MeinMMO spoke with Nekatus at gamescom 2024. He is a modder for the survival game ARK and provided us with some insights into his life and profession.
Whether it’s ARK: Survival Evolved or the UE5 successor ARK: Survival Ascended, mods play a crucial role in Studio Wildcard’s dino adventure. For years, the highly active mod community of the game has been diligently designing new content for the survival hit, ensuring that there’s something suitable for every player. The selection ranges from new creatures to quality-of-life improvements to extravagant building structures for your base.
New maps are also being created by diligent members of the community. The German modder Nekatus has earned a special reputation among the player base with his creations. He has made maps like Fjördur and Valguero, and his latest work Svartalfheim is already playable.
Each map designed by Nekatus has one thing in common: players love them, and they are downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. Some of his maps are even officially adopted by the game’s developers and added cross-platform to the game.
MeinMMO’s community manager Marylin Marx spoke with Nekatus at gamescom 2024 and gained some insights into the life of the full-time modder.
From WoW to ARK: How Nekatus became a Modder for Dino Worlds
In the interview, Nekatus shares that he began his modding career at a young age. However, it wasn’t with a survival game, but actually with the MMORPG World of Warcraft. Only years later did he casually land in ARK and realize that he could also express his creativity there:
„I had already modded WoW a little back then, but I was like 12 or 13. It wasn’t that serious yet. I’ve always enjoyed creating something, making new maps and stuff, and then I realized that it was also possible in ARK.”
Now, Nekatus works full-time as a modder for the German server provider Nitrado. He mentions that the company allows him to design his maps. For this, he sometimes works up to 14 hours a day.
„So I have days where I accomplish less and days where I work extremely hard and long, and then do something for 12 to 14 hours. Basically, it’s a 24/7 job because I’m always thinking about work; it’s like gaming for me. And I’m doing it full-time now, so I’m at it all day anyway.”
Nekatus works on a single map for about 2-3 years, he reveals to us. He spent three and a half years on the Viking world Fjördur. For the predecessor Valguero, it took him about 2 years. However, he is particularly proud of the map he is currently working on: „This is already, I would say, the best of my maps,” he tells us.
He himself learned the most when he worked with the developers of ARK. He then also received tips on what he could do differently in the future.
ASA or ASE, Nekatus has a clear favorite
With ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA), the dino adventure received a new coat of paint in Unreal Engine 5 in 2023. Even before the release, the developers of the Steam hit received a lot of criticism from the community regarding the funding policy of the survival game. After the release, there were complaints about bugs and performance. Nevertheless, Nekatus has a clear opinion about which game is better:
„Definitely Ascended, simply because it has a newer engine and the mod support is better. But even aside from these two points, ASA is now the better game, I think.”
Nekatus would also recommend ARK: Survival Ascended to new players, as long as their PC’s performance is sufficient. He himself will still design mods for ASA, even when ARK 2 is out. That appeals to him personally less: „ARK 2 will head more towards Soulslike, and that’s not really my genre. So I prefer to stick with the regular survival sandbox.”
For the future of ARK, he also wishes for a more open communication from the developers and adherence to release dates. This has been a topic in ARK for a long time and is well known to every active player: ARK 2: Release, trailer, gameplay – What we know so far
His new map is called Astraeos and is inspired by ancient Greece and its mythology. Nekatus already knows what boss enemies will await you there, but that will remain a secret for now.
The Right Inspiration and an Eye for Aesthetics
In designing Astraeos, a popular title from Ubisoft played a significant role for Nekatus: „I have been playing Assassin’s Creed since childhood,” Nekatus reveals and adds: „I take a lot from the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ parts.”
A special inspiration was of course AC Odyssey, but also the now over 20-year-old strategy game “Age of Mythology,” for which a remake is set to be released in September 2024.
In general, Nekatus plays games or watches movies and documentaries in the respective setting when researching for a new map. Designing a map involves not only creating the landscape but also doing research.
According to Nekatus, it also requires an eye for aesthetics and naturalness. Additionally, good English skills and spatial awareness are important. If you want to start modding, Nekatus has a special tip for you:
„Start small. So don’t start directly with the biggest map. Many do that; I think I did that back then too, and that was a mistake. So definitely start small first and learn the techniques.”
He himself learned the most when he worked with the developers of ARK. He then also received tips on what he could do differently in the future.
ASA or ASE, Nekatus has a clear favorite
With ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA), the dino adventure received a new coat of paint in Unreal Engine 5 in 2023. Even before the release, the developers of the Steam hit received a lot of criticism from the community regarding the funding policy of the survival game. After the release, there were complaints about bugs and performance. Nevertheless, Nekatus has a clear opinion about which game is better:
„Definitely Ascended, simply because it has a newer engine and the mod support is better. But even aside from these two points, ASA is now the better game, I think.”
Nekatus would also recommend ARK: Survival Ascended to new players, as long as their PC’s performance is sufficient. He himself will still design mods for ASA, even when ARK 2 is out. That appeals to him personally less: „ARK 2 will head more towards Soulslike, and that’s not really my genre. So I prefer to stick with the regular survival sandbox.”
For the future of ARK, he also wishes for a more open communication from the developers and adherence to release dates. This has been a topic in ARK for a long time and is well known to every active player: ARK 2: Release, trailer, gameplay – What we know so far
