Latest news with #Assassin'sCreed
NDTV
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
This Dehradun Workshop Makes Armour For Game Of Thrones, House Of The Dragon. And We Had No Idea
There's something oddly comforting about knowing exactly where your favourite fantasy shows come from. Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon. The Hobbit. Assassin's Creed. The Northman. We have all binge-watched them, obsessed over their epic battles, meticulously designed armour, and brooding characters who swing swords like it is muscle memory. Some of us have even tried to dress up like them. But what if I told you that the helmets worn in Westeros and the chainmail flung across Viking battlefields were not made in some faraway European studio, but right here in India? Last month, I visited a place in Dehradun that bewildered me. Hidden in plain sight, Lord of Battles is a sprawling workshop where medieval legends are not just imagined, they are hammered, stitched, riveted and breathed into life. And the man behind it all? Captain Saurabh Mahajan, a former Indian Army officer who left actual battlefields behind to craft the battles you see on screen, and made it work brilliantly. A Secret You Have Been Watching For Years We talk a lot about 'hidden gems' in lifestyle writing. But this one is literal. For nearly two decades, Lord of Battles has been quietly supplying full-scale medieval weapons, armour, and costumes to some of the most iconic productions across Hollywood and Europe. The chainmail you see in Merlin? Made in Dehradun. The helmets from House of the Dragon? Also Dehradun. Assassin's Creed stunt chainmail? Again - right here. A mediaeval helmet made by Lord of Battles I have been a fan of these shows for years. I have cheered for Arya Stark, memorised lines from The Northman, and maybe tried (badly) posing with a wooden sword for the 'gram. So, when I walked into this workshop and saw the actual props being made - the real stuff, the kind actors wore - it was enthralling. These were not replicas. These were the originals. The Studio Where Fantasy Gets Real The workshop is about 6,000 square feet, but stepping into it felt like stepping into another century. On one side, rows of anvils, hammers, and wooden mallets. On the other hand, sheets of metal waiting to be shaped into shoulder guards or Viking helmets. It smelled like oil, fire, and leather - raw, honest and alive. Posters of every major project line the walls. Not framed or showy. Just taped, like reminders: we did this, we were part of that world. Metal coifs developed by LoB I touched a chestplate that looked like it had seen a dozen battles. It was heavy, cold and exactly what you'd imagine worn by a Lannister guard. Capt. Mahajan later showed me its stunt version - aluminium, lighter, bendable, but no less detailed. "We create two versions," he said. "One for close-ups (full detail) and one for stunts (lightweight materials like aluminium). All items are tested for durability, flexibility, and actor safety." From Army Discipline to Cinematic Grit Capt Mahajan left the Indian Army to follow a different calling. He started in 2005 with a handful of artisans making chainmail. Fast-forward to today: his team works with costume designers from France, Russia, Spain and the US. "It starts with a detailed brief or concept art," he explained. "We work closely with props teams to ensure accuracy and on-set functionality. Russian designers came to India and stayed here for months while we worked on Treasures of Lake Kaban." And the creative freedom? "Depends," he said with a smile. " Game of Thrones, let us play. Outlaw King? No freedom at all." What shocked me most were the oddball requests: "Yes - like creating lightweight rubber and titanium chainmail for Assassin's Creed that looked like steel but was safe for making something that looks like medieval death gear but bends like gymwear. That is the kind of challenge our team lives for," he added. Going Global, Staying Local After their big break with Merlin and Game of Thrones, Capt. Mahajan scaled up fast but smartly. He launched MedieWorld Europe in Spain, partnered with Mythrojan in the US, and acquired House of Warfare to cover global markets. "The Lord of Battles Group is no longer an Indian company working internationally", he told me, "but an international company based here in Dehradun". MedieWorld Europe in Spain They now serve over 30 countries. From the Tower of London's gift shop to BBC sets. From French historical films to niche LARP (Live Action Role Play) groups in the US. They even make museum-grade replicas for exhibits and private collectors. And yes, everything is still designed, prototyped and quality-checked in India. A 13th-century leather belt with a brass crusader, made by LoB Holding On to Craft in the Age of CGI I asked the question that would bother every fan: do handcrafted props even matter anymore? His answer was simple. "Physical props bring realism, weight, and texture to scenes-even in CGI-heavy productions, real items are used for reference." I got to wear one of their helmets. It was surreal. The weight. The balance. The feeling of stepping into a world where dragons fly and kingdoms fall. CGI can fake a dragon, but it cannot fake texture. What's Next? Indian Epics Now, they are developing a fully Indian collection, inspired by Rajput, Mughal and Maratha heritage. Think Sanjay Leela Bhansali meets Ridley Scott. Capt. Mahajan said they are actively seeking collaborations in Indian theatre and film. And frankly, it is time. If our historical aesthetics can influence Westeros, they can definitely fuel our own silver screens. I walked out of the workshop a bit stunned. You do not expect to find the soul of House of the Dragon tucked away in Uttarakhand - but there it was. Not behind velvet ropes or inside a studio lot, but laid out on workbenches, half-built and very real. Before I left, Capt. Mahajan told me about a helmet his team made for House of the Dragon. "It was not even one of the fancy ones," he said. "But watching it on screen... that was the moment. That was when it felt like we had arrived." It was a small detail, but one that said a lot about the kind of work that often goes unnoticed, even when it ends up on the biggest of screens.
