Business users will soon benefit from the improvement Microsoft Outlook The function that will help ensure that sensitive information is kept within the appropriate departments.
Currently, Microsoft provides a sensitivity label tool, which allows employees to manually specify the sensitivity status of an email message. There is also an auto-tagging feature that can detect personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers and payment details.
Hoping to improve the usability of its tagging feature, Microsoft is introducing a new system where Outlook automatically matches email sensitivity with the label applied to attachments.
New Outlook Features
As shown in a new entry (Opens in a new tab) In the company’s product roadmap, users will benefit from automated alerts indicating that an email sensitivity level must be increased to match the level of any attachments.
The hope is supposed to be that the action will force employees to think twice about the contents of any attachments and who they are being sent to.
Of course, since this feature is aimed at businesses, only certain Enterprise customers will have direct access. It’s set for preview by the end of this year, with general availability planned for January 2023.
With the high level of competition between Email service providersMicrosoft is constantly updating its products and adding new features, many of which are designed with business customers in mind.
A little behind schedule, for example, is Improved support for alias email addresses (Opens in a new tab). It has always been possible to receive email addressed to aliases, however Microsoft hopes that allowing users to send from these addresses will improve communication consistency.
At any time now, users will be able to ‘Send [an] Email from a proxy email address or account alias instead of [their] Primary e-mail address, keeping the proxy in the From and Reply to fields for the recipients.
Google announced a new family of virtual machines It will be the first of its kind in the public Cloud Market powered by 4th generation Intel Xeon server Treatments.
In Google Cloud Next ’22, the company lifted the lid on its new C3 VMs, which it says can provide more efficient and predictable computing performance, thanks to an architecture that allows certain tasks to be offloaded to supporting devices.
Meanwhile, adding a new Hyperdisk block storage to the mix means C3 VMs offer 4 times the throughput and 10 times the IOPS per vCPU than the previous generation, C2.
Backed by custom silicone
Google says the key to increased performance on offer with the new generation of virtual machines is the system-on-chip (SoC) design, which pairs the fourth-generation Xeon CPU with a custom-designed Intel Infrastructure Processing Unit (IPU). .
Launched by Intel in the summer of 2021, IPUs are designed to help Cloud Network providers will edit CPUs Performance by offloading functions such as storage and network virtualization, which also leads to various security benefits. In essence, IPUs are virtually identical to data processing units (DPUs).
“We are thrilled to co-design the first ASIC Infrastructure Processing Unit with Google Cloud, now launched in the new C3 series of machines,” said Nick McKeon, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Network and Edge, Intel.
“A first in any public cloud, C3 VMs will run workloads on 4th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors while securely freeing programmable packet processing to IPUs at 200 Gbit/s line rates. This collaboration between Intel and Google to customers with a more secure, resilient, and performing infrastructure.”
Separately, Intel will be relieved to see its new Xeon CPUs (codenamed Sapphire Rapids) in place in the production environment. The new chips were originally scheduled to launch in 2021, but their rollout has been punctuated by frequent delays and Intel is still struggling to get it to the mass market.
Although select customers (presumably including Google Cloud) gained access to Sapphire Rapids silicon earlier this year, it now looks like the rest of the world will have to wait until the first quarter of 2023.
But according to Google, the new Xeon CPUs were at least worth the wait, giving a 20% performance advantage to some VM clients, when paired with a dedicated Intel IPU.
The new C3 family of virtual machines is now available in private preview. Pro radar technology Google Cloud was asked to provide a schedule for general availability.
If you want to catch up on these announcements live, you’ll need to know where, when, and how to watch Meta Connect 2022 – and we’ve got all the info you need below.
To proceed with the Meta Connect 2022 Keynote, you have three options.
The first way is to go to Reality Labs Facebook page (Opens in a new tab). While others are participating in broadcasting the event on YouTube and Twitch, the official feed will only be available on the Meta social media platform.
At least that’s your only option for streaming on the web. If you have an Oculus Quest 2 VR headset, you can watch the entire Meta Connect event inside Horizon Worlds – Meta’s free social platform Metaverse. To experience the event in this way, you will need to log in and register at Goal Connect 2022 (Opens in a new tab) website. Once you’ve done that, you can update and open the Horizon Worlds app on your Quest 2, where you’ll find the Meta Connect program on the Events tab in the Horizon menu, so you know when to set it up.
