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Since Wildcards famous “Ark: Survival Evolved” has been released it has gained much attention from the gaming elite and the average player since it’s official release in 2017. If used in the right way, video and computer games have the potential to inspire learning, and they can help players improve coordination and visual skills. According to Science News for Students “Kids diagnosed with ADHD because they can’t pay attention will play games for 9 straight hours on the computer,” Gee says. “The game focuses attention in a way that school doesn’t.”
When I first started playing Ark I was interested in its story. Initially I thought it was a game about cavemen in the Jurassic era, but soon discovered things that simply wouldn’t fit in this genre from unnatural Dino’s to straight up robotic armor. After learning about the explorer notes I was immediately interested and fixated on learning the lore of Ark because there is no single player or story mode; experiencing this lore is completely up to the player. Wildcard doesn’t forget those who are willing to discover the story because they have created the Ark community with great craft and anything that answers any survivors’ questions.
The Basics of Ark
Ark starts out with you on an Island where you have to build, gather, tame, kill, and craft. First, when you wake up you have a stone implanted into your wrist. You usually wake up on a beach next to a forest depending on where you spawn. Subsequently your character is faced with challenges to keep yourself alive such as keeping track of health. If the bar goes empty you’re dead and if it gets really low you will be injured: you can’t run, jump, and are very slow.
Thirst and hunger are important aspects to the game. If either gets low you will be starving or dehydrated causing you to lose health. Weight is also important as it allows you to carry many more things which will increase your survival. Don’t carry too much junk though because you will get encumbered and won’t be able to move or walk slowly. Stamina is also very important if it gets down all the way. You can’t run, can’t jump, and when you replenish your stamina you need to walk or stand still. Replenishing your stamina takes away from your food and water.
Navigation during Ark Gameplay
Head over to the bushes and you’ll be able to gather plant fiber, seeds, and many varieties of berries. If you want to be able to collect rocks you need to find small ones on the ground and pick them up to add to your inventory but they are heavy. When looking for wood at thatch you have to punch trees which will damage you but until you have the necessary resources to craft tools you need to continue to punch them. If you find big rocks and you have a pick axe you are able to hit it and get flint. There are many varieties of rocks; basic rocks, river rocks, metal rocks, and crystal.
Ark Essentials
Crafting is very important. Without it you would be dead on day one. If you have enough plant fiber you are able to weave it into cloth shirts, pants, and hats. To get boots and gloves you will need to hunt, kill, and harvest an animal for its hide. You can also make beds and hide armor with enough hide, but if you have trees that’s a different story, let’s get on with that!
Trees provide wood and thatch. If you collect plant fiber, some wood logs, and a lot of thatch you can make a thatch house. But there are better houses to come along the way. The Ark’s provide many resources and different resources (maps may differ) but not only are there thatch houses there’s also wood, stone, metal, and straight up Robotic alien fortresses! Don’t think I forgot about the armor; there’s cloth, hide, wool/pelt/fur, flak, riot, and a superpowers robotic alien suit! Weapons can come from a wooden spear and a boomerang to firearms, explosives, and alien rifles. There are also various items and storage units, therefore decorations.
Be Wary of Predators
When you spawn into this new world you will probably see the almighty, terrorizing, dodo – yup a dodo – these things are completely harmless (they’re not later on!) and they’re a great source for meat, hide, poultry, and deaths if you’re on the Ark Primitive++ DLC. Another thing is the Dilophosaurus known for terrorizing beginners. In the game they shoot acid which will blind you and make you slow. One way to counteract this is by being hasty and jumping and keeping distance until you can absolutely massacre it with a spear. The Raptor the apex predator in the forest, known in the ark community as the most annoying dinosaur to exist for its pounce which stuns you while it shreds you to pieces; they jump, bite, slash, pounce, and travel in packs.
Research Shows Benefits of Playing Ark
There are many benefits to playing a game like Ark. Information from University of Arkansas News says “Researchers observed that in the initial assessment, the expert gamers had more brain activity associated with attention than the non-experts. The experts also scored better on the initial visual selective attention assessment.
After the hour long video game session, both the experts and non-experts had improved visual selective attention, and the two groups received similar scores on the post-game assessment. The non-experts also showed changes in brain activity, according to the EEG data. After the gaming session, their brain activity was similar to that of the experts.”
Join the Community
There are so many options while playing Ark but if you haven’t played before I would give it a try with an open world experience hopefully you have fun! You can purchase on Amazon for the PlayStation 4, XBox, and PC. The variety of possibilities within the game provide for many hours of learning about dinosaurs, using skills as an artist to create, and if you join in with friends you can have a whole community to bond with while playing the game.
Joshua “Twwakie” Maloney is a popular Youtuber and gamer. You can find him on Twitter @Twwakie or subscribe to his YouTube page at Twwakian Productions for informational and entertaining gaming videos.