Just at Tennocon, Digital Extremes announced a gameplay demo of the next major update: Warframe 1999. This edgy, millennial-themed demonstration was imbued with a very specific grungy vibe. Not only that, but it takes Warframe to a completely unfamiliar place – a retro European city filled with modern military enemies and arcade machines rather than the galactic sci-fi we’re familiar with.
To talk more about how the team realized this compelling new part of Warframe’s future, I spoke with creative director Rebecca Ford about the inspiration for the design. It turns out that one of the key building blocks of Warframe 1999 comes from an old game from Digital Extreme: Dark Sector.
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VG247: This new area! It’s very European. What was that world’s inspiration for design and identity?
Rebecca Ford: Honestly, The Dark Zone was a really fun inspiration because I had never actually worked on The Dark Zone. But some people on the Warframe team certainly do. So we’re looking at how to create an outdoor, vaguely European feel, but now for Warframe. How do we use programmed levels and how do we get out. Then all the points focus on the fact that we have motorcycles and we have two factions. Let’s build some streets and sewers and see what happens.
From that point on, we really need to find a reason for this world to exist. It’s 1999, the turn of the millennium, and technology is everywhere! Obviously this is another Earth, so things are a little different. Ultimately, we settled on this moody, Dark Sector-inspired (but uniquely Warframe) slice of Earth in 1999.
VG247: Is this the only Dark Side we can look forward to? I know these years don’t quite match up with Dark Sector being set at the end of the Cold War, but even so…
Ford: Yes. I guess there might be a few nods, but for a lot of people…if anyone is looking for a continuation of Darkside in any way, it’s not here. Of course, elements of Warframe 1999 wouldn’t exist without Dark Sector.
VG247: I want to ask about the new enemy factions we just saw. Can you tell us more about it?
Ford: “Skaldra! Yes, they were a powerful force in the 1999 military rule. In Hollvanian terms. They were anti-infection containment units, but they were also military. They were led by a major: Major Rosuka, who you can clearly see She is seen ruling alongside Skaldera to stop technobots and what she calls “slugs” from entering her city.
VG247: What was it like blending 1999 technology with Warframe’s very unique aesthetic?
Ford: We’re always in a game world from another Earth, and luckily Warframe has had a lot of people contribute to it over the years. When we were first promoting the 1999 art team around, our original art director Minki (now away from the team but still in touch) showed off some sketches of the 1999 faction. They were just sketches on paper and we were like, ‘Ah! certainly! So we had two potential military units, and we sent them to our team, and thus built the faction.
Their key property is: What would it look like to someone trying to stop an infection? Well, they probably use a lot of slime or gas, so that’s really key for them as far as visual identification. Of course, take some creative liberties.
VG247: They look unique, but also original. Is there a link there?
Ford: There’s a huge connection! Just in terms of how we deal with it. There’s no comment on the narrative of course, but as far as the design goes we think it’s okay, the Grineer are basically a military force with traditional guns and clone rot, what would a distant cousin of a military faction look like in 1999, can we understand a little bit Rather from a military perspective. So they are completely spiritual design partners of the Grineer.
Is this insight making you eager to check out the update for yourself? You won’t have to wait too long, as Warframe 1999 will be released on all platforms in the fall of 2024!
