No One Stands Up for ARK’s AI Trailer

The one-minute trailer released for the ARK: Aquatica DLC, which was introduced at the GDC event last week, has caused a huge debate in the gaming world. This new content, prepared to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ARK: Survival Evolved, has drawn backlash with its trailer created using artificial intelligence. The artificial, lifeless visuals and faulty animations in the trailer have caused disappointment among fans, and no one has taken responsibility for the trailer.

Reactions to ARK’s Artificial Intelligence Trailer

The trailer reached 500 thousand views on YouTube, but only received 1,600 likes. Players, realizing that the trailer was created by artificial intelligence, made harsh criticisms on social media. In fact, the most liked comment on the trailer read, “This is awful and you should be ashamed of it.”

One of the biggest criticisms about the trailer was that the scenes were artificially created. The glaring light effects and AI-based errors used in the visuals, especially the details such as a squid coming out of the ground and splashing water in the trailer, drew attention. In addition, the swimming animations were also criticized for being unrealistic.

The game’s developer, Snail Games, announced that its marketing team played a role in the production of the trailer. Snail Games lead designer Matt Kohl stated that the trailer was made entirely by the marketing department, not the development team, and that artificial intelligence was used in this process. However, no explanation was given as to why the marketing team preferred such a method.

Studio Wildcard, the developer of the original ARK: Survival Evolved, announced that it was completely staying away from the project. Studio Wildcard emphasized in a statement on social media that ARK: Aquatica was developed entirely by Snail Games Colorado and that their own team was only focused on the ARK: Survival Ascended and ARK 2 projects.

After the trailer, the impact of artificial intelligence on game development processes came to the fore again. Fans believe that such productions overshadow the work of development teams and harm projects. Although more information about ARK: Aquatica was shared after the trailer, this AI-generated introduction negatively affected the first impression of the DLC in the eyes of players.

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