- Pace35 · in between
- You drive at cruising speed with no clock: the night goes by gently, the indicator ticks, the engine hums, and there's time to read every signpost.
- Difficulty50 · in between
- Fuel is limited: one detour too many and you run dry, and you start the trip again from the departure village, about a minute. After two breakdowns you set off with a little more fuel, without the game saying so.
- Tone50 · in between
- In between: the pitch-dark night, closed roads and fog are a little worrying, but the lit villages, the soft radio and the stars at the end reassure.
- Story35 · in between
- Few words: the names of the villages, on the map and on the signs, and the name of where you're going. The story is the journey, and the sky when you arrive.
- Scale50 · in between
- A car and two headlights, but a whole region on the map, and on arrival the Milky Way above the observatory.
- Form50 · in between
- A road game you know, but seen on a road map, in the dark: you only see what the headlights light up.
- Look50 · in between
- In between: a printed map with its creases, forests and villages, darkness over it, the cone of the headlights, a few village lights, and at the end a sky full of stars.
The theme
On a new-moon night, a little car crosses a region you only see as an unfolded road map, with its creases, forests, rivers and villages. It is so dark that you only see the part of the map the headlights light up. You go from village to village, five trips through the night, to the observatory on the hill. There you switch off the engine and the lights, and the moonless sky lights up with stars. The map folds itself away, and only the Milky Way is left.
The mechanics
The car drives itself. At each crossroads you choose which road to take: tap the left or right of the screen (or the arrow keys) to move the arrow from one exit to another, and the indicator ticks. Signposts, lit by the headlights, point the way to the village you are heading for; you can also switch on the dome light (Space or the button) to see the whole map for a moment, a few times per trip. Fuel drops as you drive; pumps fill you up. Run dry and you start the trip again from its beginning. The trips change: signs blown away, roads closed, fog, then no signs at all.
Palette
The map: cream paper #efe6d0 with marked creases, yellow roads #e8b04a edged in brick #7a2a1e, sage forests #9ab87a, blue rivers #6a9ac8, grey villages; ink-black night #05060c over it; the warm beam of the headlights, amber village windows #ffc870, neon-green pumps #4ef0a0, the yellow arrow #ffd23f, and at the end the Milky Way. Barlow Condensed, like on a map. Calm, on the road, starry.
