JUST DRIVE
A meditative driving experience built in Unity with a physics-driven vehicle controller, manual transmission, rebindable input system, and a procedural cosmic environment.
Overview
Just Drive is a deliberately meditative driving experience — not a racing game, but a calm, immersive space where the act of driving is the entire point. Built in Unity with C#, the project pairs a realistic vehicle simulation with a surreal cosmic environment designed to feel peaceful and contemplative.
Vehicle Physics
The core of the project is a physics-driven vehicle controller featuring:
- Manual transmission with clutch engagement and gear shifting
- Engine braking that responds to gear state and throttle
- Interconnected steering, acceleration, and braking systems that feel cohesive and responsive
- Drivetrain behavior including gear transitions and clutch state
The vehicle gameplay logic handles drivetrain behavior, steering response, acceleration, braking, gear transitions, and player control — all tuned to feel satisfying at low speeds in a non-competitive context.
Input Architecture
A fully rebindable input architecture was built using Unity's Input System, supporting:
- Runtime control remapping
- Persistent bindings saved across sessions
- Seamless transitions between gameplay and UI input states
This ensures players can customize their controls to their preference, whether using keyboard, gamepad, or steering wheel peripherals.
Environment & Atmosphere
The driving experience takes place in a procedural cosmic environment built with Unity particle systems and VFX. The environment is intentionally abstract — stars, nebulae, and cosmic particles surround the road, creating an atmosphere that supports the meditative design intent rather than competing with it.
UI & Game Flow
Gameplay UI and menu systems were developed with responsive input handling and clean state transitions across the driving experience, including a HUD, menu flow, and settings screens.