The third option – and we suggest the best – to keep up with ads is to follow Live coverage of the event as it happens. We will not only provide you with the latest updates and news, but also our expert analysis, so you will know if you should trust or suspect the hype that will inevitably make your Meta during the event.
Silent Hill rumors are as out of control as its famous underworld at the moment, and the director of the film exacerbated that.
Silent Hill 2 rework rumors have been circulating for more than a year now, with IP owner Konami partnering with the medium developer Bloober Team. Now it seems Christoph Gans, director of the 2006 movie Silent Hill (surprisingly good), has confirmed the existence of the remake in an interview with French publication Movie & Game. (Opens in a new tab)noting that its developer is actually Bloober Team.
“There are a lot of games in development as we speak,” Gans said on the topic of Silent Hill, adding that he believes Konami is “really impressed with the success of the Resident Evil remake that’s clearly exceptional games.”
Gans is working with Konami again on Silent Hill, with the director currently making a sequel to his 2006 adaptation. Although it’s hard to say what these “multiplayers” could be. The most notable possibilities are a Silent Hill 2 remake and one titled “The SMS” caught on the Korean rating board.
In my troubled dreams…
This isn’t the first time the Bloober Team has been linked with a possible new version of the Silent Hill 2 app, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. The possibility has always left me concerned that, despite the Polish developer’s background in awe, I don’t think it’s a perfect fit for Silent Hill.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with Layers of Fear or The Medium. And while the latter was an absolutely fantastic game, its lack of fearlessness and sweet performance from Troy Baker as the game’s antagonist certainly disappointed me.
Another reason I’m ashamed of the idea of a remake is how the original PS2 game used the hardware limitations of its strengths. The iconic heavy fog was used in Silent Hill 2 not only because it is unsettling, but also to mask the sudden pop-up texture. Likewise, crowded game environments and camera angles helped save resources and keep gameplay smooth.
Now the Bloober team – or anyone who ends up working on a Silent Hill 2 remake – doesn’t have to stick to the same hardware limitations, given the power of current consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X. That means key elements of Silent Hill’s venerable Go 2 can be stripped away once again. . There’s even precedent for this, with the disastrous Silent Hill HD set.
One aspect I loved about The Medium, though, was its remarkable attention to detail in its environments. Without all of the supernatural weirdness, however, the game’s place of refuge seemed like a real place at times. Similarly, the town of Silent Hill looks like a place where he lived before. In that sense, I think the Bloober team is at least up to the task of crafting a compelling modern interpretation of the lakeside town.
Anyway, it really looks like Konami won’t be able to contain these rumors for much longer. If the full reveal of at least a new Silent Hill 2 remake isn’t on the cards soon, I imagine it won’t be long before the Japanese publisher completely dismisses the rumors.
Walmart It’s not the only big online retailer that suffers from online fakes. Hundreds of listings from dozens of sellers in ebay (Opens in a new tab) And the aliexpress (Opens in a new tab) Currently sold out 64 TB And the 128 TB SSDrock bottom prices.
The problem is that there are no 128TB or 64TB hard drives. Samsung offered a 128TB SSD drive in August 2022, while Nimbus Data sells a 64TB SSD to enterprise customers only, but neither will sell for the $30 demanded by fraudulent sellers. Although this is an apparent case of “too good to be true”, dozens were shocked.
tech radar Reader Colin M contacted us last week after he purchased a 30TB SSD from AliExpress, only to find out that he had been scammed.
The drive’s total physical capacity appears to be 128GB, which is 2 x 64GB as shown on the two drives. I have tried copying 250GB+ files to one of the “drives” and although it appears to be working as usual when finished, I have After that by clicking on properties to show the actual GB units,” he explained.
“I suspect the drive contained two 64 GB SD cards which were programmed to disguise the SD cards as 15 TB drives. And when the ‘drive’ was copied to access the capacity, the software overwritten the files giving the appearance of working properly.”
Buyers beware
Counterfeit products have been a problem for centuries, and online marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon and AliExpress have allowed this problem to become global, making it even more difficult to eradicate.
Worryingly, these motors are not only fake, they are It can also be easily infected with malware. Earlier this year, hackers mailed USB flash drives infected with ransomware, including teddy bears in the package.
