Warframe Is (Becoming) A Cliché Scifi Shooter

[Institute-Marksman]

Perhaps not the entirety of Warframe, but if you just look at the factions we have, it's quite bad. I mean 'any good' scifi game has a militaristic crude faction hellbent on destroying anything that's not themselves.

Then theres the crazy techno-people who like to spend 'a little too much' time with technology.

And let's not forget about the animalistic zombie-esque faction that's just out there to kill anything.

Below, I quote other games besides Warframe who either show all of the aforementioned traits or at least one of them:

The Halo Universe
Mass Effect
Destiny
Planetside 2
Crysis
The Half-Life Series
Warhammer 40K
The Defiance MMO

And perhaps others I never heard of.

So now I've offended about half of all gamers, I'm still glad I finally got it off my mind. Scenarios like these are becoming more and more common and I'm starting to think it's all about the money, and not so much about making good science-fiction. When will the time come that someone comes and shakes things up a little? Try something completely different for a change. The fact that the builders of the universes mentioned above tend to stick to what a faction should look like above worries me. I thinks it's about damn time to redefine what we consider science-fiction.

The grandfathers of sci-fi are all long dead and we keep feeding off of their carcasses.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Institute-Marksman

[KuroShiranui]

Hmm... And the Orokin sounded like the Protheans from ME

[AdunSaveMe]

Yeah, because it's not like most ideas ever used haven't been used before. "It's all about the money" is such a painfully stupid thing to say, just because an idea isn't 100% original.

[Agent_Maine]

Agree^^^^

[Vilemyre]

Close but the grineer do have some sort of political thing going on. They are more like stalin era Russia. Will destroy those who don't ally with them or get in their way of their goals.

 

Corpus, true they use technology but only want to make money from it, they don't obsess to the point where its almost their religion like Vanu.

 

As for the infested, the host is still alive and not a zombie. They are instead constantly disfigured and in pain. Because if the host dies the infestation dies with it.

 

Yeah they are similar to the cliches but the little things help.

[Autongnosis]

Most fictional genres have this problem due to insane oversaturation. I mean, there is a finite amount of weird ideas you can fit even into scifi and basically all of the good ones are taken already.

Also the whole thing that marks good fiction, which is character and world depth and quality of writing, is real hard to show in a game, let alone for the fact that, let's be honest for a second, MMOs are meant to be played, any backstory is just a secondary aspect that can make the whole experience nicer. Gameplay first, foremost and last.

[AdunSaveMe]

I mean 'any good' scifi game has a militaristic crude faction hellbent on destroying anything that's not themselves.

And anything can sound like anything else if you boil it down to one single aspect. Never mind that they're actually angry genetically-modified clones who want to oppress the system on the whim of two ancient queens from a long-gone empire, oh no. They want to kill things, so cliche!

 

Also, the corpus aren't "crazy techno people''. They're a merchant cult. A trade federation, if you will. They are a militaristic bunch of profiteers who want to plunder orokin tech for profit and scientific advancement, and they use a lot of technology like MOAs to reinforce their offensives because they have neither the sheer numbers of the clone grineer nor the "the more you die, the stronger we get" aspect of the infested. But hey, they like tech, JUST LIKE [unspecified faction]!

Edited November 2, 2015 by AdunSaveMe

[Suncake]

The more stuff is created the harder it is to create something new. So now we're getting more and more remakes, reworks, remixes. It's not just Warframe - it's everywhere.

[TARINunit9]

OK, first, you have one of your tropes wrong: it's normally the animalistic LOCUST-esque faction that's just out there to kill anything

 

Second, Warframe only hits these on the most basic level. The "militaristic crude faction hellbent on destroying anything that's not themselves" are normally either A) overly-prideful Spartan knockoffs, or B) space Nazis. While the Grineer do have the whole "master race" mentality, they don't really have a jackboot fashion sense. They're a play off the Starcraft marines, but bulgy and half-rotten and grungy instead of the usual clean stormtroopers. It's implied their propaganda is just Vay Hek giving himself an excuse to hear his own voice, and instead of loud OORAHs or hymnal chants they just rasp and growl everything

 

The Corpus don't use robotics as much as you imply they do. Corpus are all about cutting corners, and they feel it better to just throw brainwashed slaves at everything rather than shell out the cash for shiny robots. Their fetishistic creepy flaw is their love of cash, not technology. Orokin era tech is coveted not because it unlocks the secrets of the universe and perfection, but because it's rare. Rare = valuable

 

The only faction I think is cliche are the Orokin themselves. An amazing race of precursors who had gold and wealth flowing from their armpits and whose technology is indistinguishable from magic? That's the overplayed one

[Vilemyre]

The more stuff is created the harder it is to create something new. So now we're getting more and more remakes, reworks, remixes. It's not just Warframe - it's everywhere.

Originality died a long time ago.

[Arachne.]

Yeah, because it's not like most ideas ever used haven't been used before. "It's all about the money" is such a painfully stupid thing to say, just because an idea isn't 100% original.

[Institute-Marksman]

Hmm... And the Orokin sounded like the Protheans from ME

And the Forerunners from Halo.

[(PSN)federally]

It's not like the WarFrame devs are top notch writers who are going to break new storytelling ground and redefine an entire genre.

To expect such things is on my opinion ludicrous.

They are instead game developers focused on making a good game and tying the gameplay together with a story that's heavily derivative of popular tropes within the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and nothing is inherently wrong with that.

