The game where you drive a bus for 8 hours is Desert Bus.
Understanding Desert Bus
Desert Bus is an infamous video game segment known for its incredibly long, monotonous, and realistic simulated drive. It gained notoriety for its unique premise and challenging, yet deliberately boring, gameplay. This game was originally created as part of an unreleased video game compilation called Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors.
The Infamous Eight-Hour Drive
The core of Desert Bus lies in its real-time, eight-hour journey. Players are tasked with driving a bus along a single, straight road from Tucson, Arizona, to Las Vegas, Nevada. The game is designed to be a test of endurance and patience, as the drive simulates the actual time it would take to complete such a journey in a bus at 45 miles per hour, without the benefit of a pause button.
Gameplay and Route Details
The gameplay is starkly minimalist and challenges the player's ability to maintain focus. Key aspects include:
- Monotonous Scenery: The road itself is straight and empty, with the surrounding environment consisting only of dead trees and bushes. There are no other vehicles or dynamic elements to break the monotony.
- Constant Attention Required: Despite the simplicity, players cannot simply tape down the accelerator. The bus subtly veers to the right, requiring constant, slight corrections to stay on the road. If the bus drifts off the road, it will get stuck in the sand and require a tow back to the starting point, effectively resetting the eight-hour timer.
- The Reward: Upon successfully completing the eight-hour drive to Las Vegas, the player earns a single point. They then have the option to drive the bus back to Tucson to earn another point, embarking on yet another eight-hour journey.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Game Title | Desert Bus |
| Original Release | Part of Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors (unreleased) |
| Drive Duration | 8 hours (real-time, one-way) |
| Route | Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Gameplay Objective | Drive a bus without veering off the road |
| Environment | Straight, empty road, dead trees, bushes |
| Traffic | None |
| Points Awarded | 1 point per completed one-way trip |
Desert Bus is often cited as a prime example of a "boring" game, but its intentional design serves as a commentary on the realism and tedium that can be found in simulation games, or perhaps as an anti-game statement by its creators.