Phone Arena
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Phone Arena
Apple's iPhones may just kill my favorite niche phone brand
That's it? A simple Games app? Apple is making an actual push into gaming. And for ROG Phones, this is bad news While Apple got Assassin's Creed: Mirage and will be getting Shadows, Android is still stuck with the Funko Pop edition (Assassin's Creed Rebellion). Resident Evil Village launched on iDevices with an A17 Pro or M-class chips, and is a technically impressive feat. The same goes for RE4: Remake. Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding is available on iOS/iPadOS, with absolutely no word or mention of plans to bring it to Android. Ironically, Android had the chance to be ahead in this game So what needs to happen? iOS 26 Apple announced a new Games app coming with iOS 26 — and at first glance, it might not look like a big deal. But after thinking about it for a bit… I'm starting to sweat for my beloved niche gaming phone : the Asus ROG what is this Games app? Essentially, it's a game launcher that can be navigated with a connected controller — turning your iPhone into a portable console experience. It comes with an easy discover section, news updates on game seasons and limited-time events, and even a social layer: high score comparisons, friend challenges, and party/game invites are all baked a Games app isn't a revolution — but it adds just the right layer of polish. One of my personal complaints about iPhones for gaming was the lack of a dedicated mode — no way to lock brightness or block notifications that ruin your clutch be fair, there is a Gaming Focus mode among the many Do Not Disturb modes that Apple introduced with iOS 15 in 2021. You can set it up to block notifications, prioritize specific apps or contacts, et you still need to activate Gaming Focus manually, and remember to deactivate it when you are done gaming. Alternatively, you can do a deep dive and set iOS up yourself, to automatically start Gaming Mode when you open a specific app. Again, you need to remember to do this every time you install a new game. Android phones , on the other hand, typically recognize games and put them in their game launcher, which does everything for you automatically. Ironically, that's a more Apple-ish Focus Mode doesn't stop the phone's auto-brightness from fluctuating, and that can be a problem when you are claw-gripping the phone in a sweaty deathmatch. Having your brightness drop during a duel is a pain point!If Apple is looking to make things just right, it should be planning to include these and make them automatic in the Games worth noting: at WWDC 2025, Apple put a lot of emphasis on Sony controllers — it looks like a partnership might be brewing. Could this mean future games will ship with controller-first support? Could we see more PlayStation titles ported to iOS? If so, Android is in real trouble.I've been an ROG Phone fan for years. The series always had phenomenal hardware — sensitive screens, ultrasonic shoulder buttons, fan extensions, top-class speakers. It really does feel like a handheld console at times. But my biggest gripe has never been the hardware. It's Android matter how powerful the device, the Android platform simply doesn't have a robust library of high-quality games. Yes, we've seen slow progress — titles like Call of Duty Mobile, Genshin Impact, Diablo Immortal, the new Delta Force, and Arena these were mostly developed from the ground up as mobile titles, and do come with that certain mobile game feel. Specifically the multiple layers of menus that are designed to be confusing, special currencies, and the comparatively shallow comparison, iOS is leaps and bounds ahead. It's getting true console-level games — ones that were originally made for the PS, Xbox, and PC:Now, all is not perfect. These ports may target 30 FPS, which they may or may not hit. And, generally, touch controls don't agree with them very well, and it's recommended to have a controller — that's the downside when a game hasn't been developed as a mobile title from the ground up. Or, it just shows that these developers are yet inexperienced with the platform — touchscreen gaming is very, very new to it shows that there's a genuine push from Apple in that direction, and things are just now ramping up. For example — Cupertino bought its first-ever gaming studio recently. Granted, developer RAC7 is mostly a two-man operation, but it did push out the super-successful Apple Arcade game Sneaky Sasquatch. Obviously, Apple is in its first steps of a pretty hard push into the ironic twist. Android was first to getting an actual console game ported to it way back in 2016! Back then, Nvidia had the vision of creating a tablet for gamers. The Nvidia Shield was launched in 2015, and as a push to be 'taken seriously', Nvidia struck some sort of exclusive deal with a result, the excellent Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was available on the Play Store! It was followed by MGS 2 and MGS 3 in 2017!Now, since this was an exclusive deal, you couldn't download the games on a device other than the Nvidia still, it very much showed that it's possible to port such games to Google's operating system, so long as there was an initiative