WildCard released Ark Survival Evolved in early access on May 11th 2015, the full version as well as the physical, mobile, and console versions of Ark were released in August 2017. The Nintendo Switch port was released in November 2018. (Many consider this to be the worst port ever)
Ark Survival Evolved is a game where you survive in a artificial ecosystem filled with pre-historic creatures from the late Triassic to post-Ice Age. You wake up on a island with a foreign implant on your arm. You have no clue where you are or why there are Dodos in your surroundings.
Ark's history:
When games become available as early access, we would see noticable changes from minor visual tweaks to changes of gameplay, as well as how players behave on Official.
Before the Patches and storymode updates, players assumed it was a casual PVP beat-em-up during the reign of prehistoric creatures with three strange colossal structures floating in the sky - With their purpose still unknown at the time, some people believed they're just there for the aesthetic.
To take advantage of the "dinosaur fever" at the time, The game was released shortly before the theatrical release of Jurassic World. When it [Jurassic World] started rolling, both JP fans and Ark players mutually consumed one media after another. And both medias received good sales in tickets and copies alike.
JP fans get to play a game where they can tame and ride dinosaurs, and Ark players get to see a cool dinosaurs movie that is the rumored "Jurassic Park 4".
The story:
Besides the Island intro, I won't spoil the entire story or the game's lore, but there are explorer notes that are scattered throught out the following maps: The Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and Genesis Part 1. Each written record is accounted by a author sharing their experiences on the Ark and with it's local population.
There are YouTube videos that narrow down the key points of what is going and how there are so many predatory animals and yet so few prey items, and why dinosaurs and other extinct creatures are back from the grave.
And at this time, I won't link the videos here until Genesis part 2 is released. I implore you to go look for the Explorer notes yourself if you got the game. Or, if you're into the Arkdom, you don't have or play the game but still like a good story nonetheless - Then you can look up "Ark Survival Evolved story" on YouTube or the official Ark Wiki. (<- It's a thing that exists, but please be warned that it's a major spoiler zone. Look it up at your own risk.)
The dinosaurs:
The major selling point in Ark. DINOSAURS.
Major inaccuracies aside, some animals in the game serve a purpose once domesticated.
Note: There are other animals that can be utilized for either grinding or taming. These are only the prime examples.
The early-game tame, the Parasaur:
Parasaurs scan the area (right mouse click) to warn you about nearby enemies and can scare off creatures smaller than them. (C button)
They can harvest berries, thatch, and seeds decently. Parasaurs can also be used to detect pheonix ashes after the superheat event on the Scorched Earth map.
Parasaurs are skittich dinos, they'll flee when you attack them. Their signal will alarm nearby parasaurs to do the same and avoid getting caught.
The Therizinosaurus:
Commonly nicknamed as the "murder chicken" (they actually do have the face of a chicken but got teeth and sharp claws), they can gather wood at a significently good rate. (Left mouse click)
Before taming one, beware that they're the Cretaceous feathered equivalent of Jack the Ripper; They'll cut you up in ribbons if you're not quick enough to escape.
The Daeodon. AKA, the Warthog from Hell:
The Daeodon has the ability to heal it´s rider and allied/tamed dinos.
They can be utilized during boss battles or hunting parties.
In the wild, they're rarely alone. These porkers can sneak up on you if you let your guard down.
And my personal favorite, the feathered tyrant; Yutyrannus.
Also a boss dino. It has the fear roar (right mouse click) to scare off smaller creatures. It can also frighten enemy and wild Yutis.
And it has the courage roar (C button). With this, you can temporarily tame wild Carnotaurs for a short period of time. Once they're allied, they'll do your bidding until the timer runs out.
Courage roaring your tamed dinos gives them a courage buff which increases damage and resistance.
(I'm honestly surprised that WC added a fully-feathered Tyrannosaurid that serves a dual purpose in the game. And yes, the Yuti and T-Rex are related. I'm not making that up. Usually videogames with dinosaurs feature dinos that share the same likeness as the ones from Jurassic Park. Featherless and painfully-looking inaccurate postures.)
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From early access to Genesis Part 2, here are some embedded YouTube links to the official Ark:SE DLCs and expansion pack trailers.
The Island (base game)
2015 (early acces release)
2016 - The Center map trailer (first official DLC)
2016 - Scorched Earth (First canonical story map DLC)
2017 (Official launch)
2017 Ragnarok (second official free non-story DLC)
2017 - Aberration (Second story map DLC)
2018 - Extinction (Third story map DLC)
2019 - Valguero (Third free non-story DLC)
2020 - Genesis Part 1 (Fourth story map DLC)
2021 - Genesis Part 2 (Fifth and FINAL story map DLC)
2021 - Lost Island (Fourth free non-story DLC)
Currently only featuring the creatures that's exclusive to the map
Man, sometimes I wish I had discovered Ark sooner.
Despite the major flaws the game suffers from, there's always a reason for me as a Ark player/enjoyer to come back to the game: The community, and certain aspects to the gameplay. For me it's building and breeding.
How do we vote?