Ark: Survival Evolved
Ark: Survival Evolved is a 2017 action-adventure survival video game developed by Studio Wildcard. In the game, players must survive being stranded on one of several maps filled with roaming dinosaurs, fictional fantasy monsters, and other prehistoric animals, natural hazards, and potentially hostile human players.
The game is played from either a third-person or first-person perspective and its open world is navigated by foot or by riding a prehistoric animal. Players can use firearms and improvised weapons to defend against hostile humans and creatures, with the ability to build bases as a defence on the ground and on some creatures. The game has both single-player and multiplayer options. Multiplayer allows the option to form tribes of players in a server. The max number of tribe mates varies from each server. In this mode, all tamed dinosaurs and building structures are usually shared between the members. There is a PvE mode where players cannot fight each other unless a specific war event agreed upon by both parties is triggered.
Development began in October 2014, when it was first released on PC as an early access title in the middle of 2015. The development team conducted research into the physical appearance of the animals but took a creative license for gameplay purposes. Instinct Games, Effecto Studios, and Virtual Basement were hired to facilitate the game's development. The game was officially released in August 2017 for Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, with versions for Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch in 2018, a version for Stadia in 2021, and a second, separate Nintendo Switch version in 2022.
Ark: Survival Evolved received generally mixed reviews, with criticism for its level of difficulty, repetitive gameplay design, and "bloated" level of content. The initial Nintendo Switch version was panned for its graphics and performance issues. Several expansions to the game have been released as downloadable content.
Ark: Survival Evolved spawned two spin-off games in partnership with Snail Games—virtual reality game Ark Park and sandbox survival game PixArk. A sequel, Ark 2, was announced in December 2020. In 2023, a remaster, Ark: Survival Ascended, was released in early access for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Gameplay
Ark: Survival Evolved is an action-adventure survival game set in an open world environment with a dynamic day-night cycle and played either from a third-person or first-person perspective. To survive, players must establish a base, with a fire and weapons; additional activities, such as taming and feeding dinosaurs, require more resources. The game's world, known as the "Ark", is approximately in size: there is approximately of land with of ocean.There are currently 194 creatures that populate the world of Ark. In the early versions of the game, nearly all creatures were real dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, but as the storyline progressed, mythical creatures such as the wyvern, griffin, golem, and phoenix were added. As expansions were released, completely original creatures, such as the Karkinos and the Velonasaur, also made their way into the game, as well as original robotic creatures such as the Enforcer and Scout.
One of the primary game mechanics of the game is taming creatures. The majority of creatures can be tamed by the player, though some such as Meganeura, Trilobites or Titanomyrma cannot. The taming method varies from creature to creature. Most creatures are a "knock out" tame, meaning the players must knock the creature out using tranquilizers or by using blunt weapons, such as a club. Oftentimes players will need to keep the dinosaur sedated for the duration of the tame. Some dinosaurs take longer than others to tame, therefore require more narcotics. Once knocked out, the player must feed the creature their preferred food, such as berries for herbivores or meat for carnivores. Some creatures, such as Moschops, can also be tamed passively by approaching them and giving them food. Certain other creatures, such as the Carcharodontosaurus, Oasisaur and Megaraptor must be tamed via mini-games that do not involve sedation or passive feeding.Once a creature is tamed, it will follow the commands of the player who tamed them. Many creatures can be used as a means of transportation and therefore allow the player to traverse the map easily. When riding atop certain creatures, players may still be able to use weapons. They can also be used to carry items, and players can issue a wide range of offensive and defensive commands to them. Some of the larger creatures, such as a Brontosaurus or Mosasaurus, can have a building platform placed on their back, giving players a small mobile base. The game also features various other non-dinosaur animals, such as the dodo, saber-toothed tiger, woolly mammoth, Meganeura, ichthyosaur and Doedicurus. Every creature in the game lives in its own ecosystems within defined predator hierarchies. Many fictional creatures also exist on the map, including Griffin
Players must keep track of various meters, such as health, stamina, oxygen, hunger, thirst, and "weight", or how much they can carry. Should players take damage, their health meter will gradually regenerate if they have consumed the necessary food, or if they craft items that regenerate the health meter at a faster pace. Otherwise, a player's health meter will gradually regenerate slowly over time. Players can gain experience through harvesting materials, crafting, killing, or discovering explorer notes. Once the player has obtained enough experience, they will gain a level point, which can be spent improving one of the player's stats, which include max health, max stamina, max oxygen, max food meter, max water meter, max carry weight, melee damage, movement speed, and crafting skill. As of April 2023, the maximum player level is 105, an additional 75 levels to be gained by defeating end-game bosses, 5 acquired by leveling up a chibi, and 10 extra levels through obtaining all of the explorer notes throughout the base game and all the DLC and 10 extra levels by getting all the runes found on the custom ark Fjordur. Tamed creatures can also gain experience and level points, which can be spent on similar stats. Creatures spawn into the game at levels ranging from 1 to 150, and, when tamed, can gain up to 75 more levels by gaining experience. There are also dinosaurs that can be tamed at a higher level, the tek dinosaurs. These spawn at a maximum level of 180. There are specific varieties of creatures, for instance, the Rock Drake, or the Wyvern variants, which are able to spawn up to level 190, but they are untameable in the wild, and instead must be hatched from their respective egg.
