ARK: Survival Evolved is a sandbox game and therefore places the freedoms of players at its core. However, some fans believe that the new Steam achievements do not do this justice.
Achievements are a motivation for many players to master the challenges presented to them. Achievements also allow players to showcase what they have already accomplished in the game.
Now, new achievements have been introduced in the PC version of the dino online game ARK. These range from “Tame a dinosaur” to “Ride on a T-Rex” to “Defeat the Guardians of Ark”. You can view a complete list of all achievements in ARK Survival Evolved on the Steam website.
ARK’s achievements don’t quite fit the game
Many players are not thrilled with these Ark achievements. They seem somewhat uninspired and do not do the game justice. The US site Kotaku addresses these concerns in an article.
ARK is a sandbox. And in a sandbox, the things that are not scripted or obvious should be rewarded: Having defeated a dino with a rolling stone, achieving something in a particularly creative way, or using physics and the environment to do something spectacular that no one has done before.
That is precisely what makes a sandbox appealing. It’s not about doing what the developers dictate like in a theme park or a rail shooter, but about doing something of your own. Something unexpected that simply arises from a situation, the gameplay, and the game world.
“Get all artifacts” is nice, but that’s about it. It’s something that anyone can essentially do because it’s just a predefined situation. There are X artifacts that you can get all of. It may be exhausting to obtain them, but is that really a special achievement in a sandbox game?
Unusual actions should be rewarded
Achievements that reward the player in a different way, for example, if they were particularly brave or if they achieved something that is not obvious – such as surviving a week at sea without coming to land – would suit ARK Survival Evolved better and support the sandbox aspect.
For it is precisely this aspect that defines the appeal of the game. And with sandbox-specific achievements, players could be encouraged to try unusual things. That is what the game thrives on. It should promote players’ creativity.
What do you think? Do you like the new Steam achievements from Ark or did you expect more?
You love dinos and have always wanted to face them, tame them, and even ride them? Then ARK: Survival Evolved could be your game. Here you explore a wild world ...
