The Ark: Survival Ascended trailer is one of the few done completely in-game. Player One Trailers, the folks behind it, went all out capturing real gameplay. This means there are no scripted events; instead, the trailer is live footage of what it’s like to tame dinos, battle beasties, and explore the wild beauty of The Island in Unreal Engine 5.
In an interview with Xbox Wire, the director from Play One Trailers, Gage Allen, explained everything. The adventure is narrated from a first-person perspective by veteran voice actor Fred Tatasciore, known for his booming gravitas in games like Gears of War and Overwatch. When looking at the trailer, it’s hard to imagine that it’s actually done in-game because of how well it all goes.
“[It’s captured using] tools in-game, one of them being photo mode, and pushing them to their absolute extremes. There was a degree of flexibility the tools gave us in creating great cinematic moments.”
Gage Allen
The reason the Ark: Survival Evolved looks great is because this trailer is a tech showcase, too. They crank the graphics settings to the max, letting Unreal Engine 5’s lighting and weather systems paint the jungle in stunning detail. In the trailer, sunlight filters through dense foliage, waves crash and froth, and the scale of the Redwoods goes as far as they can push it.
They remixed the iconic Ark score to fit the new trailer’s vibe, which helps when mixed with the dino roar and twigs snapping. The developers wanted to create a trailer that shines a spotlight on the work done by developers at Studio Wildcard. It’s a great trailer, and although the interview goes over many things repeatedly, we can see that the director put a lot of love into the trailer.
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