DKC Atlas Forum

[Cyclone]

Hey guys and gals,

As you may know I'm working on a modeling project for the original Donkey Kong County.

I'm trying to flesh out the story for my project and would like to hear from you guys. What would you like to see, how should the story go and how should I fill the gaps.

So far this is what I'm thinking

Act 1/3
- K.Rool orders the kremlings to steal bananas (may be omitted) (where does this take place? off the island?)
- Kremlings enter the banana hoard and steal the bananas during a thunderstorm.
- scene showing the baddies taking some bananas
- next shows a march of baddies exiting the hoard walking through the jungle during the rainy environment
- some krushas kidnap Diddy (where does diddy live?) and throw/ him lock him in a barrel
- Next morning DK wakes up after hearing diddy making a racket in the barrel(interior scene of DK's house)
- DK hears Diddy in the barrel and frees him.
- DK perhapps Diddy to enters the empty banana hoard.
- they set off into the jungle searching for the bananas that were stolen.
- maybe various scenes of DK and Diddy traveling through various Archetypes in search of their bananas. (for now this would be the last thing to work on)
- Maybe they enter a boss lair full of bananas where the Act 1 ends in a cliff hanger.

I may have 3 or more acts but for now I'm sticking wth only one act. I have K.rool modeled so I would like to use him somehow in act 1 without revealing him. Maybe he is in a scene were you only see him in shadow/silhouette?

Any ideas would immensely help the project.
Thanks in advance

[Phyreburnz]

The two places I can see K. Rool giving the orders would be in the captain's cabin of his ship or in the throne room of his castle back on crocodile isle. That might take a while to make, though.

I can picture him at his desk facing two or so henchmen with the camera behind K. Rool's back looking out at the henchmen.

As for Diddy, I'm not sure where he'd live.... do all of the Kongs have their own separate homes or do they all live in the cabin?

[Cyclone]

Thanks Phyreburnz I like your ideas. I think I would go for the captains cabin. The trick would be making an environment that looks like it's part of the DK universe.g

hmm Diddy... Dk's home is too small I think for them all to live together. Where would Diddy be when he is locked in the barrel? I don't think he would be walking through the jungle in the rain all by himself...Could he be garding the banana hoard while DK is sleeping?

[Phyreburnz]

The trick would be making an environment that looks like it's part of the DK universe.

Actually, I don't think that would be too tough, after all the captain's cabin was shown in DKC2 (remember where Diddy picks up the note from Kaptain K. Rool?). The only tough part would be taking the cabin from a different angle.

Maybe behind DK's cabin, there are other cabins where the other Kongs live?

[Cyclone]

Actually, I don't think that would be too tough, after all the captain's cabin was shown in DKC2 (remember where Diddy picks up the note from Kaptain K. Rool?). The only tough part would be taking the cabin from a different angle.

True. I thought of that. I would want to make it look in the same style as the ship in the final boss fight in DKC1.

I thought maybe Diddy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just have to think of a better place for him to be instead of in the rain.

Thanks.

[Qyzbud]

- some krushas kidnap Diddy (where does diddy live?) and throw/ him lock him in a barrel

I believe Diddy is standing guard by DK's hoard when all this happens, and Klump (a Klump, that is...) is the main Kremling who captures him.

Spoiler!

Diddy is standing guard for DK 'as part of his hero training':

OK, little buddy, as part of your hero training, you've got to stand guard tonight over my bananas... I'll relieve you at midnight, so try and stay awake until then!

The story tells that Diddy was "quickly overcome by the weight of many scaly assailants" and "the enormous bulk of Klump the Kremling landed on top of Diddy, knocking him senseless".

The little fella was sealed in a barrel, then 'punted' into the jungle by Klump.

The official story — scanned from the instruction booklet:

Spoiler!

So, it sounds like Diddy was timidly standing guard — probably in the cave entrance of DK's Hoard, to keep dry — and despite his fears, he leapt into action in the face of overwhelming odds.

It also sounds like DK and Diddy knew the Kremlings were afoot... but perhaps didn't expect a full-frontal assault that night.


The question I pose is; did K. Rool live on DK Island, but left to collect a ship big enough to hold DK's entire hoard?
(and that's why he's arriving (returning) with the Gang-Plank Galleon as the Kongs make their way around the island?

Or do we think K. Rool has always been based outside of DK Island?
(perhaps on Crocodile Isle, with the other Kremling varieties we see in DKC2, and is simply sailing to DK Island to collect the bananas?)

Spoiler!

Also; has K. Rool ever actually set foot on DK Island at all?

[Cyclone]

Thanks.

There is lots of work to do. Model Klump,Diddy,Donkey Kong,and Cranky etc. Those will all take some time to model. And I'm not confident I can animate them either.

Story so far...

Act 1/3
- K.Rool orders the kremlings to steal bananas from his cabin in his ship)
- Kremlings enter the banana hoard and steal the bananas during a thunderstorm.
- Diddy gets in the way(standing guard in the hoard) and is locked in a barrel.
- scene showing the kremlings taking some bananas and leaving the hoard with the kremlings walking through the jungle with bananas in their carts.
- Next morning DK wakes up after Cranky hits him with his cane (interior scene of DK's house)
- Some scenes showing DK and Cranky talking.
- DKenters the empty banana hoard.
- DK hears Diddy in the barrel and frees him.
- they set off into the jungle searching for the bananas that were stolen.
- maybe various scenes of DK and Diddy traveling through various Archetypes in search of their bananas. (for now this would be the last thing to work on)
- Maybe they enter a boss lair full of bananas where the Act 1 ends in a cliff hanger.


I think K. Rool never sets foot on DK island and lives in crocodile isle

[Qyzbud]

It does sound like a bit of work, but I know you have what it takes.

[...]maybe various scenes of DK and Diddy traveling through various Archetypes in search of their bananas[...]

I very much like the sound of that — MONTAGE!

I think K. Rool never sets foot on DK island and lives in crocodile isle

Yeah, that sounds pretty likely. I guess I figured that he lived on DK Island because so many of his Kremling subjects seem to inhabit the Kongs' homeland... although to be honest I'm not sure if they are just present due to a 'Hoard-heist invasion', or if they actually lived on the island leading up to those events...

Either way, your proposed storyboard sounds awesome to me.

[Cyclone]

Another thing to think of is whether or not to use text balloons for the talking or have their mouths move with voice. Animating mouth expressions would be really tricky.

[Qyzbud]

True... it's one of the 'holy grails' of 3D animation, isn't it? 'Twould be an awesome skill to add to your demo reel, for sure.

I wonder, though, if you'd be able to very cleverly tell the whole story using gestures, expressions, and perhaps little animated graphic thought bubbles? I think the whole thing could be done without voice... which might be easier to do from a technical standpoint, but also might require more creativity and critical thinking... I'm honestly not sure which approach I'd prefer to see, or which would be more feasible/manageable from an animation perspective.

[Cyclone]

I think I might attempt facial expressions for K. Rool. I would need reference from the DKC TV series though which I don't have. Sigh...

[Qyzbud]

You could probably find all you need on YouTube, but I do have nearly every episode if you need extra reference...

[Cyclone]

When I was creating those cloud in a render I was thinking it would be neet if the camera past through the clouds to reveal DK Island. Perhaps Squawks can be flying through the clouds to.

[Cyclone]

Since the main story is more or less figured out. Does anyone have any cool ideas to throw into the animation? Ideas that would fit in the world of DK and the games.
Thanks.