behind and sadly, since the Nvidia Shield is a dead product and the exclusive contracts are gone, these games are simply gone from the Play Store now, instead of living on a fruitful life. You can't possibly tell me that today's flagship smartphones can not run what a tablet from 2015 further drive the point that this is not far-fetched — the excellent video editing app LumaFusion has been on iOS since 2016, and it took for Samsung to partner up with the developer for the app to finally arrive to Android — in 2023. The added bonus is that LumaFusion is not exclusive to Samsung devices right now, so you can go ahead and download it to benefit from that partnership, even if not on a Samsung phone ASUS needs to act fast. The ROG Phone line has been drifting toward 'mainstream flagship with LED lights on the back' — which waters down its niche appeal. In my opinion, the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate was the last true gaming beast from the company. Time to circle back and double down on what made the brand Android needs to catch up in the premium games department. Maybe Asus can leverage some connections and make some sort of partnership like the aforementioned examples. Ideally, that'd be done by Google, but let's face it — Google is kind of busy with and going all-hands on AI right Google would be the one to make the step and entire premium publisher and Google is over-invested in pouring resources into AI — which may or may not be the right call long-term. But in the short term, it means thatcould very well kill my favorite niche phone brand. Which would be a shame, as the ROG Phones have been THE de-facto gamer phone for so many years now.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Is Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag Remake really in the works?
Image via Ubisoft. Is Ubisoft really working on Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag Remake? This is one of the most burning questions in the gaming community right now. Black Flag was one of the most popular games of the Assassin's Creed franchise. This was the first AC title to introduce open-world naval exploration, which fans really liked a lot. Set during the Golden Age of Piracy (1715) in the Caribbean Sea, with over 50 explorable locations like Havana, Nassau, and many more., this 2013 title won everyone's heart with its seafaring fighting scenes like rogue waves, carron barrages, rammings, and etc. as well. So, will it ever grace the modern gen consoles with improved visuals and gameplay? Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag: Is Ubisoft really working on it? As of now, Ubisoft has remained tight-lipped so far about the current state of Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag Remake. There might not be any official confirmation about this highly awaited title, but insiders and leakers have hinted that the developers are definitely working on it. These leaks and speculations haven't stopped yet, as a Twitter user named TheReallZephyrus has noted some activity by Ubisoft on the game's page on Valve's storefront. According to this user, Black Flag Remake is potentially getting updates on Steam regularly. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo The user also shared some screenshots which suggest that four micro trailers have been added to the game as well. These micro trailers are short clips which play automatically besides the details and listings when the Steam page of any game is opened. There is no way these changes are made for the 2013 version, so it might well be a sign of Black Flag Remake being in the works. There is further evidence of it in the form of some recent modifications of the game's Steam content packages on June 4 and 12. However, the details of those content packages are still unknown. The original Black Flag title sold over 15 million copies, making it one of the best-selling AC titles of all time. That proves how good this title actually was. However, this brilliant game was available only on older-gen consoles like PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and others. So, there is no doubt fans have been yearning for years to get this title on modern consoles, which will take the gameplay and visuals to newer heights with significant upgrades. That's why there is no reason for Ubisoft to not develop the remake of the game. Read More: Every rumored and confirmed Assassin's Creed game lined up after Shadows Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
6 open-world mechanics GTA 6 should borrow from Ubisoft's games
