---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-driving-cars
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-driving-cars
lang: en
title: Driving cars
summary: The player controls a road vehicle's movement.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-driving-cars/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-driving-cars.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-driving-cars.md
aliases:
  - Drive a car
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Vehicles
sourceIds:
  - source-469864073b2ab0bd
  - source-207afdbadd85001b
  - source-4022987d6a728bcb
  - source-fb7894f45cfef69a
sources:
  - id: source-469864073b2ab0bd
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Driving cars'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-207afdbadd85001b
    title: 'Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999)'
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars/game/tomb-raider-the-last-revelation
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-4022987d6a728bcb
    title: Far Cry 3 (2012)
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars/game/far-cry-3'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-fb7894f45cfef69a
    title: 'Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)'
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars/game/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-driving-cars
    title: Game design techniques
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-driving-cars'
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-vehicles
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Drive a car
    description: The player controls a road vehicle's movement.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/world-driving-cars.webp
      width: 900
      height: 506
      game: Far Cry 3
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/far-cry-3-jeep.png'
      credit: Ubisoft Montréal; image via GameMechanics.org
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host:
        GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights
        reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: An interior view of a coastal road
      alt: 'Far Cry 3: An interior view of a coastal road.'
      markers:
        - x: 52
          'y': 85
          label: Hand on the wheel in the interior view
        - x: 66
          'y': 64
          label: The road establishes the driving direction
    tips:
      - 'Balance visibility, speed and readability of approaching turns.'
    examples:
      - title: Far Cry 3
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages
  checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by
  gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference
  URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film
  analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are
  upstream attributions, not independent verification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/game-mechanics
---
# Driving cars

id: game-mechanics--gm-driving-cars
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-driving-cars
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-driving-cars/

The player controls a road vehicle's movement.

## At a glance

![Far Cry 3: An interior view of a coastal road.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/world-driving-cars.webp)

[Far Cry 3](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Hand on the wheel in the interior view
2. The road establishes the driving direction

- Balance visibility, speed and readability of approaching turns.

- [Far Cry 3](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars)

## How it works

The player controls a road vehicle's movement.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-driving-cars-rule"></a>

- The player controls a road vehicle's movement. <a id="gm-driving-cars-definition"></a>

## Context and limits

All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.

- [Game Mechanics: Driving cars](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars) (id: source-469864073b2ab0bd)
- [Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars/game/tomb-raider-the-last-revelation) (id: source-207afdbadd85001b)
- [Far Cry 3 (2012)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars/game/far-cry-3) (id: source-4022987d6a728bcb)
- [Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/driving-cars/game/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain) (id: source-fb7894f45cfef69a)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors