P.A.C.E — Pursuit Across Europe
- Brand
- BMW
- Year
- 2007
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Automotive
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Artificial Rome
Objective
BMW wanted a communication channel outside traditional car advertising to reach a younger audience and pull them into the brand's world. The game let players experience new BMW technology — brake-energy recuperation, electric power steering — firsthand rather than hear about it in a commercial.
Solution
Players pick one of three BMW models — a 1 Series, a Z4 M Coupé, or an X5 — and drive a 15-mission chase across Europe, starting in Lisbon and ending in Prague with stops in Paris and Berlin. Between missions, hand-drawn noir-style cutscenes play out and blend seamlessly into the next driving sequence, since the whole game world is rendered as black-and-white watercolor illustration over 3D geometry. Credits earned on the road go into a garage where players upgrade their car before the next leg. The first mission is open to anyone; finishing it prompts registration to unlock the rest, track replays and camera angles, and compete on a leaderboard or against other players in multiplayer.
- 1
The game opens as a browser microsite where the player is invited to hop in and start driving immediately; the first stage is playable with no registration required.
- 2
An animated cutscene sets up a noir-style pursuit story with voiceover and music, then cuts directly into gameplay with no loading screen — cutscenes and driving share the same hand-drawn black-and-white world, so the transition is seamless.
- 3
The core loop is an arcade race: using arrow keys to steer, accelerate and reverse, space for the handbrake, and ctrl to boost, the player races against rival drivers through winding city streets to reach the finish first. Routes include obstacles demanding careful speed control, such as a collapsed bridge, and hidden shortcuts, such as a breakable billboard.
- 4
While racing, the player passes recognizable city landmarks and is shown off BMW technology features, such as regenerative braking and electric power steering, worked into the drive. The player can switch between a central camera, an in-car view, and a replay mode to watch back a run.
- 5
Completed missions earn credits, which the player spends in a garage to upgrade their car or to switch between three available BMW models — the 1 Series hatchback, the Z4 M Coupé, and the X5.
- 6
Progress beyond the first mission is gated behind registration: creating an account is required to unlock further levels, upgrade the car further, and save progress.
- 7
The campaign runs across 15 missions along a route from Lisbon through Paris and Berlin to Prague, with new legs unlocked over time, and cutscenes advancing the detective-noir storyline between each race.
- 8
Finished races post times to a per-stage leaderboard, and the game includes a multiplayer mode letting players race against each other instead of only against AI opponents.
