Category: Community & Social

Behind the Blog: ARK Plans, Minecraft Madness, and What’s Coming Next

A peek behind the scenes at Survivor Incognito! I’m planning an epic ARK map-hopping permadeath series, scheming up Minecraft chaos with 15 survival rules, and plotting the next waves of mayhem.

I figured it was time for a little behind the blog moment — because while my in-game characters are busy getting eaten, frozen, or flattened, I’m quietly plotting even more ways to make their (and my) lives harder. Here’s what’s brewing in the background of Survivor Incognito.

🦖 ARK: One Map Just Isn’t Enough

If you thought Day One Diaries for ARK: Survival Evolved was the end of my dino-related disasters… oh no. The plan is to turn ARK into a full permadeath series where I attempt to survive across all the Switch maps. That means scorched deserts, radiation zones, angry dinos, and probably at least one embarrassing death involving a dodo.

Right now, I’m working on:

  • Fine-tuning the settings so it’s challenging, but not “spawn, breathe, die” levels of misery.
  • Figuring out a sensible (or chaotic) map progression — because who doesn’t want to see me go from Midlands 4 to Aberration and beyond?

This new series will (hopefully) kick off after the ARK Day One Diaries finish, so stay tuned!

⛏️ Minecraft: 15 Rules of Mayhem

Yes, I’m also eyeing Minecraft. But not just any survival run — I’m planning a permadeath challenge with a twist:

  • 👉 I’ll start with a list of 15 survival rules.
  • 👉 Each day, I have to follow one rule.
  • 👉 If I fail? The next day I’ll have to follow two rules at once.
  • 👉 Keep failing? Enjoy juggling three, four, five rules… you get the idea.

It’s part survival, part self-sabotage, part comedy. I’m still finalizing the rules (because let’s be honest, there are so many ways to make this worse for myself). Expect everything from “no weapons today” to “you must sleep every night or else.”

🔜 What’s Coming Next

In the meantime, the usual suspects continue:

  • SnowRunner: The Permagear Diaries are ready to get muddy.
  • Dredge: Madness? What madness? I’m totally fine.
  • The Cold Chronicles: Still cold. Still surviving. Somehow.
  • Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Stealth archer life, mostly.
  • Grounded: Where the backyard is the scariest place I’ve ever been.

Thanks for following along! If you’re enjoying the ride (or the wrecks), make sure to subscribe or follow on Tumblr, Facebook, or Bluesky. Chaos loves company.

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Here’s What You Missed This Week – Survivor Incognito Recap

It’s been another action-packed week of survival, chaos, and questionable decisions over at Survivor Incognito. If you’ve been busy wrestling giant crabs, flipping trucks, or dodging ghost fish, here’s your chance to catch up!

🌨️ Monday – Why I Made SnowRunner Permadeath

I broke down the logic (or madness?) behind turning SnowRunner into a permadeath challenge. Because nothing says “relaxing drive” like knowing one bad flip could end it all. [Read More Here]

🌊 Tuesday – Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival – Day Four

The sea giveth, the sea taketh away… and sometimes it just giveth more terror. Day Four of my Dredge permadeath series saw the madness meter creeping ever higher. [Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival – Day Four]

🐺 Wednesday – The Cold Chronicles – Day Seven

Another day, another frostbite risk. My Voyageur survivor braved the cold and the chaos as we inch further into this brutal Long Dark journey. [The Cold Chronicles Day Seven: A Voyageur’s Tale of The Long Dark]

🏹 Thursday – Sneak, Snipe, Repeat – Day Nine

The Argonian archer continued slinking through Skyrim, proving that stealth is great—right up until it isn’t. Day Nine brought more dragons, more necromancy, and more “how did that go so wrong?” moments. [Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Skyrim Survival Day Nine]

🐜 Friday – Grounded: Day Two

The backyard is still terrifying. Day Two brought more bugs, more base-building, and more moments of me asking why I ever thought permadeath was a good idea here. [The Backyard Trials: Grounded Permadeath – Day Two]

🦖 Saturday – Day One Diaries of ARK: Survival Evolved Announced

Big news! I announced the upcoming Day One Diaries for ARK: Survival Evolved. Expect dinos, disasters, and probably a lot of running for my life. [Get the details here]

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🎉 500 Views of Portable Chaos – Thank You for Stopping By!

Survivor Incognito has crossed 500 views! A huge thank you to everyone who’s joined the portable survival chaos. Here’s to more maps, more diaries, and probably more regrettable decisions.

