In ARK: Survival Evolved, all creatures eventually need to relieve themselves. However, it offers more than just oil and fertilizer …
A truly disgusting death
It’s no secret that some games take their realism a bit too far at times. But alongside hunger, thirst, and other parameters, ARK: Survival Evolved features another “feature”. As nature dictates, every creature that has ever consumed food must also eliminate it in some way.
In Ark, the unpleasant resource “feces” is integrated into the gameplay. For instance, the oversized dung beetles can extract oil from the dung, and it can also be used as fertilizer for fields.
But the excrement serves another purpose. It provides a last resort for players who have locked themselves (or others) in a room or are stuck somewhere. Those who are unarmed and lack equipment have no opportunity to escape in such cases. Well, except for one. An effective way to poison one’s character and thus to achieve a quick demise. Bon appétit, or something.
But how does one come up with the idea of integrating digestive excretions into the game?
The mechanic was conceived as an alternative to not introducing a “suicide key,” as studio co-founder Susan Strieglitz explained at GDC. That would have felt “cheap.” Once dung was included in the game, it was also utilized in the production cycle of the game.
For more news and articles about the dino game, check out our ARK: Survival Evolved topic page.
