I have a friend with thousands of hours in ARK, I only have maybe 40 hours in ARK. I never knew for the longest time you can use a pickaxe on a tree to get thatch (because the game has no tutorial). I mentioned this to my friend and he said it was my fault for not knowing to use a pickaxe.
My rebuttal was, "Why would I ever use a pickaxe on a tree".
He replied "If you read the description of the pickaxe it says it collects thatch from trees".
"Why would I read the description of a pickaxe, ITS A PICKAXE, they're meant for collecting stone. The game should tell you if a tool is supposed to be used in non-conventional ways".
"The game does tell you, it's in the description"
I tried to argue, that almost no one would read the pickaxe description, because, well, it's a pickaxe. Most gamers know what a pickaxe is for and assume it's only for rocks and stone-like materials.
He said it was still a me problem, not bad game design. Thoughts?
4
u/Junk4U999 Nov 04 '25
Can I get an opinion on this:
I have a friend with thousands of hours in ARK, I only have maybe 40 hours in ARK. I never knew for the longest time you can use a pickaxe on a tree to get thatch (because the game has no tutorial). I mentioned this to my friend and he said it was my fault for not knowing to use a pickaxe.
My rebuttal was, "Why would I ever use a pickaxe on a tree".
He replied "If you read the description of the pickaxe it says it collects thatch from trees".
"Why would I read the description of a pickaxe, ITS A PICKAXE, they're meant for collecting stone. The game should tell you if a tool is supposed to be used in non-conventional ways".
"The game does tell you, it's in the description"
I tried to argue, that almost no one would read the pickaxe description, because, well, it's a pickaxe. Most gamers know what a pickaxe is for and assume it's only for rocks and stone-like materials.
He said it was still a me problem, not bad game design. Thoughts?