Warframe: 1999 interview – How tales of the past could define the game’s future

Since its release in 2013, Warframe has grown exponentially, expertly toeing the line between action-RPG, third-person shooter, MMO, and space opera. Now, the far-future game is heading all the way back to 1999, as it explores the past to take the first steps into its bright future.

Warframe: 1999 is the next update for the beloved game, and for longtime players, it’s set to lay out the origins of the story they have been playing through over the last decade.

The update comes complete with a Backstreet Boys-esque boyband, Y2K-style computer viruses, and gawdy, period-appropriate visuals, all of which combine into something that falls outside of the game’s usual approach to the lore.

Though none of the above is an explicit version of our own planet, it’s certainly the closest that the game has come to setting out its roots and defining exactly where the long-held mysteries of the similarities with our own solar system begin and end.

It’s an exciting and groundbreaking time for the game, so Dexerto sat down with Community Director Megan Everett to get the lowdown on everything that players can expect from Warframe: 1999.

Time travel (mostly) without limits

Digital Extremes

The introduction of time travel into any media, be it games, movies, or television, makes for a difficult balancing act. Digital Extremes have flirted with this concept over the years, but no update has embraced it as overtly as 1999 is set to do.

As Everett explains, the developer has taken more of a narrative risk by allowing players total freedom over their ability to time travel.

“1999 is a completely optional jump back and forth. You’re going to be able to jump freely between the origin system and 1999. We set that up with a quest earlier in the year called Lotus Eaters, explaining exactly how your character, aka the Drifter, is essentially eligible to go to 1999 and have that experience.

“You’re not locked in whatsoever. The quest itself, you’re gonna be locked into in a similar way to The New War. You can’t really do anything else until you’ve done that story for obvious reasons.

“You can stay in 1999 for as long as you want. You can stay there and never come back. That’s up to you. I’m not going to yuck your yum. You do whatever you want. There will be a lot to do in 1999, so I wouldn’t be surprised if people hang out in 1999 for a while.”

This next step for Warframe does present some navigational questions. Still, the ability to freely move between 1999 and the “modern” Origin system should prevent the update from feeling more diminutive and linear. Meshing the two distinct periods together cohesively is a different challenge, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that it’s one Digital Extremes can pull off at the first time of asking.

A look at the origins of iconic Warframes

Digital Extremes

The chance to go so far back in time also allows the developer to tell the story of the earliest days of the titular Warframes. 1999 introduces the player to six Protoframes known as The Hex, representing the earliest forms of some of the most iconic ‘frames in the game.

This roster comes in the form of unique characters who hold the physical characteristics of the Warframes available in the Origin system. This includes Arthur (Excalibur), Amir (Volt), Aoi (Mag), Quincy (Cyte-09), Letitia (Trinity) and Eleanor (Nyx).

Though there are some fairly obvious reasons why the dev team chose those frames, Everett confirms that the team’s makeup is as much about complementary skill sets as it is about delivering the narrative.

“It made sense to do the starters, right? So you have Excalibur, you have Mag, and you have Volt. Then, in terms of where we narratively wanted to go with them, they are kind of the found family trope. We have Nyx, AKA Eleanor, because that’s the female sister counterpart to Excalibur in the lore of Warframe.

“Obviously, we added a new one, Cyte-09, aka Quincy. He’s completely brand new. We wanted to add in a little bit of flavor there to introduce that character. Then when we looked at that group of Warframes, who are you missing?

“You’re missing your classic healer that could be a part of that squad. So Trinity was an obvious choice there. We wanted to go with the found family who meshes together and whose storylines could be really interesting. There’s a lot about these Protoframes that players still don’t know.

“The animated short that we’re working on will give a bit more of that found family and what their vibe is with each other, so that’ll be really exciting for them to see.”

The idea of Protoframes is an interesting one, and an entirely new avenue for the story to explore, so it would be a shame if that weren’t capitalized on further in the future. If Everett’s later response is anything to go by, that’s not something the player base needs to worry about.

“I think it would be obviously a missed opportunity if we didn’t do more Protoframes. There’s no more coming in 1999. We have the six, and that’s The Hex. We will, and we want, to do more Protoframes. I can’t say that we will commit to all of them, but it’s definitely in our minds and our plans to do more Protoframes.

“Again, there will be some strategy behind it in terms of which ones we would do and which ones narratively fit within the story that we’re trying to build with this. It’s all strategic in terms of the next ones, but they’re brewing. They’re in the brain.”

1999 won’t release in isolation

Digital Extremes

One of the most immediate and obvious concerns with a release as radical as Warframe: 1999 is that it might exist as an outlier, rather than a properly integrated part of the universe.

Being able to ping backward and forward freely does go some way to alleviating that as a pressing concern, but where does it leave the storytelling of Warframe moving forward?

Fortunately, though the Origin system will still serve as the game’s central focus, the implications of 1999 will be felt for years to come, as Everett details.

“We definitely looked ahead to the next few years, real years in terms of game development, and different stories that we haven’t expanded on yet. A lot of those are obviously in the Origin system because we’ve been in the Origin system for 11 years, and players can probably guess the stories that we haven’t expanded on yet.

“We won’t do a 1999 or Echoes of 1999 and then just ditch it and leave it. I think there will always be a piece of it that applies to whatever we do moving forward. We also want to maintain the Origin System side of the story and continue stories there that we haven’t touched yet.

“So, not to say that the game will only be 1999, and there won’t be much else going on. It’s going to be a back-and-forth. Dr. Entrati, Albrecht Entrati, started his story in the Origin system, so there’s more to see of his influence there. Plus, The Man in the Wall is literally everywhere.”

The lore of Warframe is so deep after 11 years of development that many different potential narrative futures are possible. The idea that 1999 serves as one part of that is probably a good one, allowing all comers to experience the game in the way that they wish.

Whatever happens with the full release, 1999 is conceptually arguably the bravest update in the game’s history. With well over 50 million registered players, it’s not a make or be make or break for Digital Extremes, but if it’s received well, it could alter the landscape of Warframe forever.

Taking that risk and moving forward with a departure from that original formula is arguably the attitude that has propelled the game to its current position, so for a longtime player, it’s nice to see that the continued desire to innovate remains so prevalent.

Warframe: 1999 is set to release in December as a free update for Warframe players.