By Nathan Grayson on October 9th, 2012 at 10:00 am.
What, Shakespeare was once to paraphrased to have asked, is in a [Warframe]? It’s a question that’s stumped scholars for hundreds of years, but – with the upcoming release of Digital Extremes’ probably coincidentally titled Warframe – we have a pretty good shot at finding out. For now, though, we’ll have to settle for a few tantalizing morsels of information that, well, actually have me quite interested in finding out more. So far, I’ve seen nothing to suggest that Warframe will reinvent the wheel, but Dishonored-esque figure-out-tricks-the-developers-hadn’t-even-thought-of antics might just give it some legs. Wheel legs.
Looks sort Mass Effect multiplayer-y, right? Admittedly, however, space ninjas feature a little more prominently here – as do quite a wide range of powers. I mean, between these two classes, we saw invisibility, decoys, some kind of telekinetic trash compactor crush, bubbles that make baddies shoot themselves, Force pulls, and of course, super neat switcheroo teleportation.
That last one’s easily my favorite – especially in light of how excited the Digital Extremes folks were that people have already brain-teleported circles around them in discovering new ways to normal-teleport. Putting your own decoy miles away and then switching with it, for instance, seems like a clever way to get around the power’s limitations. That, however, also seems like only the beginning, if you ask me. What if, for instance, I leaped off a ledge, targeted an enemy, and then switched said bulbous-shouldered menace right into an infinite abyss/lava pit/parallel dimension where he has to relive the awkward moment when he meets his significant other’s parents for the first time for all eternity? And let’s not forget that there’ll be other players in the mix as well. The super-powered possibilities, then, seem quite vast.
So yes, I’m quite keen on watching where Warframe goes. Even if its name really is the silliest thing.
09/10/2012 at 10:07 Ian says:
WARF-… oh….
09/10/2012 at 10:13 jikavak says:
FRAMEFACE
09/10/2012 at 11:13 Makariel says:
FACEBOOK
no, wait…
09/10/2012 at 16:40 Surlywombat says:
Thank you.
09/10/2012 at 10:19 Captchist says:
I gotta say, I read that first sentence 4 times trying to make sense of it.
I like the look of this game. There does seem to be a lot of pausing as the characters go to use their powers, most of them get cast from standing still for example which seems quite common in 3rd person games, and typically makes the characters and gameplay feel quite halting and jerky. It may just be poor gameplay in the videos, but it doesn’t look terribly smooth and dynamic and fast. It looks more – run around corner. See bad guys, choose the right power. Move on. Purely from watching a short clip of course, but more flow and dynamism in games is never a bad thing.
09/10/2012 at 10:47 ArtyFishal says:
The look reminds me of Dark Sector. Which I guess makes sense, it was also by Digital Extremes.
09/10/2012 at 11:05 aldo_14 says:
Not sure which version you mean – but it definitely looks a LOT like the original concept of Dark Sector – http://youtu.be/BXJFC4bbzXw
11/10/2012 at 06:48 Bluepixie says:
Same developers so yes, it’s Dark Sector. http://www.otakubutgangsta.com/articles/2012/8/11/dark-sectors-successor-is-warframe.html
I was very excited about the original trailer when it came out. Still awesome tbh. However, I hope they throw the current name out the window? The name Warframe just makes me want to glaze over.
09/10/2012 at 10:47 Pryde says:
I don’t like the new trend how gamedevs show their faces much too often, damn. Show me your game, I’m not interested in watching your ugly mugs, jeez! Neither the mugs of you clearly aged female co-workers! Narrate if necessary, but no more >.<
09/10/2012 at 10:56 Ansob says:
“Clearly aged?”
09/10/2012 at 11:01 JackShandy says:
Yup, look at that skin, this female has clearly grown at least a year older at some point in the past.
09/10/2012 at 11:48 Subatomic says:
She’s like… 30 or something! Gross!
09/10/2012 at 11:54 Pryde says:
Oh, well, I phrased it funny. Nonetheless – she’s not even game developer. Community manager, lol. Meaning “no useful skills at all”. Why they make me watch? Let’s ask cleaning guys about their opinion on classes too, why not? x)
09/10/2012 at 15:26 Dances to Podcasts says:
You’re really out to make friends today, aren’t you?
09/10/2012 at 16:33 Rise / Run says:
So the guys in the vid are all young AAA athletes and obviously have “useful” skills? I’d say if she’s running their social media presence (my guess based on her job title), you should be stoked she’s actually played the game (or at least knows her job well enough to make a video in which she is quoted as saying such).
Take your attitude and misogyny somewhere else.
09/10/2012 at 13:19 InternetBatman says:
I’m glad they’re doing it. It’s a way to familiarize fans with developers faces, allowing them more leverage in negotiating with publishers.
09/10/2012 at 13:44 Askeladd says:
Is this sarcasm?
09/10/2012 at 14:52 Armitage says:
Its definately better than the previous trend, a one minute trailer that shows only shows cutscenes and never actually describes the gameplay.
09/10/2012 at 10:55 Ansob says:
Gosh, but the interviewy bits of that video are certainly awkward to watch.
09/10/2012 at 12:59 Hunchback says:
Indeed. [It] Was almost like watching The Office, only this was supposed to be serious.
09/10/2012 at 12:40 bodydomelight says:
Mr Grayson wins many, many points for the Nightcrawler reference.
09/10/2012 at 13:25 Lagwolf says:
Woah can they make their game sound any more boring? Whoever decided this informal was a good way to sell the game was unwise.
09/10/2012 at 13:52 Askeladd says:
It always feels strange when people want to sell me something, while it’s obvious they are acting.
Feels like teleshopping.
How about just playing half a level and comment on it in real time without cutting anything out? I’d watch that and could tell much better what this games potential is.
It’s kind of funny that I get f the feeling they don’t want to show too much of their game. Not just from this game alone…
09/10/2012 at 13:48 Winged Nazgul says:
Space Ninjas is a vastly superior name than Warframe.
09/10/2012 at 19:34 Warduke says:
+1