Digital Extremes has detailed the evolution of its upcoming Warframe update, The Shadowgrapher, which introduces the game's first explicitly horror-inspired mode called Follie's Hunt. Design director Pablo Alonso and community director Megan Everett explained how the mode started as a Prop Hunt-style game but transformed into a tense chase experience. Players must navigate ruined relays while gathering paint under pursuit by an invincible clown enemy.
The Shadowgrapher update centers on Follie, a Warframe created years ago by artist Michael Skyers. Featuring a black-and-white spooky clown aesthetic with a balloon and viscous black paint, Follie steps through paintings. Developers placed her in the game's ruined relays—player hubs destroyed between 2014 and 2015—offering tight corridors that evoke past tragedies where many players died, as Alonso noted: 'There's weight behind it.' Initially, Follie's Hunt drew from Prop Hunt, with one player as Follie and others hiding as objects like barrels. However, the team found it lacked staying power due to Warframe's repetitive gameplay loop. 'Once the art started coming in, it was clear to us we needed to get spookier than something like Prop Hunt would allow,' Alonso told Eurogamer. They scrapped player-controlled Follie for AI enemies, including an invincible killer clown that grows faster and stronger over time. Players cooperate as operators—slower and more fragile—to collect paint and deliver it to a canvas while evading pursuit. Early attempts to limit player power, such as dropping paint during jumps or blocking sprinting, failed due to ingrained muscle memory. 'Our first swing didn't work at all,' Alonso said. Using the operator mode provided the needed vulnerability without frustrating veterans. Everett highlighted the novelty: 'It's the first time we've done something where an enemy chasing you is fully invincible.' The mode challenges Warframe's power fantasy, teasing bullet jumping before enforcing caution. Developers see such experiments as vital for a 15-year live service game, keeping both creators and players engaged.
