A direct translation (Gaming)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Monday, July 08, 2019, 11:16 (1753 days ago) @ INSANEdrive

What did I just see?

Warframe's biggest hurdle has always been the onboarding process of introducing new players to the game's myriad systems, which seem far more daunting/demanding than they really are. So as part of another major overhaul to that new player experience, DE got together with Dan Trachtenberg (Portal: No Escape, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Black Mirror) to make a new intro cinematic to the game, highlighting the three starting characters, the enemy factions, and some of the background lore (that is implemented into the actual game, whod've thunk?). Best part of the trailer is that there is no fluff. Everything on screen showcases aspects of the game (even an ability augment that isn't in the game yet, but will be soon), and there is even a couple of things there for veterans that new players wouldn't get. Trachtenberg is enough of a Warframe fan that he even talked about how he approached DE when some of the details of the script seemed off from what's actually in the game, only to be reassured by them that those details would be brought in line to match the script.

So here's a play-by-play of what the cinematic shows, and how that's all important or relevant to the game itself:

So it opens with a girl whose village was attacked by the enemy Grineer. Her clothing is reminiscent of the Ostron faction from Earth's open world, but there is a bit more to it (which is shown later).

Running from them, she reaches an old Orokin tower. The Orokin have been dead for hundreds (thousands?) of years, and what happened to them is one of the game's big early mysteries, which you do eventually solve.

She finds what looks like statues of an Excalibur, a Mag, and a Volt, the three Frames you can choose from when you start the game.
She places a Lotus flower at their knees. The Lotus is a major symbol (and emblematic of the theme of the game's overarching theme of love/family) in the game. The cinemtatic itself is narrated by the Lotus, who is a maternal figure that guides you through most of the game.

The game then cuts to a flashback of an Excalibur with his Kubrow, which are one of the "pets" that you can raise in the game, and which all have different abilities (the one in the intro looks to be a Huras Kubrow, which are a stealthier breed that stalk enemies).

They turn to look at what is clearly a Grineer ship, but one that has Orokin-styled colors and ornaments, placing this scene during the Old War era, where the Grineer were slaves of the Orokin. He slaughters them both with some of the game's starting weapons, and two of his abilities (Exalted Blade and Radial Javelin).

The game then cuts to Mag's perspective, as she flies over the battlefield on an Archwing (An Elytron, specifically), which you use in the open worlds and for space combat. When shot down, she uses her Magnetize ability (with an upcoming augment) to catch the enemy bullets before sending them back. The ION Titan would be proud.

The perspective then cuts to Volt, the Electric frame. His thing is obviously speed, and gives us a first ever look at how well the Orokin Dax soldiers (Elite warriors and protectors of the Orokin) fared against Warframes during the Old War. Clearly not much better than the Grineer.

The Warframe abilities are showcased, and one of the neat little touches during that scene is a moment where the Volt is electrocuting a group of soldiers. That exact moment is seen sometime later in the actual game being recreated by children playing with Warframe masks, highlighting how legendary these ancient battles are.

Excalibur then uses an MK-1 Paris with a sweet Crit/Status Riven and Blast build to take out the Grineer dropships, which leads the rest to evacuate (and you can see some of the Orokin ships in the background as well, which are almost exclusively found as derelicts in the game).

The Warframes declare victory, before entering what is later known as "The Second Dream", and they go absent for however many centuries before we cut back to the girl, who pulls her hood back to reveal Somatics on her face, and the closeup also reveals that under her Ostron garb, she was wearing a Zariman Operator suit. She is a Tenno. The camera cuts to her as she uses Transference to dissipate herself, and activate the Warframes.

The cinematic ends, and you, the player, get to choose your starter Frame.

Shooting down ships with a bow and arrow? Wallrunning before slamming down on a swarm of enemies? Lifting a dozen enemies in the air before crumpling their bones together like a can? all stuff that you can do in the game.

So yeah, the cinematic is just one step that they're taking to ease players into the game, as even the recent overhaul of the NPE was still somewhat vague about what's going on.