57 Days. 500 Views. And At Least That Many Bad Spear Throws.

Somehow, this little survival corner of the internet has crossed 500 views—and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s visited, clicked, or accidentally found the blog while looking for something else entirely. (Hey, I’ll take it.)

When I started Survivor Incognito 57 days ago, it was just a space to share:

Survival game stories (usually featuring questionable decisions)

Maps and guides (so you don’t get lost like I do)

And a lot of Switch-based chaos


Fast forward to today, and I’m genuinely thrilled that over 500 views’ worth of folks have joined in. Whether you came for ARK maps, The Long Dark Customloper settings, Skyrim survival mishaps, or just to watch the chaos unfold—thank you.

🚀 What’s Next?

The chaos continues:

The Day One Diaries: ARK Edition is launching soon, filling the weekend gaps with fresh prehistoric panic.

The map pages and hubs will keep growing as I explore (and inevitably die in) new places.

More survival stories, more bad ideas, and probably more pinecone tea. Expect more information soon.

🧭 Thanks for Joining the Journey

I’m just getting started. If you’ve enjoyed the blog so far: ➡ Bookmark the site
➡ Share it with fellow Switch survival fans
➡ Or just stick around for the next 500 views of portable disaster.

Here’s to the next milestone—and to thriving, not just surviving.

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🦖 Day One Diaries: ARK Edition – Now Filling the Weekend Gaps

Day One Diaries returns with an ARK twist! Each short entry covers the first chaotic 24 hours on every map in ARK: Survival Evolved for the Nintendo Switch. Chaos, dinos, and bad decisions await.

So, People Have Been Clicking the ARK Map Page…

…and that’s either a promising sign or a harbinger of incoming disaster.

Either way, welcome to a brand-new side series here on Survivor Incognito:

> 🎮 Day One Diaries: ARK Edition
A bite-sized, chaos-fueled survival journal where I explore the first 24 hours on every ARK map available on the Nintendo Switch.

This series is coming soon and will drop on one of the blog’s quieter days—Mondays, Saturdays, and Sundays—to fill in the gaps with some portable prehistoric panic.

🗺️ What to Expect

Each post will document:

• Where I spawned

• What I crafted (poorly)

• What inevitably killed me

And whether I learned anything (spoiler: probably not)


These aren’t full playthroughs—they’re glorified diary entries of my first day of disaster, all tied together with maps, Switch gameplay quirks, and whatever half-baked strategy I manage to invent before something eats me.

✅ Already Posted

I’ve already covered the following maps in earlier posts:

The Island

Scorched Earth


So I won’t be redoing those. Instead, I’ll link back to those entries when their time comes in the lineup.

🌋 What’s Next?

From here, it’s on to the rest of the maps available on the Nintendo Switch:

• Aberration

• Extinction

• Genesis Part 1

• Genesis Part 2

• Ragnarok (DLC)

Each time I publish a new Day One Diary, I’ll also update the ARK Map Hub with:

• The region map

• Survival notes

• Links to the interactive resource map

• Possibly a eulogy

🧪 A Preview of What You’re In For…

To set the mood, here’s a flawlessly accurate preview of what I expect my time in Aberration to look like—courtesy of Neebs Gaming:

> 🎥 Simon vs. Snake – Neebs Gaming in Aberration
Simon’s alone. Eating peanuts. There’s a snake. Panic ensues.

It’s everything ARK represents: snack time, followed by betrayal and screaming.

🎬 Chaos You Can Count On

If something truly unhinged happens during one of these Day One sessions—and let’s be honest, it will—it’ll earn its own spotlight as a Survivor’s Shorts post.

Because some moments of portable disaster deserve a dedicated write-up… especially the ones where I genuinely thought I was safe and then immediately wasn’t.

📅 First Entry Drops Soon

Check back next Saturday for Day One in The Island—the first stop on this tour of Switch-based suffering. Followed by Scorched Earth the next week, and then finally, Aberration.

Expect bioluminescent fungus, regret, and gravity issues. See you there.

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The Backyard Trials: Grounded Permadeath – Day Two

Day Two of my Grounded Permadeath run. Panic still lingering, but I’ve secured food, water, armor, and narrowly avoided becoming ant food. Progress!

Missed day one and want to find out how this journey started? Find it here: The Backyard Trials Day One

Thirst, Hunger, and the Panic Begins Anew

I wake up to a familiar feeling: low-level dread. I’m hungry. I’m thirsty. I have very little idea what I’m doing. Survival in the backyard is a constant balancing act between problem-solving and quiet panic.

Thankfully, some form of insect-based miracle has occurred overnight. There’s an aphid corpse conveniently placed right next to my lean-to. Did it explode? Was it eaten and discarded? I don’t know — but in my current state, it’s dinner.

