There’s been a big looming question in gaming for a while: “What is Warframe?” The team at Digital Extremes did their best to answer that question last year with an amazing trailer. Still, it only teases what Warframe really offers. For example, I went into the game thinking it was a space-ninja looter-shooter. And yes, it is that, but it’s also much more. To this day, after hundreds of hours in-game, I’m still completely surprised by the amount of content and the depth of storytelling the game offers.
What captivates me most about that storytelling is how emotional it can be. Behind those alien-looking Warframes, there are stories of family conflicts and battles between rival space factions. One such family drama is the quest Jade Shadows, which takes family conflict to a whole new level with its recent sequel quest, Jade Shadows: Constellations. We had the privilege of asking some questions to Warframe’s Community Director, Megan Everett, about this new quest, the new Railjack content, and more.
GAMEOBSERVER: Warframe’s quests, from major story chapters like Angels of the Zariman to side quests such as Call of the Tempestarii, are filled with emotional and cinematic moments. What motivated the team to create a sequel to Jade Shadows specifically?
Megan Everett: When we were originally developing Jade Shadows, the Creative team knew they wanted to one day do a “sequel” to the story, especially considering the end choice you’re presented with! We have never done a true sequel to a “side quest” before but Jade Shadows really fit that vision. The positive reception the first Jade Shadows Quest got was above and beyond anything we ever could have expected when it first launched, and we knew the community was eager for more. That was a big motivator for the team to lock in on doing the sequel story. While I don’t think players ever really saw us doing Jade Shadows Part 2, we had a lot of fun crafting and exploring this Eternalism conflict!
GAMEOBSERVER: There are many parental figures and family-centered stories throughout Warframe and its quests: the Operator and Lotus, The Sacrifice, and, of course, Jade Shadows. These themes seem to continue in Constellations, with Sirius and Orion being raised and mentored by Ryoku and Vena. Why does family drama keep fitting so well into Warframe, and what is it about these themes that keeps drawing the team back to those dramatic conflicts?
Everett: Warframe’s approach to storytelling has always been deeply grounded in exploring stories relatable to the human experience. Some of the most relatable life experiences we have as humankind are those we share with family. Family is universally understood. It can be an infinite well to pull from narratively, especially when you layer that with Eternalism and other bits of Warframe lore that allow us to explore timelines in wildly interesting ways. Family can be ever-changing but will always be a universally understood experience, whether it be blood family or chosen family. We are social animals by nature.
GAMEOBSERVER: One of the reasons I started playing Warframe was the Gemini Skins introduced in the 1999 update. I’m glad the team has continued not only to add more Protoframes, but also to expand their customization options. Does the team plan to create a Protoframe for every Warframe, or is this something that will be handled on a case-by-case basis?
Everett: We aren’t ones to commit to a long-term plan like that. People have frequently expected us to turn right when we end up turning left and shake things up. Everything we develop for Warframe needs to serve a purpose, and that includes Protoframes. If it makes sense for the update, we’ll do it! So I’d say it’s case-by-case for now… but you never know with us.
GAMEOBSERVER: Railjack is one of my favorite aspects of Warframe. I’ll never forget how excited I was when I first discovered it was a playable game mode. I’m very happy to see it receiving more content. Does the team consider these additions enough to bring Railjack to a permanent place in terms of content and overall playability, or are they just one step in a larger series of planned updates for the game mode?
Everett: People often say that Warframe is secretly four or five games stitched together; while funny to think about, the reality is that Warframe’s scope is very big. We understand that can make it challenging to make frequent updates to every single mode. We know people love the KIM system, but it might be a while before we touch it again in a big way. It’s been ages since we made updates to Frame Fighter or the Shawzin. Maybe we will consider coming back to those, or maybe we leave them where they are because the time isn’t right to return to them. Any changes we make to major features like this absolutely must serve the current update. The return to Railjack here very much had a narrative purpose that we got to tie into our new Protoframes, so it was just a piece to a much larger picture. Any other changes to Railjack or any other legacy game modes for Warframe will have to serve a similar purpose in future updates. We recognize that there is a large dedicated group of players that love Railjack, and when the time is right we’ll sprinkle in another dose of content!
GAMEOBSERVER: Are there any other quests that you would personally like to see get a sequel?
Everett: I would, personally, love to return to Angels of the Zariman! It has some of my favorite Warframe lore to deep dive into, and I think there are more stories to tell with that ship and its trip into the Void… and the things that came back out with it. I’m a horror fan, and always love it when we get to add more horror into Warframe, the game of many genres.
The GameObserver team would like to thank Digital Extremes and Megan Everett for answering these questions. Warframe is available for free on all platforms!
