Driver
1999 · Action / Racing · PlayStation
Overview
Driver was a third-person driving game set in four American cities — Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York — in which undercover cop John Tanner completed mission objectives while evading police pursuit. The film-style presentation — a replay mode called Director that showed missions from cinematic angles — and the extended police chase sequences made it a defining PlayStation action game.
Deep Dive
Driver was developed by Reflections Interactive, who had made the Destruction Derby games. The game's physics simulation — each car handled differently based on weight and engine characteristics — was more sophisticated than any previous console driving game. The Director mode, which replayed completed missions from configurable camera angles, allowed players to create their own film-style edits of completed objectives. The game sold over 3.5 million copies and established a franchise.
Developer Story
Driver was developed by Reflections Interactive in Newcastle, England, and took approximately two years to produce. The game's driving physics were developed from the team's experience with Destruction Derby, adapted for mission-based gameplay rather than demolition. The game launched in June 1999.
Did You Know?
- Driver's opening test — requiring players to perform specific manoeuvres in a parking garage before the game begins — was so difficult that many players never progressed past it.
- The game's Director mode — replaying completed missions from configurable camera angles — was designed after the development team noticed that police chase footage always looked more dramatic from outside the car.
- Driver's city environments — Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York — were modelled on their real-world counterparts using aerial photography and street mapping data.
- Reflections Interactive used the Driver engine to subsequently produce Stuntman, a game focused on film stunt driving — demonstrating that the physics simulation was versatile enough for different game concepts.