(Image via Rockstar Games) When it comes to open worlds, Ubisoft has been doing a lot . Sure, not everything hits, but some mechanics from games like Assassin's Creed , Far Cry , and Watch Dogs have changed how we explore digital worlds. With GTA 6 bringing us back to Vice City in full next-gen glory, Rockstar has a shot to level up — and borrowing a few tricks from Ubisoft wouldn't hurt. Here are 6 open-world mechanics from Ubisoft that GTA 6 should totally steal. 1. Seamless Co-Op (Watch Dogs: Legion) Watch Dogs: Legion gave us the ability to hop into missions with friends on the fly . No loading screens. No hassle. GTA Online is great, but if GTA 6 's campaign or side missions had instant co-op like Ubisoft's? Instant upgrade. Just press a button and boom — your buddy's in the mission with you. GTA 6 New Parkour Mechanisms 2. Parkour Climbing (Assassin's Creed) Vice City's rooftops and high-rises are begging to be explored. Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed climbing system would be perfect. Let Lucia and Jason scale buildings, escape the cops parkour-style, or sneak into places like real pros. No more getting stuck on knee-high fences, please. 3. World Events & Ambushes (Far Cry) You're vibing through the jungle in Far Cry , and suddenly — ambush. Wild animal. Civilian in distress. GTA 6 should bring in these random events across Leonida. Imagine: you're cruising in Grassrivers, and someone runs up needing help escaping a gator. Or a shady roadside deal goes wrong. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like ¡No me lo pierdo! Orange Undo That chaos? Pure Rockstar energy. GTA 6 - NPC Details Leaked! 4. NPC Schedules & Daily Lives (Assassin's Creed: Odyssey) Ubisoft made their NPCs actually do stuff . They go to work, go home, and take breaks. In GTA 5, NPCs had some patterns, but GTA 6 could take this to a whole new level. Following a corrupt politician from mansion to nightclub to back-alley deal? Yes, please. Make us feel like the city breathes with or without us. 5. Hacking Tools (Watch Dogs 2) Ubisoft turned phones into power moves. Open a garage door, trigger a car alarm, or drain someone's bank account — all with a click. In GTA 6 , Jason and Lucia could seriously use some digital chaos. A Vice City full of hackable ATMs, cameras, and security systems? We're here for it. Ubisoft doesn't always hit gold, but they've mastered some genius mechanics that would feel right at home in GTA 6's wild and vibrant Leonida. Rockstar's open worlds are already iconic — but steal a little Ubisoft sauce, and we might just get the perfect criminal sandbox. Now it's just a matter of waiting for 2026… painfully. Follow all the live updates, scores, and highlights from the India vs England Test match here . Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tied to chairs, Sex jokes ...: Three former top executives of video game giant Ubisoft face sexual harassment charges
Three former Ubisoft executives are on trial in France for allegations of bullying and sexual harassment, with a French court hearing disturbing accounts from former employees, predominantly women, about a toxic workplace culture at the gaming giant's Paris headquarters during the 2010s, according to The Guardian. The accusations, reportedly described as 'extremely serious' by prosecutor Antoine Haushalter, include incidents of employees being tied to chairs, forced to perform handstands, subjected to sexual jokes, exposed to pornographic videos in the office, and enduring crude behavior, such as a boss farting in employees' faces. One woman reported a manager drawing a penis on her arm during a video call with senior leaders. The court case marks the gaming industry's first major #MeToo trial. Who are the accused executives The accused include Tommy Francois, 52, former Vice President of Editorial & Creative Services; Serge Hascoet, 59, former Chief Creative Officer; and Guillaume Patrux, 41, former Game Director. Ubisoft, known for blockbuster titles like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Just Dance, was allegedly a 'Boys' Club' where such misconduct thrived, per The Guardian. Francois faces charges of sexual harassment, bullying, and attempted sexual assault. The Guardian reported that he allegedly tied a female employee to a chair before sending her in an elevator to a random floor and forced a woman in a skirt to do handstands, leaving her terrified. At a 2015 office party, he reportedly attempted to kiss a woman while others restrained her; she escaped after shouting. Another woman accused Francois of grabbing her hair and attempting a forced kiss at a U.S. gaming event, showing her nude photos, and drawing on her arm during a video call. Ubisoft's HR allegedly dismissed her concerns, advising her not to escalate. Francois denies all allegations. Hascoet is accused of bullying and sexual harassment, including making inappropriate sexual comments, such as telling a woman on a work trip she 'needed sex' in front of colleagues, and joking that a used tissue he handed to a female employee was 'worth gold at Ubisoft,' per The Guardian. He allegedly made sexual noises, forced assistants to run personal errands, and denies any intent to harass. Patrux faces similar charges, accused of punching walls, pretending to strike employees, cracking a whip near faces, joking about an office shooting, and burning an employee's beard with a lighter, according to The Guardian. He also denies the allegations. Verdict on July 2, what proscecutors want Haushalter called the trial a pivotal moment for the gaming industry, amplified by the #MeToo movement, which empowered victims to speak out. He highlighted 'strong proof' of systemic mistreatment and requested suspended prison sentences of up to three years and fines for the trio. The court concluded hearings, with a verdict expected on July 2, 2025. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
