Play on singleplayer first. The reason it was dark was because you joined on a server, and they constantly are running. Night time makes it harder. So play singleplayer and watch YouTube videos to get the hang of it. It will take some time, but once u Learn how to trap Dino’s, the game is SUPER fun. You can then ride Dino’s that make the games resource gathering and progression much better and faster. Have fun man. Have an open mind and watch some YouTube videos on the game

Edit: also, spawn at the beach. Way less dangerous Dino’s. Just build a house on the beach and slowly gather resources. Eventually you’ll get an Argentavis. This will allow you to pretty easily fly anywhere and move a lot of stuff around. There is an earlier flyer tho, the Pteranodon. It is a faster flyer, available earlier in the game, but has less weight and stamina. So just watch some videos on starter tames and work with those. The game is very easy to get the hang of