14 DAY TRIAL // We had the opportunity to interview Jesse Rapczak, co-director and co-founder at Studio Wildcard, and we found out about the future of ARK: Survival Evolved and the way the team is aiming to make it a staple of the eSports scene.
Softpedia: Could you first explain the concept behind the Survival of the Fittest concept for ARK: Survival Evolved in a nutshell?
Jesse Rapczak: Survival of the Fittest is like The Hunger Games with Dinosaurs.
Softpedia: What inspired the experience, which blends both cooperation between players with competition between groups?
Jesse Rapczak: We wanted to create an experience that would be very difficult to win without cooperation between team members. This is essential to a good e-sport title because no one wants to watch a bunch of solo players going 1:1 in a map. ARK has the right mechanics to support this since many things in the game must be done with a team to achieve them efficiently. This leads to lots of drama, exciting moments, and unexpected turns beyond what happens in other e-Sports games.
Softpedia: What are the features that make Survival of the Fittest a good fit for the eSports scene?
Jesse Rapczak: Survival of the Fittest is a true sandbox survival competition. There are no rules, only game mechanics. This means there is no guaranteed winning strategy due to randomized events that make every match different. Matches can be very exciting for non-players as the drama unfolds on screen!
Softpedia: What kind of innovative elements does the development team plan to introduce in order to make the experience more attractive than some of its competitors?
Jesse Rapczak: We are planning to devote an entire team to making the audience experience a premium one. This includes better observer tools, replays, leaderboards, tournament Brackets and a variety of additional ways that non-players can engage with the game. We also want audience members to be able to directly support their favorite teams and players in unique ways. More on this later!
Softpedia: Do you believe that eSports can compete with already established real world sports in the long-term, can they be more than temporary attractions?
Jesse Rapczak: Definitely. eSports is not a passing fad and is starting to hit the mainstream around the world.
Softpedia: What are the plans for future events linked to Survival of the Fittest?
Jesse Rapczak: The Last Stand is our last official competition for awhile. We will regroup our team and work for a few months on polishing up the game mode and adding some of the features I talked about earlier. In the meantime, we will be supporting other groups who want to expand and run their own SotF tournaments around the world.
Softpedia: Are there plans to focus exclusively on the development of the game as an eSport or will the new mode co-exist with the initial experience?
Jesse Rapczak: For now they will co-exist, but we will have a team devoted exclusively to the development of the game as a stand-alone mode. This makes it easier for us to do all of the things I talked about earlier.
Softpedia: Are there plans to offer a full version of the game for coming virtual reality platforms?
Jesse Rapczak: We have an early version of VR support in the game already and plan to polish up our implementation significantly for our final launch.
Softpedia: What's the biggest feature that the team plans to add before the 2016 full launch date?
Jesse Rapczak: Our End Game story content, boss arenas, and a look ahead at the future of the ARK universe!