ARK: Survival Evolved, developed by Studio Wildcard, is a massive open-world survival game set in a prehistoric environment, filled with dangerous creatures, resources, and a mix of futuristic and ancient technology. Players are thrust into a vast world where they must gather resources, tame dinosaurs, craft tools, and build shelters to survive. One of the lesser-known aspects of this game is its use of game symbols and iconography. These symbols help players navigate the complex mechanics and systems in the game. In this article, we will explore the standards for symbols in ARK: Survival Evolved, explaining their purpose and importance to the gameplay experience.
Overview of Game Symbols in ARK: Survival Evolved
ARK: Survival Evolved incorporates various symbols and icons throughout its user interface (UI). These symbols are essential for communicating important information about the player’s character, environment, and interactions with the game world. Symbols appear in menus, on the HUD (heads-up display), and when interacting with objects and creatures.
These icons often represent concepts such as player health, stamina, hunger, environmental conditions, creature states, inventory management, crafting progress, and more. Understanding these symbols is crucial to mastering ARK, as they provide quick visual cues that allow players to react and adapt without needing to decipher lengthy text-based explanations.
HUD Symbols
The HUD in ARK: Survival Evolved contains numerous symbols that convey the player’s current status and conditions in the game. These symbols are arranged around the edge of the screen and provide real-time information about the player’s character and the environment.
Player Status Symbols
Player status symbols give immediate feedback about the character’s physical condition. These symbols are located in the bottom-right corner of the screen and indicate vital stats such as:
- Health: Represented by a heart symbol. A full heart indicates full health, and as the player takes damage, this symbol empties. If the heart symbol flashes, it means the player is critically low on health.
- Stamina: Depicted as a lightning bolt, this symbol decreases as the player runs or engages in strenuous activities. When stamina is low, the character can no longer run and will move slower until stamina regenerates.
- Food: The food symbol is shown as a meat icon. Players must keep their food bar full by eating to avoid starving. When the symbol is low or flashing, the player is at risk of starvation.
- Water: A droplet symbol represents hydration. When this symbol is low, players need to drink water to avoid dehydration. If they dehydrate, they will lose health over time.
- Oxygen: A lung symbol appears when players are underwater. This indicates how long they can breathe before they start to drown. Oxygen decreases as players dive deeper or remain submerged for extended periods.
- Weight: Depicted by a weight symbol or backpack, this icon shows how much the player is carrying. If the weight is too high, movement speed decreases, and the player becomes encumbered.
Environmental Condition Symbols
Environmental symbols alert players to external threats and changes in their surroundings. These symbols are also located on the HUD and help players adapt to changing conditions:
- Temperature: A thermometer symbol indicates whether the player is too hot or too cold. If the player is overheating, they need to find shade or swim in water to cool down. Conversely, if they are freezing, they must seek warmth through fire, clothing, or shelter.
- Weather Conditions: Sometimes weather-specific symbols, like storm clouds or sun icons, appear to notify players of incoming weather changes. For example, a snowflake might appear during cold conditions, warning the player to prepare accordingly.
Inventory Symbols
The inventory screen in ARK: Survival Evolved is another place where symbols play a critical role. The inventory system is intricate, involving resources, tools, weapons, and crafting materials. Each item in the inventory is represented by a unique symbol, making it easier for players to quickly identify items without needing to read their descriptions.
Resource Symbols
Each resource in ARK is represented by a distinct icon, helping players distinguish between different types of materials. These include:
- Wood: Represented by a log icon, wood is essential for crafting basic tools and building structures.
- Stone: Depicted by a rock symbol, stone is used for constructing stronger structures and crafting certain tools.
- Fiber: Shown as a bundle of grass, fiber is a basic crafting material used for making clothes and simple structures.
- Metal: Represented by a metallic ingot icon, metal is a valuable resource for advanced crafting, such as weapons and armor.
- Thatch: A symbol of intertwined grass or straw represents thatch, a primitive building material used in early-game shelters.
- Obsidian: Represented by a black stone symbol, obsidian is a rare resource used for crafting advanced items like polymer.
Crafting and Blueprint Symbols
Crafting in ARK involves gathering resources and using blueprints to create items. Symbols in the crafting menu simplify the process by allowing players to easily locate specific blueprints or materials. Each blueprint has an icon that represents the final product, such as a spear for weapons or a campfire for utilities. In addition, progress bars and crafting timers are visualized with icons like clocks and hourglasses, giving players a clear indication of how long an item will take to craft.
Creature State Symbols
Taming and managing creatures is a core part of ARK: Survival Evolved, and symbols are used to communicate a creature’s state to the player.
Taming Progress Symbols
When a creature is being tamed, a taming progress bar appears along with associated symbols that indicate its status. A taming icon, often a feeding trough or a meat symbol, shows that the player is actively taming the creature. There are also additional symbols that represent whether the creature is aggressive, neutral, or passive, based on its behavior.
Creature Health and Stamina
Just like player stats, creatures in ARK have health and stamina that are tracked with similar heart and lightning bolt symbols. Keeping an eye on these symbols is essential when using creatures for tasks such as fighting, gathering, or traveling, as depleted health or stamina can make them vulnerable or ineffective.
UI and Interaction Symbols
Interaction symbols are another important category in ARK: Survival Evolved. These symbols appear when players interact with objects, creatures, or structures in the game world.
Door and Structure Interaction Symbols
When approaching doors, gates, or other structures, a symbol representing the action (e.g., a hand or a gear) will appear. These symbols let the player know that the object can be interacted with and indicate the type of interaction, such as opening, closing, or demolishing.
Resource Gathering and Harvesting
When gathering resources, symbols such as pickaxes or axes appear over resources like trees, rocks, and bushes. These icons represent the tools required to harvest the material, providing a quick reference for players to know what they need to use to efficiently gather resources.
Color Coding and Consistency in Symbols
The symbols in ARK: Survival Evolved are not only defined by their shape but also by color-coding standards. For example:
- Red: Indicates danger or a negative status (e.g., low health, enemy creatures).
- Green: Denotes safety or a positive state (e.g., a tamed creature, full health).
- Blue: Often represents neutral states or the default condition (e.g., available resources, idle creatures).
This color-coding system adds another layer of clarity to the game, helping players understand the meaning of symbols at a glance.
Conclusion
The use of symbols in ARK: Survival Evolved is a fundamental aspect of its design, aiding players in quickly understanding the game’s complex systems and mechanics. From the HUD to inventory management, taming creatures, and crafting, these visual cues streamline gameplay and enhance the overall experience. By adhering to specific symbol standards, ARK ensures that its diverse player base can enjoy an intuitive and accessible gaming environment while navigating the challenges of prehistoric survival.
