in the Pacific: How WWII Changed the World Forever - Dr Robert Lyman
2 months ago 00:02:30 1
Terminator - How It Should End
2 months ago 00:04:25 1
Why Pan Pacific Orchard is a Must-Visit
2 months ago 00:05:26 1
Government Abuse: How Politicians Steal Homes and Sell Them for a Profit
2 months ago 00:04:55 1
Black Bear Brand... its TIME
2 months ago 00:00:44 1
Russian Orthodox Church in Akutan, ALASKA 2024 Pt. 18
2 months ago 01:13:42 1
The Forgotten Pacific Documentary
2 months ago 00:22:00 1
PARSON’S CHAMELEONS IN THE WILD! (are we keeping the correctly?)
2 months ago 00:07:30 1
I fed piraiba more; not enough; Big Bad killed; dovii attitude & inedible size helpless
3 months ago 00:27:38 1
North Atlantic Council with remarks by the Secretary General and SG Designate, 01 OCT 2024