The thirst problem is less cooperative. Another ill-advised sip of dirty water reminds me that my standards need to rise if I want to avoid adding “constant food poisoning” to my growing list of concerns.

Salvation in the Form of Dew

In the midst of my slight panic spiral, I spot a glimmer of hope: dew, perched high on a blade of grass. After some awkward jumping that likely looked ridiculous to any nearby insects, I manage to secure a drop of clean water. The panic dial lowers slightly… but only slightly. I still can’t carry any extra, so the problem is only delayed, not solved.

Workbench, Roasting Spit, and Progress (Sort Of)

Back at the science station, I start trying to piece my situation together. I craft a Workbench, which unlocks more options, including a Roasting Spit. Finally, I can cook meat instead of risking stomach-churning raw snacks. My diet now consists of roasted aphid and weevil. It’s not exactly fine dining, but I’m not dead — which is honestly my only metric of success right now.

Clover Armor: The Fashion of Fear

With food and water temporarily under control, my brain returns to its default state: “What’s going to kill me next?” The answer, probably, is “everything.” So I decide to take the edge off by crafting Clover Armor — a full set covering my head, chest, and legs.

It won’t stop anything truly dangerous, but it’s comforting. Like wearing a raincoat in a hurricane. It technically helps, but you wouldn’t want to test it.

Early Combat Lessons (And More Panic)

Armed with a spear and new-found confidence (read: mild overconfidence), I pick a fight with an ant. It goes well… until his buddy shows up. The fight escalates, I take some hits, apply a bandage, and add “don’t poke ants unless absolutely necessary” to my mental rulebook.

Later, while trying to understand how my hotbar works, I accidentally hurl my spear at a completely innocent patch of grass. At least I didn’t spear myself. Small victories.

The Baseball, Tactical Retreats, and Nightfall

Before dark, I scout a little further and discover a giant baseball, which offers a perfect vantage point for surveying my surroundings. Unfortunately, I also nearly stumble into a fight with a soldier ant and two backup dancers. A brief surge of panic kicks in again, but I manage a tactical retreat before things get ugly.

Nighttime approaches. I may have a torch now, but I’m not insane enough to go wandering in the dark just yet. Panic management remains the most critical skill in my early days.

Wrapping Up Day Two

Day Two ends with clean water, cooked food, basic armor, and a strong undercurrent of low-level panic. Progress has been made, mistakes have been narrowly avoided, and tomorrow I’ll venture even further — anxiety levels permitting.

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The Cold Chronicles Day Seven: A Voyageur’s Tale of The Long Dark

The Cold Chronicles – Day 7: Dead Ends, Rifle Finds, and Aurora Skies

Difficulty: Voyageur
Optional Features: Cougar enabled (because paranoia keeps you alive)

Day 7 on Coastal Highway brings dead-end roads, beachcombing, Barb’s rifle, and my first aurora. I almost fall through the ice (again), stash gear on Jackrabbit Island, and cook meat like a man possessed. So… a productive day?

Missed Day 6? Read it here.

The Road That Goes Nowhere

Another sunrise, another overambitious plan. Today, I decide I’m going to follow Coastal Highway all the way to its mysterious conclusion. Maybe I’ll find a new transition zone. Maybe I’ll find a wrecked truck with some rifle rounds and a can of dog food. Maybe I’ll find peace.

Spoiler: it’s a rockfall.

But I don’t know that yet. I set out early, dragging my increasingly reluctant survivor across the snow. First stop: the bridge just beyond the garage. It’s held up surprisingly well for the end of civilization. On the far side, I spot a car, and inside it—a note. Someone left a tip about a hidden cache near the garage. Tempting. Very tempting. But I decide to keep pushing forward for now. Eyes on the prize.

The road gets quieter. No wolves, no wind. Just snow crunching underfoot and the occasional groan from my guy who’s still mad about the 40kg backpack I’m making him haul. Eventually, the highway ends not with loot or glory, but a literal wall of boulders. No secret passage, no helpful signage. Just a dead end.

Rifles, Ice, and Intrusive Memories

With the highway goal dashed, I backtrack. But I’m not going to waste the day. I decide to poke around under the bridge I crossed earlier—because that’s a normal survival instinct now. Good thing I do, too.

Tucked under the support beams, half-buried in snow, is Barb’s rifle. No note, no explanation. Just the long-forgotten tool of someone else’s survival story. I take it, check the condition (not bad), and immediately feel 30% more powerful. Rifle > revolver. Every time.

