Overview
ARK: Survival Evolved is a groundbreaking survival sandbox game where players tame dinosaurs, build bases, and survive in prehistoric environments. Joining as Senior Designer when the team was just 7 people, I progressed to Design Lead, helping build the design department to over 20 individuals and guiding the game through launch and three major expansions.
Studio
Studio Wildcard
Platform
PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Genre
Survival Sandbox
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
My Role
Started as Senior Designer in 2014, promoted to Design Lead in 2016. Led expansion content while continuing hands-on systems and content design, scaling the team from 7 to 20+ across disciplines.
Scaled the design team to 20+; built strike teams for live ops; established best practices and data-driven iteration under tight timelines. Mentored junior designers and advocated for their career growth.
Co-developed DLC vision and content for Scorched Earth, Aberration, and Extinction. Delivered new biomes, 50+ creatures with unique AI behaviors, and innovative survival mechanics.
Built content pipelines, led Survival of the Fittest battle royale mode, integrated QA for rapid iteration, and reviewed commits for technical and gameplay risks.
DLC
Under the Design Director, I helped concept, design, document, and drive implementation of three major DLC expansions. Each expansion required managing accelerated timelines while maintaining quality and innovation.
Desert biome with extreme weather, water conservation mechanics, sandstorms, and 11 new creatures including iconic Wyverns.
Underground expansion with radioactive zones, bioluminescent ecosystems, vertical gameplay with climbing and ziplines.
Climactic finale on corrupted Earth. Titan boss system, orbital supply drops, Mek suits, and sci-fi combat integration.
Highlights
Designed creatures with distinctive AI and taming mechanics
Temperature, radiation, and corruption mechanics
Grew design team from 7 to 20+ members
4+ years of content updates and balance patches
Built content creation and QA workflows
Led standalone battle royale mode design
Stack