SSD prices are dropping rapidly with 2TB models available for under $100, an all-time low due to the collapse in demand and increased inventory. Despite this, we don’t expect high-capacity drives (4TB, 8TB or 16TB SSD) to experience any similar price drops because demand remains high for those target markets (enterprises, businesses and consumers).
Amazon appears to have avoided this scam, possibly because it imposes stricter controls on sellers from mainland China, although there are others – Like fake 2TB USB flash drives (Opens in a new tab) or microSD cards with a capacity of 2 TB (Opens in a new tab).
Pro radar technology Reach out to eBay and Aliexpress to find out what they’re doing to eliminate fake listings and get rid of dodgy sellers before lucrative 11.11 Singles sales, Black Friday And the Internet Mon.
After two long years, PAX Aus was finally able to open its doors again in Melbourne this year and welcomed people back this past weekend (October 8-10).
While this year’s event may have been quieter than usual – unlike in previous years, the big titles and major publishers were relatively few and far between – it still featured a lot of great technology and games.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of the highlights of the PAX Aus 2022 from our time on the show floor.
Immersive VR racing setup from Red Bull
(Image credit: Future)
At Red Bull Stadium (Opens in a new tab) Standing, attendees of this year’s show can experience what it’s like to be a professional Formula 1 driver without having to ride on the track. Just put on some VR glasses, sit on the frame of a replica of the driver’s seat, and you’re good to go. In this setting, you may feel rumbling under your butt, twists and turns around the track. Racing games are more realistic than ever, and this feels like a snapshot of what one of the future modes of racing could be (without the risk of crashing).
Custom Cult of the Lamb PlayStation Console
(Image credit: Future)
Unfortunately, the custom-made PlayStation DualSense controller is not for sale, but it Pregnancy worship (Opens in a new tab) The aesthetic is right. There is a mysterious wool on the handles to represent the Lamb, the Supreme Leader. It also has the red eyeball of the sacred person who waits, who is always watching and knows exactly, while the control arms are the eyes of the cult leader watching your journey. And of course, the boring standard PlayStation buttons have been replaced with the appropriate runes to help you complete your next religious ritual.
Asus Neon Genesis Evangelion PC
(Image credit: Future)
Evangelion fans will be pleased to find that Asos Republic for players (Opens in a new tab) PC inspired by EVA-01. It’s covered in the classic green and purple of Shinji’s Eva, and has an EVA etched inside the case and on the front panel, which is constantly lit with RGB lights. It really felt like the mica had turned into a computer unit. All you need is the signature music released to bring back childhood nostalgia. If you want to get hold of this great work of art, then get ready for 8000 Australian dollars.
Hugo Studio Badminton
(Image credit: Hojo Studio)
Join the pigeon mafia and stand out on the unsuspecting citizens to complete your missions. badminton (Opens in a new tab) It is a fun roguelike indie game that is scheduled to be released early next year. You play as pigeons on a mission to defecate the citizens who are the enemies of the herd, all the better to reclaim a neighborhood that has been overrun with a bad human laundry. You have to swoop, fly and avoid parrot and police drones to do dirty mob work. Each tube brings you one step closer to redeeming what is rightfully yours in bathroom ownership.
Taro Boba Water Cooled PC After Shock
(Image credit: Future)
He’s cute. It is light purple. It’s bubble tea! Computers after trauma Boba’s water-cooled system can be spotted from a distance even with a crowd walking around on it. It had a taro-inspired purple boba tea swirling in its cooling system, and the look was realistic enough to make us crave a dose of the milk drink. (Unfortunately, there was no real bubble tea on sale at the Post Traumatic Stress Center.)
Aftershock showed off several custom PCs out of the world at PAX, but this one took our favorite cake on the show. If it wasn’t for 7500 Australian dollars it would have been in my bag, but unfortunately one can’t help but dream.
Amazing chicken adventures
(Photo credit: Piotr Rochela)
In this Australian made indie adventure game (Opens in a new tab)You have to complete each level and save the chicken eggs (without breaking them). Imagine Super Mario Sunshine co-op but with birds and more mayhem. The game may seem like a piece of cake, but I promise you it is not. Eggs are very fragile and enjoy falling off pallets. Add a second player to the mix and you’ll scream as you accidentally grab your precious egg with a Thor’s hammer while trying to help your teammate. The game is currently available on Steam and is scheduled to launch on console in the next couple of months.
