How Skull Island: Rise of Kong Is Inspired by Its Rich Lore

A classic quest for survival, vengeance and revenge. Kong, the King Skull Island is on a quest to find his arch-nemesis Gaw. Skull Island Rise of Kong, an all-new action-adventure game that explores the origins of Merian C. Cooper’s “King Kong.” Before New York, Kong was born and raised in the prehistoric wilds of Skull Island; this childhood cut short as the super-saurian predator Gaw kills Kong’s parents forcing the eventual King to survive the exotic threats of Skull Island on his own. The game is a new action-adventure that explores the origins of Merian C. Cooper’s “King Kong”. Before New York, King Kong was born and raised in Skull Island. This childhood has been cut short by Gaw, whose super-saurian predator killed his parents. Skull Island Rise of Kong, you’ll journey as Kong on his quest to transcend this moment of terror, overcome all odds, and become the legendary battle-scarred 30-foot “King of Skull Island.”

This game involved the close collaboration with creator Joe DeVito, who penned and illustrated two original stories about the lore of the island in “Skull Island” and “The History of Skull Island.” These stories answered fan questions about King Kong: what was the human civilization like on Skull Island, how was the Wall built, the history of the Kong species and of course, how did Kong become the King of Skull Island?

Zach Alt: What from Kong’s story were you most interested in seeing adapted into a video game?

Joe DeVitoIn this game, I enjoyed the history of Kong the Younger and his journey to becoming the ruler of Skull Island. I was very pleased to see Gaw’s highly intelligent death runners interpreted as alive creatures. In the King Kong of Skull Island univers, life did not cease on Skull Island when the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million year ago. This evolution continued, and I was inspired to continue it. What if its ‘hands’ developed dexterity akin to ours, which have opposable thumbs–an essential detail that helped put our brains on the fast track towards developing a problem-solving intelligence? The saurians I found were pseudo-sentient and had a colossal queen named Gaw.

Gaw, the deathrunners, had long ruled Skull Island. They had no desire to relinquish their control.

The struggle was not resolved for centuries. The struggle would be resolved with the orphaned youth Kong, who grew into a giant of giants. King Kong became a legend and myth. It is this history that I hope gamers will enjoy and appreciate as they play the game.

Zach Alt: What was fascinating about Kong’s origin story?

Joe DeVitoTwo things made me love creating the prequel/sequel of King Kong. Answering lifelong questions about Kong and Skull Island such as, who or what?It is a good idea to useHow did Kong come to be on this island? What is the story of Skull Island and why have the dinosaurs never died out there? What were the details of the human civilization that came to live there and how did they manage to build a gigantic Wall with the likes of ferocious dinosaurs and Kong himself lurking in their midst–and if they built the Wall to keep Kong and other giants out, why did it have doors big enough to let them in?

Unraveling all those mysteries naturally led to contemplating a myriad of associated details of Skull Island all the way down to the rocks, water, even the bacteria of the island’s make up, in order to detail a plausible reality on which to base my findings. It opened up a world of possibilities, allowing me to create new species that were not previously known. An example of the last detail is an indigenous spider species that shows strange characteristics of both arachnid and mammalian, such as external musculature on the eight legs and feeding the dozens of hatched spiderlings with a milky substance–not to mention grasping appendages at the end of each of its eight otherwise spider-like limbs. The reasons behind these anomalies and others on the island are explored, as well as why (so-far) they have not been spread elsewhere.  The questions could go on forever…in total, it is what could be described as the “world creation” of it all that enthralled me the most.

This was a lot of fun, particularly when I saw the spiders Kong is going to encounter in later levels. I hope that the player has fun with some of my creations. They can also enjoy the skullite caves and the collectibles within the game. 

Zach Alt : Which are the most captivating creatures that you would like to see in the game brought to life?

Joe DeVito The main creatures I was most excited to see in the game and the main one–more accurately, ones–are the deathrunners and their monstrous queen, Gaw. Gaw was chosen as a Deathrunner early in the game and is fed a diet special by her fellow deathrunners. It triggers the physiological changes necessary to maintain and propagate them. The unique, intelligent and complex species is the product of 65 million years’ additional adaptation to the bizarre environment of Skull Island. They are smaller and slightly bigger than human beings but they’re not like any other raptor. The deathrunners have many anatomical differences, including an enlarged braincase and a more upright stance because the spine is connected under the skull like in humans instead of through the back.  

Gaw has a unique intelligence, as she is an oversized version of a Deathrunner. Her enhanced intellect puts her on the same level with Kongs. Gaw is different from the Deathrunners in that they have a cold and calculating intelligence. Kong, on the other hand, is capable of feeling a greater range of feelings. In the end it is Kong’s greater courage, his indomitable spirit if you will, that gives him the edge over the larger and in some respects, more powerful, Gaw. The design of the video game reflected this well!

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For more information, please visit RiseofKong.com. Skull Island Rise of KongXbox Store