Players can build structures throughout the world. To build a base, players must acquire structure components—such as floors, doors, and windows built with the resources littered throughout the world—which are earned as they progress and gain levels, then collect the necessary materials to make them. These components can then be crafted and placed in the world. Players can create any structure, as long as they have the logistics and resources; the structural integrity of the building is compromised when the pillars and foundations are destroyed. Structures can be built from various tiers of materials, with better tiers providing more protection, but costing more resources to create. Players start out by creating thatch structures, then moving on to wood, stone, metal, and finally tek, a futuristic and late-game material. There are also glass structures that can be used to gain a greenhouse effect on plants grown inside. Adobe structures block heat from outside for an ideal temperature in the building. Players can also craft items in the game, such as weapons, by collecting the resources and technology required for crafting. In addition, players can craft and attach accessories to their weapons, such as a scope or flashlight for a pistol or assault rifle.
Development
Preliminary work on Ark: Survival Evolved began in October 2014. Studio Wildcard, the Seattle-based team behind the game, co-opted Egypt-based developer Instinct Games to facilitate development; Effecto Studios and Virtual Basement later assisted development. When researching for information about the game's prehistoric species, the development team read "general audience books" and online articles, and sought assistance from friends who studied in the fields in biological sciences. When creating the species and world, the team took creative license for gameplay purposes, although there is an in-game reason that the species have diverged from their historical counterparts. Many of the development team members were inspired by dinosaur films such as Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time.The team added features to the game that would appeal to all players, as opposed to specific players of the survival genre, such as the ability to simply explore the island and compete against large bosses, as a reward for uncovering secrets of the island. They also added an end-game for players to strive towards, as they felt that most survival games lack a final goal. They wanted to "provide a depth and scope that allows for the world to not just be a means to an end but also a place to explore", said creative director Jesse Rapczak.
The game, powered by Unreal Engine 4, contains "tens of thousands" of artificial intelligence entities, according to Rapczak. It also features support for virtual reality gameplay; Rapczak, who has almost three years of experience with head-mounted displays, described the game as being designed with VR in mind from the beginning.
The game was initially released through Steam Early Access for Microsoft Windows on June 2, 2015, shortly before the theatrical release of Jurassic World later that month. Rapczak said that the game's release was scheduled to take advantage of the "dino fever" that was present with the film's imminent release. The game subsequently received an Early Access release for Linux and OS X on July 1, 2015, and through the Xbox Game Preview Program for Xbox One on December 16, 2015; Initially Sony was not going to allow a PlayStation 4 release due to the lack of any type of early access program on the console, however a PS4 version was eventually released on December 6, 2016. The final game launched on August 29, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One; it was originally intended for release in June 2016, but was delayed in April. The game launched with support for Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, and the Xbox One version was released via the ID@Xbox program. The standard version was released alongside an "Explorer's Edition", which included a season pass with three expansions, and the "Collector's Edition", which included a season pass as well as, a necklace, a map, a notebook, a development team poster, a wooden chest packaging, and the game's official soundtrack. Android and iOS versions were released on June 14, 2018, and a Nintendo Switch version was released on November 30, 2018. A Stadia version was announced by Google in October 2020, originally scheduled for release in early 2021; it was released on September 1. An enhanced version of the game was accessible on Xbox Series X and Series S, featuring increased details, resolution, and draw distance. Following the poor reception of the original Nintendo Switch release, Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition was announced as a new port rebuilt from the ground up, developed by Grove Street Games. It was initially planned for release in September 2022, but was delayed to November 1, 2022. A free upgrade was available for existing owners of the Nintendo Switch version.
On April 1, 2023, Studio Wildcard announced a remaster titled Survival Ascended to be released in August 2023, however this release window was then delayed until October 2023. Survival Evolveds official servers were set to be shut down at the same time, with the shutdown date being delayed until September 30, 2023, when Survival Ascendeds release window was pushed back. Unlike previously stated by the studio co-founder, the remaster would not be a free upgrade. Survival Ascended was eventually released in early access for Windows on October 25, 2023, Xbox Series X/S on November 21, 2023, and PlayStation 5 on November 30, 2023.