Ark: Survival Evolved

Gameplay

Ark: Survival Evolved is an action-adventure survival game set in an open world environment that uses a first-person perspective, with the ability to use a third-person perspective in some instances. 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 48 km² (19 sq mi) in size: there is approximately 36 km² (14 sq mi) of land with 12 km² (4.6 sq mi) of ocean.

To build a base, players must gain 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. These components can 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. Creating structures out of metal make them the most durable; only titanosaurs and explosives can damage metal structures. 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 machine gun. 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.

There are sixty species of dinosaurs in the game. Dinosaurs in the game can be tamed by feeding them food after they have been rendered unconscious, or by using kibble designed especially for each species. Once a dinosaur is tamed, players can utilize the dinosaur's abilities, such as flight or fast underwater movement, as well as its statistics, such as speed, health and damage. When riding atop certain creatures, players can use their weapons. With the larger dinosaurs, other players can ride on the side with full control of their own weapons. They can also be used to carry items, and players can issue offensive and defensive commands to them; for example, a pack of Utahraptors can be assigned to defend the base, or a group of Triceratops can be ordered to attack an enemy's base. The game also features various other animals, such as the dodo, saber-toothed cat, woolly mammoth, Meganeura, Titanomyrma, and Doedicurus. Every creature in the game has living ecosystems and predator hierarchies.

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. 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.

The team added features to the game that would appeal to all players, as opposed to specifically 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 endgame 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, for Linux and OS X on July 1, 2015, and through the Xbox Game Preview Program for Xbox One on December 16, 2015; a PlayStation 4 version was released on December 6, 2016. The final game will launch in 2017; it was originally intended for release in June 2016, but was delayed in April. The game will launch with support for Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, and the Xbox One version will be released via the ID@Xbox program.

On March 16, 2016, the Survival of the Fittest game mode was released in early access as a free standalone game with no microtransactions; it was scheduled to fully launch in mid 2016, but was eventually merged back to the main game as the development team did not wish to monetize on its release, and wanted to ensure that modders can apply the development kit of Survival Evolved to create mods for Survival of the Fittest. There will be various eSports tournaments of the game mode, with a prize pool of US $50,000. Players who played Survival of the Fittest before it was merged back into the main game can continue to play the game without paying an extra cost, while new players must pay before getting access to it. It will be available for every player who purchases the main game.

On September 1, 2016, Studio Wildcard released the paid DLC Scorched Earth. The expansion includes a new, desert map as well as several desert-themed resources and items. It also features 10 new creatures, some of which are fictional, like the Wyvern. The release of paid DLC for a game still in early access caused negative reaction among players of the game, resulting in lots of negative reviews on Steam right after the expansion launch.

Reception

Within a month of its Early Access release on Steam, Ark had over 1 million sales. By August 2016, the game had over 5.5 million sales across both Windows and Xbox, with about 1.5 million from the Xbox One platform.