Ark: The Animated Series Director Explains Decision To Not Create 1:1 Adaptation

Highlights

Director Jeremy Stieglitz discusses adapting Ark game into TV series in exclusive interview with GameRant.
Ark: The Animated Series boasts a star-studded cast and a unique narrative approach different from the game.

During a recent interview with our sister site GameRant, Ark: The Animated Series director Jeremy Stieglitz discussed the process of adapting Studio Wildcard‘s popular survival game into a hit television series.

As well as being a co-showrunner for The Animated Series, Stieglitz was also the director for Ark: Survival Evolved and its accompanying expansion packs, Ark: Genesis Part 1 and Part 2. After finding huge success with the Ark franchise, Stieglitz joined forces with Paramount to release Ark: The Animated Series, which released its first six episodes on Paramount+ earlier this year.

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While The Animated Series debuted to mixed reviews back in March, it does feature a star-studded line-up of voice actors. Russell Crowe, Gerard Butler, David Tennant, Elliot Page, and Michelle Yeoh are just some of the critically acclaimed actors who lend their voices to the series’ cast of characters.

With six episodes already out in the wild, and more to come at a currently unconfirmed date, director Jeremy Stieglitz has been discussing the creation process with GameRant.

Ark: The Animated Series Director Talks Differences Between The Show And Game

When asked about the key differences between The Animated Series and Survival Evolved, such as the increased role of Helena Walker (the main protagonist of The Animated Series), Stieglitz said the team looked at it as an opportunity to create something more emotionally engaging.

“We asked ourselves: What advantages do we have in the narrative medium versus the interactive? Some games are more heavily narrative based. Ark: Survival Evolved’s narrative is closer to context for why you’re there taming dinosaurs etc. This was an opportunity to create something emotionally engaging in a way that we couldn’t with the game.”

Stieglitz also dived into the reason as to why the series was not a “literal 1:1 of the Explorer Notes plot.” For those who might be unaware, Explorer Notes are collectable items in Ark: Survival Evolved. While they don’t do much in-game aside from granting a brief XP boost, they do offer background information on the Arks, left behind by survivors.

With a plethora of notes available to collect, each adds further context and information to the game’s lore. While many fans expected this to be the premise of The Animated Series, Stieglitz said that wouldn’t allow for any surprises.

“While by and large it’s been very positive, some were disappointed that it’s not a literal 1:1 of the Explorer Notes plot. We explicitly decided early on we were going to do an adaptation rather than a transliteration. For fans who may not have been expecting that, seeing things changed can be off-putting, especially if they’re very familiar with those details. But I think it allows for surprises, because they then don’t necessarily know exactly how everything’s going to play out in the show.”

If you want to read the full interview with Ark: The Animated Series’ director, head on over to GameRant.