Steam surface in the valve
(Image credit: Future)
much anticipated steam surface It has not yet made its way to Australia for official distribution, but there has been one available. one only. It wasn’t an official booth from Valve or any hardware company, but it came across indie game developer Witch Beam (the creators of Unpacking) who was using it to show off his upcoming title time (Opens in a new tab). I don’t know if the Tempopo team did this on purpose, but there have been a flock of people trying to play on Steam Deck. Great marketing technique? and he.
HTC Vive VR Laser Marker
(Image credit: Future)
Laser tag is the undisputed champions game, throw it in virtual reality and you will have a great chaotic experience. Imagine being completely immersed in a cyberpunk-like world where you have to shoot lasers and dodge to win… while someone walks through a wall and accidentally bumps into you in real life. spirits (Opens in a new tab) HTC is a virtual reality platform that is trying to spark Australian interest in the future and present of the virtual reality space. The two minute demo lines were easily 30 to 60 minutes long. Are Aussies excited? Oh yes. However, for people with low vision and glasses, you may need to do some extra work to avoid a blurry sense of reality with VR glasses.
An employee in the Netherlands at Chetu, a Florida company, has won a lawsuit against his employer for unfair dismissal over the topic of remote work webcam monitoring.
The worker was asked to enable screen sharing and webcam access for an entire work day while attending a training program, but after refusing to do so, he encountered the bag. This may be over the board in Florida where workers or companies are not required to give any notice or reason to terminate a contract, yet employment rules around the world offer different levels of protection.
According to publicly available court documents issued by the Zeeland West Brabant Court, the worker explained to the company:
“I don’t feel comfortable being monitored for 9 hours a day by a camera. This is a violation of my privacy and makes me feel really uncomfortable. This is why my camera is not on. You can actually monitor all the activities on my laptop as I am sharing my screen.”
Monitor employees via webcam
The next day, Chito notified the worker of the termination of his contract via email, on the basis of refusal to work and disobedience.
Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of the worker, insisting that Chito pay the plaintiff $2,600 in unpaid salary, $9,245 in transitional assistance for workers, and $8,150 based on wrongful contract termination. The ends extended to the equivalent of 23 days of vacation pay, an 8% vacation allowance, no court fees and late payment, bringing the total to nearly $50,000.
The court concluded that “nine-hour-a-day camera surveillance is disproportionate and not permitted in the Netherlands. In addition, he was already checked for output via software installed on his laptop.” She continues, “There was no doubt about the refusal to work.”
The court notes also highlight the company’s lack of a statement or defense against the case, along with the fact that Chitto did not attend the hearing.
Chitto has since dissolved its Dutch subsidiary, and its registration has been revoked from the country’s commercial registry with effect from September 1, 2022.
Pro radar technology The company has been asked to respond to the ruling.
Google Cloud is set to launch a new tool that will enable users to create and manage Direct specific resources and services, as well as giving a performance advantage.
The cloud giant claims that the tool, dubbed “gcloud storage CLI,” will allow for up to 94% faster data transfer when using cloud storage.
Users were previously able to modify their Google Cloud resources on the command line or via scripts via the Google Cloud CLI, but the new tool is presumably set up to update the experience.
How it works?
Google claims that the faster transfer rates are the result of two major innovations in gcloud storage.
First, it appears that gcloud storage uses faster hashes to verify the integrity of CRC32C data that bypasses the complex setup required for gsutil, the predecessor of the Python-based tool.
Second, the new tool uses a new parallelization strategy that treats task management as a graph problem, which is said to allow “more work to be done in parallel with much less overhead.”
When transferring 100 files that were 100MB in size, Google claims that gcloud storage is 79% faster than gsutil on download and 33% faster on upload using a parallel composite upload strategy.
In addition to performance improvements, Google is also introducing the new tool as a “consistent way” to manage all Google Cloud resources such as cloud storage containers, Compute Engine VMs, and Google Kubernetes Engine clusters.
For example, gcloud storage is said to significantly reduce the number of higher level commands that users have to use to manage cloud storage resources, by grouping commands under common headers.
gcloud CLI storage is currently available and ready to use at no additional charge. You can install or upgrade to the latest Google Cloud SDK here (Opens in a new tab) to access the new CLI.