Feeling cocky, I veer off the road and make my way across the ice toward Jackrabbit Island. The ice creaks and pops in that threatening way it always does, but I push forward, ignoring the very obvious signs that I am not welcome here. My screen does that “you’re about to die” wobble. I shuffle back to solid ice just in time. Somehow, I don’t fall in. Survival roulette wins again.

The Jackrabbit Hoard

I reach the house on Jackrabbit Island and decide to use it as a makeshift drop zone. I ditch the revolver, some food, a spare lantern, and whatever else I can live without. The rifle stays with me, obviously.

Loot-wise, Jackrabbit delivers. I find:

  • A skill book for rifles (Barb would be proud)
  • Another lantern (my third—clearly I have a problem)
  • More food, because Coastal Highway is just one big buffet if you know where to look

My inventory’s still ridiculous, but a little lighter. Temporarily.

Seagulls and Sketchy Ice

On the way back, I decide to risk a little beachcombing. I hug the shoreline, watching for anything shiny poking out of the snow—and get rewarded. A couple of arrows just sitting on the ice, half-frozen but perfectly usable. I swipe them up and head for Misanthrope Island.

As I get close, I see birds circling. That means one thing: a carcass. The ice between me and it looks about as stable as my guy’s calorie intake, but I edge closer anyway. It’s a deer, still fresh. I manage to harvest the meat and pull back without falling in. That makes two ice victories today, which honestly feels greedy.

Inside the house on Misanthrope, I find—surprise—more food and clothing. Nothing game-changing, but enough to keep the “loot goblin” part of my brain happy. I stow what I can, then head back toward the garage with a torch in hand in case wolves decide they’re hungry for man meat.

A Spark in the Static

Back at the garage, something’s different. There’s a glow. A hum. The computer whirs to life.

The aurora has arrived.

It’s my first one in this run, and it’s just as eerie as I remember. The air crackles, the sky pulses green, and the electronics—dormant and useless for days—suddenly flicker back to life. It’s beautiful in a “should I be worried?” sort of way.

I don’t have time to dwell on it. I’ve got meat to cook, water to boil, and coffee to brew. Lots of coffee. My survivor’s probably 80% caffeine at this point. I do my best diner cook impression, juggling pots and pans, and by the end of it the place smells like scorched venison and instant espresso. Not the worst way to end a day.

I eat what I can, dump the rest into storage, and crawl into bed. The aurora flickers through the window as I drift off.

Final Thoughts

Day 7 gave me a rifle, some arrows, a hidden cache hint, and a front-row seat to the aurora. Sure, I nearly fell through the ice twice and carried half my body weight in gear the whole way, but it was worth it.

Still alive. Still hoarding. Still hallucinating predators.

Continue the journey:
Day 6 |
Day 8
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🛠 Behind the Blog: Why I Made SnowRunner Permadeath (and How It’s Somehow Working)

You’d think SnowRunner would be the calm one.

No wolves. No starvation. No sanity meter. Just trucks, mud, and the occasional fallen powerline. And yet, when I started playing, I realized something important:

I had the perfect canvas for portable permadeath chaos.
I just needed a few extra rules (and a slightly reckless imagination).

🎮 Why Permadeath?

Honestly? For the drama. The stakes. The thrill of knowing that if I lose a truck, it’s gone. It turns every route into a calculated risk, every muddy hill into a potential obituary.

Normal SnowRunner is about problem solving. Permadeath SnowRunner is about character. I named my trucks. I argued with myself about whether I could save one stuck in a ditch. And somehow, that made it all feel more alive.

📋 How I Fine-Tuned the Rules

Permadeath in a driving game isn’t exactly a toggle, so I had to make it work manually. A few highlights from the rulebook:

  • No selling dead trucks for profit. You’re not a junkyard, you’re a survivor.
  • Every truck gets one life—unless it’s truly recoverable later (aka, it’s not a ghost story).
  • Upgrades? Optional. Some may say I’m making things harder. Others say I’m making them funnier.

🚛 Meet the Cast

So far the crew includes:

  • Scout – plucky, chaotic energy.
  • Mac (GMC) – the dependable workhorse.
  • Frank (Fleetstar) – big, bold, and stuck somewhere inconvenient.

Yes, I name my trucks. No, I won’t apologize.

🧭 What’s Next?

More entries for The Permagear Diaries, of course. I’m stacking up posts behind the scenes before I start the full series rollout—but this chaotic convoy is very much in motion.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear:

If you had to permadeath one of your favourite games… which would it be, and how much therapy would you need after?

