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Now that Double Fine is out from under Microsoft’s banner, one of its first independent projects is a brief rogue-like driving game called Thank You Bus Driver. In many ways, from the quirkiness to the humor, it feels like exactly what you’d expect from the developer. However, perhaps because it is a project thrown together and a quick game relying on certain gameplay elements, it can also feel like it’s relying heavily on its gimmicks to garner attention and artificially inflict tension and stress on a player.
Thank You Bus Driver puts all players behind the wheel as they get people around town to different stops as quickly as possible. But part of the key is also doing so pleasantly too. That means keeping an eye on the rules for the day by watching not only the road in front of you and checking the map for directions to the next stop on your route, but also listening for the passenger guidelines from the announcement speaker and that appear on the map once they’re established. If you prove yourself, you might also unlock elements like a new assignment that puts you on the night shift.
The first gimmick in Thank You Bus Driver is the driving simulation element as you ferry people around town in the game. When you head out on your run for the day, you’ll see where you’re supposed to go on the right side of your dashboard. There’s no GPS, the roads are winding, and time is ticking down. To get to your destination, you actually need to pull up a paper map that covers most of the screen. (That includes the rearview mirror used to monitor passengers!) So the first thing on your plate adding tension to the experience is actually navigating a bus around odd streets and potentially tight corners with the added friction of needing to memorize which turns to take and obscured vision.
The second element is passenger monitoring. You start with a handful of rules, like no taking phone calls while you’re on the bus or don’t clip your toenails while you’re riding. If you catch someone breaking a rule in the rearview, and some passengers will be stubborn and repeat offenders, you need to turn around to reach back and smack sense into them. So you can’t just watch the road, keep track of turns and map directions, and keep moving. You have to keep an eye on restrictions and ensure people aren’t doing stuff like eating or being stinky. Again, it’s another element of stress stacked on, especially if a character design might make it difficult to tell if someone is, say, sleeping.
Finally, the timing element is the critical and perhaps killer part. You only get a certain amount of time to play. When you get to a stop, you’ll be told you “earn” 35 seconds per stop. But if you’re keeping up with monitoring behavior, then when people get off the bus they’ll be more thankful. Which gets you more time. And the Thank-o-Meter is another gauge you need to monitor alongside your timer next to the wheel and next stop. More gimmicks!
There’s a lot going on in Thank You Bus Driver, due to the number of gimmicks and elements to monitor in the Double Fine game. It can add up! This can make for a bit of a stressful drive. But it also happens to be a rather short game in general, with quick runs that probably won’t go longer than 10-20 minutes if you’re doing well.
Thank You Bus Driver is available on PCs.