This isn't WarFrame the novel, where story is the main attraction. This is a game

[Vyrn]

+StarCraft and like many other RTS games

 

Let me throw in a few things, though.

 

1. It works. Having 3 main factions/teams/sides/whatever is a common sight because it works so well. Each choice is unique. Having only 3 main options gives each one plenty of room to be unique and different from the others without intruding on anything.

 

2. Slightly similar to the first point, there are few enough factions that each one can have plenty of time and effort put in to build a personality. At the same time, there aren't too few that people feel confined to either pick left or right. Now, there's at least a third option. There is another "faction" in the works, and, although it too falls into the same clichés, it will help offer some more variety.

 

3. This is the most important one. The rule of three. This applies to both other points as well. Ever notice how pretty much everything is governed by threes? Having three options just is the optimal route for the majority of things. Heck, even something as simple as rock-paper-scissors is a clear-cut (okay, bad pun) is a slave to it, and the same rule applies here. As icing on the cake, putting 3 points with the third one being the rule of three (while intentional) just works out.

 

tl;dr rule of three is overpowered

[4MostlyHarmless2]

So what exactly would be "new" and "refreshing" sci-fi themes that you could fit in a video game about shooting and killing stuff?  I understand that if you boil it down to the basics we're just using the old ideas with a few new flavors here and there, but if the main purpose of the game is to shoot and kill stuff, how exactly do you fit those in?

[Vilemyre]

So what exactly would be "new" and "refreshing" sci-fi themes that you could fit in a video game about shooting and killing stuff?  I understand that if you boil it down to the basics we're just using the old ideas with a few new flavors here and there, but if the main purpose of the game is to shoot and kill stuff, how exactly do you fit those in?

New Loka would have fit better as a rival faction. Wanting to restore earth to its natural state but using unethical means.

[AdunSaveMe]

And the Forerunners from Halo.

And the Romans

[Institute-Marksman]

-snip-

I don't expect DE to be the best scifi writers. But the very least thing I desire is for someone who is affiliated with making anything science-fiction is to be original. Unfortunately, originality died with Gene Roddenberry. I'm no Trekkie tho, but that man had something on his mind and he put it out there. It was different, and people liked it.

Unfortunately, games aren't the pinnacle of sci-fi. Yet.

 

New Loka would have fit better as a rival faction. Wanting to restore earth to its natural state but using unethical means.

Be careful with what you say. 'rival' is a strong word.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Institute-Marksman

[AdunSaveMe]

I don't expect DE to be the best scifi writers. But the very least thing I desire is for someone who is affiliated with making anything science-fiction is to be original.

They are being original. Just because the ideas are similar when you boil them down, take out the setting and vigorously sandblast off any details whatsoever doesn't mean it isn't original.

[Institute-Marksman]

They are being original. Just because the ideas are similar when you boil them down, take out the setting and vigorously sandblast off any details whatsoever doesn't mean it isn't original.

It's not about the little things. Not in these universes anyway. If you put out something radically different that defies logic, chances are that people will settle with it, and before you know people will have technology from that show a decade later. Whereas if you settle with the known, you just keep walking, not knowing you could also run.

As a great man once said: If you're not growing, you're dying. AKA: Always try to be better then you are now.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Institute-Marksman

[Vilemyre]

Be careful with what you say. 'rival' is a strong word.

 

New Loka sucks!

 

From the guys at Cephalon Suda.

 

Seriously though they have a better plot design than the grineer or corpus.

[AdunSaveMe]

It's not about the little things. Not in these universes anyway. If you put out something radically different that defies logic, chances are that people will settle with it, and before you know people will have technology from that show a decade later. Whereas if you settle with the known, you just keep walking, not knowing you could also run.

As a great man once said: If you're not growing, you're dying. AKA: Always try to be better then you are now.

Come up with a faction that isn't ridiculous and can work as an interesting enemy faction to fight (because gameplay is important, this is a GAME), and I guarantee you even that can be boiled down to match something else the same way you're boiling down the races in this game.

[Suncake]

3. This is the most important one. The rule of three. This applies to both other points as well. Ever notice how pretty much everything is governed by threes? Having three options just is the optimal route for the majority of things. Heck, even something as simple as rock-paper-scissors is a clear-cut (okay, bad pun) is a slave to it, and the same rule applies here. As icing on the cake, putting 3 points with the third one being the rule of three (while intentional) just works out.

 

tl;dr rule of three is overpowered

 

You've just made me nostalgic for Planescape: Torment.

[Agentawesome]

A famous quote on originality:

 

“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”

― Andre Gide

 

What is 'original' is not according to which was made first, but it is based on which is experienced first by an individual. 

Edited November 2, 2015 by Agentawesome_

[Institute-Marksman]

3. This is the most important one. The rule of three. This applies to both other points as well. Ever notice how pretty much everything is governed by threes? Having three options just is the optimal route for the majority of things. Heck, even something as simple as rock-paper-scissors is a clear-cut (okay, bad pun) is a slave to it, and the same rule applies here. As icing on the cake, putting 3 points with the third one being the rule of three (while intentional) just works out.

 

tl;dr rule of three is overpowered

Because 3 things is the least superficial yet the most diversity people's brains can handle. It took me MONTHS to find out New Loka was the Syndicate to roll with.

A famous quote on originality:

 

“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”

― Andre Gide

 

What is 'original' is not according to which was made first, but it is based on which is experienced first by an individual. 

That's not the point. Original, in this case, means 'something that hasn't been thought of before'.