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🧭 Weekly Recap – Survive, Sleep, Repeat

Catch up on the latest survival stories from Survivor Incognito, including permadeath tips, The Long Dark’s Customloper progress, Skyrim Survival struggles, and our chaotic first steps in Grounded. Your weekly roundup of cozy chaos and portable panic is here!

Monday:

💀 How I Handle Permadeath (And Still Sleep at Night)
I laid out my personal rules for permadeath, how I cope when a character dies a stupid death (usually of my own doing), and why it somehow keeps me coming back for more. Survival tip: Sleep helps. So does sarcasm.

Read it here: How I Handle Permadeath (and Still Sleep at Night)

Tuesday

📜 Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival – Day Three
We went further out to sea, saw things we probably shouldn’t have, and learned that fish aren’t the only things lurking in the dark. Spoiler: sanity is overrated.

Read it here: Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival – Day Three

Wednesday

🏔 Customloper – Day Two
Mountain Town continues to be less “cosy alpine retreat” and more “conveniently located death trap.” At least we are still in one piece. Mostly.

Read it here: Customloper Diaries Day Two: Blizzards, Boots, and Baseball Cap Confusion

Thursday

🗡 Skyrim Survival – Day Eight
Frostbite, bandits, and the general annoyance of being overencumbered after picking up one too many cabbages. Classic Skyrim survival energy.

Read it here: Sneak, Snipe, Repeat Day Eight

Friday:

🏡 Grounded – Day One
Honey, I Shrunk the Panic. First day in the backyard brought bugs, dehydration, and a steep learning curve. That aphid had it coming.

Read it here: The Backyard Trials: Grounded Day One – Honey, I Lost Myself in the Backyard

Coming next week:

🧊 More Long Dark, more Dark Waters, more Skyrim, and a deeper dive into the backyard horrors of Grounded. If we’re lucky, there may even be fireflies. If not, probably just death by thirst.

I’ll also hopefully have the Day One Diary for Don’t Starve up. And will explain the the rules for Snowrunner Survival. But these are both hopefully as I’m currently under the weather at the time of this going up. Thank goodness for being able to schedule posts though.

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🚛 Introducing: SnowRunner Survival – The Permagear Diaries

Where the roads are bad, the trucks are heavier than your hopes, and every mistake could be your last.

Welcome to SnowRunner Survival: The Permagear Diaries, the newest addition to the Survivor Incognito blog. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “You know what my survival games are missing? Eight wheels, four tons of steel, and zero margin for error”—then you’re in the right place.

🛠 What is Permagear?

Permagear is SnowRunner… but with consequences.

  • Normal Mode difficulty
  • No recovering trucks to the garage
  • No teleporting to safety
  • And if all my trucks are stuck, flipped, fuel-starved, or unrecoverable… the run ends.

That’s it. No resets. No second chances. Just mud, cargo, and an ever-shrinking fleet of regret.

It’s trucking logistics turned into a survival game.
It’s permadeath… with bad suspension.

📖 What to Expect

Each entry in The Permagear Diaries will follow my journey across the frozen, flooded, and just-plain-unforgiving maps of SnowRunner.

Expect:

  • Terrible decisions dressed up as tactical ones
  • Trailers that tip five feet from the drop zone
  • Scout vehicles doing things they were never meant to do
  • And missions that somehow take three trucks and an apology

Oh—and I’m playing on the Nintendo Switch, so it’s not just the terrain that’s unstable.

📅 Coming Soon…

The first entry in the series is on the way and will cover:

  • Bridge repair
  • Raised suspension upgrades
  • An early contract delivery
  • And dragging a broken truck with a slightly less broken truck

You know. Classic start-of-shift stuff.

🔥 In Other News…

The Don’t Starve Day One Diary has hit a small snag (not a spider one, thankfully), but it’ll be live ASAP.
Turns out surviving the dark is easy—scheduling around it, less so.

Whether you’re a fellow hauler, a survival game masochist, or just here to watch the wheels fall off—welcome to Permagear.
It’s going to be slow. It’s going to be muddy. And it’s going to end gloriously badly.

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🔥 Coming Soon: Don’t Starve – Day One Diary

I spawn into a strange world with no idea what I’m doing, a questionable fascination with bees, and an unhealthy amount of enthusiasm for fire.

Join me for my chaotic first day in Don’t Starve, where the goal was to survive the night—and I did. Technically.

🧠 Lessons learned:

● Bees are not your friends

● Torches have consequences

● Darkness is not just spooky—it’s lethal


Full Day One Diary entry goes live Saturday!
Bring snacks. Maybe a fire extinguisher.

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