It has been two years since the final episode of the ARKeologist’s Podcast was recorded, edited, and posted. The podcast itself had been going strong for over two years with just over 100 episodes. From starting on YouTube, to branching out to 10 other platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it was a great ride. When we finished recording episode 100 we thought that would be the end of it. However, a recent conversation with the old ARK crew got us reminiscing and the idea was proposed to do an ARKeologist’s Podcast reunion special.
Obviously, two years is a long time and the game has probably been through a lot of changes. Not just in terms of gameplay, but possibly with the developer itself, and even how Official PvP servers operate now. As for PvE servers, it wasn’t much of a focus for us aside from major complaints about them. After all, the podcast primarily focused on Official PvP where things were in flux all the time regarding which alpha tribes were controlling what server or which mega tribe alliance had broken apart.
Now for some quick history about the podcast. The show consisted of Official PvP players who were all in the same alpha tribe. The alpha tribe, originally named Beast then changed to Frozen Throne, remained in control of Official Server 8 for two years and eight months. An amazing feat, considering we were a small alpha tribe in control of a single-digit server for so long. A feat that we would attribute to not only our prowess as fighters, but our ability to be exceptional diplomats due to some silver-tongued players in the tribe. Unfortunately, our downfall wasn’t from outside forces but internal ones. A tale as old as time when it comes to ARK.
If you want to know more about our history, you have the podcast to listen to and even some of the videos I posted of some of the fights we were involved in.
So as to when this episode will be recorded and posted, that is still up in the air. The idea is to get back into playing the game for at least a week to get a feel for the changes in gameplay and quality of life improvements. Of course, in some cases, new gaming rigs have to be acquired, fixed, or upgraded in order to play the game for some. Personally, my rig is over ten years old and on its last legs. So I’ll have to spend time getting it up to snuff. But the plan is to record it in about 2-3 weeks.
So as we get closer to recording it, there will be an announcement.
In the meantime, we are asking the ARK community to help us get up to speed on the major changes and QOL improvements that have had the biggest impact on the game. We especially want to hear about all the latest strategies for PvP and whether or not the devs have been improving when it comes to dealing with cheaters and exploiters.
And, as always, feel free to ask us questions. But remember, none of us have played ARK in two years.
Stats
Now, I just wanted to share some quick stats about the podcast during its two years. I’m proud of the crew and the fun we had doing it which has resulted in thousands of views. While I have been asked for stats during the time, stats were never a thing for me. But since the podcast ended, I might as well share it with those who are interested.
On YouTube, where all 100+ episodes are available, our top three episodes were as follows:
Episode 33 – Interview with Spartans, Black Knights, and Prime – 2,645 views
Episode 43 – The Carebears vs Spartans and Black Knights: BK Perspective – 1,828 views
Episode 19 – What is an Alpha Tribe? – 1,409 views
And the least listened-to episode would be episode 32 – v256 Update and Should Servers be Wiped at a dismal 111 listens.
Unfortunately, I can’t give you any other stats from YouTube, where all the episodes are on, because I post videos on other games and other topics. However, additional stats I can provide come courtesy of Anchor.fm where the podcast’s last 28 episodes were posted on. For instance, the podcast’s audience is, unsurprisingly, male-dominated at 86% and 11% of listeners being female. Our highest age demographic would be the 28-34-year-old age group at 26% followed by 18-22 at 25% and 23-27 at 20%.
And while only 28 episodes were posted to Anchor.fm, there were a total of 12,840 plays during the time episodes were being posted. Spotify accounted for 44% of those plays with Apple Podcasts coming in second at 25%.
For those who are interested about the monetary aspect about this, which has been a frequent question over the years we were doing the podcast, that is easy to answer. The total amount of money made doing the podcast is a whopping…ZERO. The podcast never generated any money. While it would have been nice to generate some revenue, it wasn’t our main motivation for doing the podcast.
We are all excited to be doing this reunion episode and hopefully our old listeners/ARK players will be thrilled about it. For all the new players to ARK, hope you have been enjoying yourselves and that you will be looking forward to this special episode as well.
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