Ark: Survivor Evolved is pretty popular. But then again, adding dinosaurs to a survival game was hardly ever going to be a disaster. For Patreon backers, Gregg Dodd talks about how sandbox games despite being around for a while and yet Ark is one of the first to have all the hallmarks of a classic MMO. We've pulled out the opening extract from the article below and if you'd like to carry on reading it, head on over to our Patreon: it costs as little as $1 per month to support us! 

Survival sandbox games have been around a while, but only really began to hit their stride when Minecraft came streaking onto the scene. Immediately players were hooked on deceivingly simplistic gameplay that allowed you to build your own virtual world and even share it with your friends.

At this stage survival/ sandbox games had little to nothing in common with MMO’s. There was no levelling, PvP, or stat modifying armor to think about. As the genre began to flood with new titles more and more MMO staples began to make their way into survival/ sandbox titles, drawing more and more players to them in the process. The merger was a match made in heaven, with some of the most popular games on the steam store being of the genre and new ones being developed every day.

Ark: Survival Evolved is the latest Survival game to hit the market and it’s already gathering a mass of players who are quickly hooked on its unique dinosaur laden take on the genre. It’s also one of the first to have almost all of the trademarks of a classic MMO up to and including end game PvE content. We take a look at what MMO elements the game uses and how they work so effectively below!

Levelling and Progression

A must have in MMO’s since the beginning, the addition to Ark works perfectly. After all what’s there to do in a survival game when you’re not surviving? Why not thriving! Levelling up gives players a better life by making them more powerful and in Ark’s case, unlocking new engrams that will make your stay on the island much less difficult, and almost downright luxurious.

Survive long enough and you eventually reach a level where it’s not the surviving that’s the main source of the gameplay, it’s making your life as fancy as possible and taking on the most powerful creatures the island has to offer. Or griefing low level players of course.

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