Desert Bus is a computer game classic and fans will be happy to hear that the iconic game is likely to be relaunched soon. It was originally planned as part of Penn and Teller’s mid-1990s Smoke and Mirror series consisting of six in partly unreleased prank computer games. While some of them, for instance, were provided with a mechanism that would always allow player one to win or which would make the player believe that his TV just died, Desert Bus was all about boredom. It is still widely regarded as one of the most uneventful video games of all time.
The game is about driving a bus from Tucson, Arizona all the way to Las Vegas, Nevada. Since it is conceived as a real-time adventure, the ride takes exactly eight hours. A top speed of 45 mph cannot be exceeded. The game is not provided with a soundtrack and does not include scenery except for the odd rock here and there. The road is straight and there are no obstacles in the way. About five hours into the trip, an insect splatters itself on the windscreen, but that’s about it. Since the bus is slightly veering to the right, however, the player has to be concentrated throughout the whole journey, making sure that the vehicle never leaves the road. That being said, it should also be mentioned, that the game cannot be paused. Should the player fail in keeping the bus on the right track, the bus is towed back to Tucson – in real-time as well. Should the player be successful, however, and able to get the bus safely to its final destination, he will be awarded one point and will have the option to start the return trip.
Ever since its first release, the game acquired a cult following with several players managing to reach 99 points – the maximum score – after a total playing time of 33 days. In 2011, Desert Bus was rebooted for iOS and Android but no longer as a prank game. Instead, it was used to collect money for charity by streaming Desert Bus gaming marathons online. Only recently, the game’s creators declared that a new and improved release of the game is in the works which is supposed to be developed for Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. The working title, as it stands at the moment, is “Desert Bus 1.0003”.
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