If you want to learn more about how gcloud CLI storage works, you can refer to the documentation here (Opens in a new tab).
While it’s not the cheapest Kindle in the range, the mid-range Paperwhite gets a nod if you’re an avid reader looking for a reliable slate. why? Well, it’s mainly about the adjustable warm light filter.
While the base Kindle has a fancy new model with an upgraded screen, it’s the ability to soften that harsh light in dark environments that spoils the deals in my opinion. If, like me, you’re someone who’s always up past their bedtime, it’s definitely worth checking out our Easiest Eyes list.
2022-10-10T19:40:09.765Z
Flat white in all respects
There are actually a lot of coffee maker deals on Amazon. One of the best values we’ve seen is the Keurig K-Mini single-serve coffee maker, which is back at its cheapest ever. But there is a lot to look through…
2022-10-10T18:56: 05.946Z
How to sign up for a free 30-day trial of Prime
Not a prime member? Fear not, you can still play… If you haven’t been an Amazon Prime member in the past 12 months, you can sign up for a free trial to see deals in the Prime Early Access sale. Heres how to do it:
1. Go to Amazon Prime (Opens in a new tab) two. Select: start your free trial 3. Follow the onscreen instructions (if prompted) four. Start browsing deals (Opens in a new tab)
You can cancel before the trial ends, with no restrictions. Just don’t forget, or else you’ll pay a fee: a Prime membership costs $14.99 a month and $129 a year in the US, £8.99 a month and £95 a year in the UK.
2022-10-10T18:42:32.398Z
(Image credit: Future)
A super underrated (and cheap) tool…
Another early deal recommendation from me – check out the Amazon Smart Plug for $12.99 (was $24.99) at Amazon US. I realize this might not be the brightest deal on our list — especially after I wrote about the MacBook Air — but hear me out. This is a very useful and great little tool if you are looking to start setting up your smart home on the cheap.
Amazon Smart Plug (Opens in a new tab) It’s basically everything you need to add smart functionality to any socket in your home – whether it’s for lights, appliances, or other gadgets. Simply plug in this super cheap device and voila – you’ll instantly have Alexa voice control right on this socket. Like I said, it’s not fancy, but it’s handy—especially if you’re going to pair it with the countless other Amazon devices that will be discounted on the Prime Early Access sale.
2022-10-10T18:18:16.905Z
(Image credit: Future)
The MacBook Air M2 is now cheap in Amazon US
Perhaps I was a bit exaggerating when I claimed you should forget about the MacBook Air M2 in favor of the MacBook Pro last week, but now I’m suddenly thinking – like any good shameless deal editor.
The price of this excellent ultrabook is down to just $1099 (was $1199) on Amazon; It’s just $50 off the record low. What was a bargain for the price compared to the 13 Pro is now already very tempting with this discount.
It’s worth checking out our MacBook Air M2 review if you want to see us gushed about this latest model from Apple. We’ve always had a place for the MacBook Air in our best laptop buyer’s guide since the M1 and this new iteration is a welcome upgrade — especially the great new bezel-less display. That, combined with a fast M2 chip and fanless design, makes the latest MacBook Air the best laptop out there for those who want a nice balance between power, portability, and battery life.
Are you going down tonight? Well, the jury is out, but it’s worth noting that most Apple products aren’t included in Amazon’s Prime Day deals. They usually have discounts (and good ones too) but they don’t tend to need a Prime membership to access. Overall, we don’t think Amazon or any other retailer will go crazy with discounts on this model over the next few days.
2022-10-10T18:02:13.545Z
(Image credit: Future)
Couple of great deals for pre-peak in the UK
Amazon-branded devices are always on the cutting edge of any Prime Day event, and this year’s October Early Access sale is no different. A few of these excellent devices have already been on sale for a few days in the UK at very competitive prices. We’d probably go for a “wait and see” approach to choosing these types as there might be some additional price cuts in the middle of the night, but these lists are definitely worth keeping an eye out for.
