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
7 hours ago 00:06:34 1
Why the US Fears India: A New Global Power Emerges | Briefly Explained
15 hours ago 00:36:57 1
US escalates new cold war on China: Congress passes 25 anti-Chinese laws in 1 week, funds propaganda
20 hours ago 00:01:07 1
China Fires 1st Ballistic Missile in 44 Years; Beijing Sides With Lebanon | Trailer | China in Focus
2 days ago 00:15:49 1
Why New F-18 Super Hornet Missile TERRIFIES China
2 days ago 00:00:54 1
Entitled Girl Calls Out Brixan For His Attitude @whatever
2 days ago 00:54:47 1
How Pacific Drive uses mood to motivate its players
2 days ago 00:01:07 11
Sea Of Hell: Surviving A 60-knot Storm😱🌊
2 days ago 00:39:07 1
Divine Wrath is Collective and without Discrimination?
2 days ago 00:09:50 1
Why China’s Missile Arsenal Could Outmaneuver U.S. Military Might
3 days ago 00:02:43 1
Manami Chopa Pacific Arts Festival
3 days ago 00:09:09 1
Your Tattoo is INSIDE Your Immune System. Literally
5 days ago 00:00:00 1
Union Pacific’s Big Boy Locomotive - World’s Largest and Most Powerful Train
5 days ago 00:15:02 1
How drones change America’s future war in the Pacific
6 days ago 00:12:47 1
She Died & Saw Hell | What She Saw Is Terrifying
6 days ago 00:08:54 1
A powerful Russian stormtroopers attack soon pinned Ugledar cauldron
6 days ago 00:27:23 1
It’s a mess... | Ep. 63
1 week ago 01:29:12 1
God Bless Bitcoin | Full Movie | Documentary
1 week ago 00:05:08 1
ALBINO THREADFIN ACARA a *CENTERPIECE FISH!*
1 week ago 00:26:27 48
’Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ is Bioware meets God of War (Austin’s Hands-On Impresions)
2 weeks ago 00:38:59 1
“Hornet’s Nest“ / Home of the Russian Submarines / Top Secret / Combat Approved / New Episode
2 weeks ago 00:05:12 1
How Harry Potter Should Have Ended
2 weeks ago 00:12:41 1
This is how the Soviet Union looked under Stalin
2 weeks ago 00:14:29 1
Untold Story Of Pata Seca: Forced To Breed Over 200 Black Slave Children