2022-10-10T17:36:50.845Z
TechRadar’s top tips for Prime Day
(Image credit: Future)
1. Find a free trial of Amazon Prime… Amazon Prime Day deals are reserved for Prime members only. Needless to say, you want to sign up by midnight and Amazon Prime’s free 30-day trial is a great way to do that. Although it is not open to those who have already opened a demo account on their account before, it is a low-commitment way to get the best deals during Prime Day. Note that you will have to cancel the trial before it ends if you don’t want to be charged, so keep that in mind.
two. …but don’t count on it Contrary to intuition, not only will Amazon offer excellent deals during its second Prime Day event in October. You can expect stores like Walmart and Best Buy in the US and Currys in the UK to host their own sales. Basically, it is worth shopping if you are interested in a particular product. While these other stores may not have as much stock as Amazon, they sometimes offer cheaper prices on hot-ticketed items. If you can get a particular Amazon deal cheaper elsewhere, we’ll be sure to tell you our coverage here.
3. Know what you want to buy… It’s always a good idea to have a shopping list ready before heading to a retail event like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday. There are always thousands of deals on offer, so having a clear idea of what you need (and don’t) can help you stay on budget and save valuable time. If you have a specific product in mind, take the time to check out the price history or other models in the range.
four. …but be flexible This point comes after the previous one, i.e. it pays to have some alternative products on your shopping list, just in case the model you were looking forward to doesn’t sell. This is where research comes in handy again because it will immediately help you find alternatives.
For example, you may not be able to find an OLED TV of your favorite brand in a certain size but you may find another TV from a competing brand worth your time. You can also, most likely, find a cheaper model or a more expensive model and one that suits your needs better. Again, using resources like TechRadar’s Buyer’s Guides and Reviews is incredibly useful if you’re looking for evidence of alternative options.
5. Get there early… The vast majority of Prime Day Early Access deals will start at midnight tonight, so you can basically be on the queue by staying awake and checking them out tonight. There must be thousands of deals – some of them mayo Sale, depending on whether it is a popular model or not. In this case, it is better to order your items sooner rather than later.
6. …but check back throughout the event However, Amazon loves the lightning deal. It will scatter during the second Amazon Prime Day event of the year, where there will be several great menus with record price cuts. It’s too soon to tell what it’s going to be after (it could be literally anything), but it’s always worth keeping an eye out for those. They’ll be prominently listed on the Amazon deals page — and we’ll highlight any particularly good deals here as well.
2022-10-10T17:16:48.389Z
One early prime deal to check out…
in the United States? This is a quick list we discovered and it’s the only deal for a prime member. Basically, this is a Prime Day deal in all but the name and one we don’t expect to drop tomorrow.
So, the award for your first Prime Day deal goes to… Fire TV Cube. While it’s usually overlooked in favor of smaller (and cheaper) Fire TV Sticks, we think the Cube is a great option — especially if you have a high-quality 4K TV.
2022-10-10T16:51:50.886Z
(Image credit: Future)
Amazon Prime Early Access goes on sale at midnight
Hello avid bargain hunters! We’re starting our coverage of Prime Day Early Access, which comes out a little earlier today. The proper festivities will be landing at midnight tonight, so you’ll want to tune in if you’re eager to get a bargain. In the meantime, we’ve rounded up some early deals to check out — which we expect won’t be beat up once proper sales kick in tonight.
“Ragnarok defines the Norse mythical universe as having not only a beginning, but an end,” says Dr. Jackson Crawford, a scholar of Old Norse, explaining why the story appears in so many games. “All meaningful time for the living will come to an end, and the end will be horrific and violent.”
According to Viking storytellers, when the end of time comes, the stars will disappear from the sky, the earth will be swallowed up by floods, and the sky will burn. After the world withers from an always harsh winter, giants will invade the kingdom of Asgard while human civilization is plunged into chaos. Odin will be swallowed up by the wolf Fenrir, while Thor and the world serpent Jörmungander end each other’s lives in battle. His devastation is total, not only the height of creation but his final resting place.
Ragnarök has found its way into Assassin’s Creed, Viking RTS Northgard, Senua’s Sacrifice, and many other games. God of War: Ragnarök will be the last to take us through Twilight of the Gods when it comes out next month. Right now the ground is well laid out, and the story has been retold in hundreds of different ways. However, it is strange that game developers have to go back to it and put their brand into legend.
world tree roots
(Image credit: Sony)
“It’s a well-formed legend,” says Dr Caroline Larrington, Fellow in Medieval English Teaching and Literature at the University of Oxford. Among the first indications of the catastrophe of Balder’s death, Loki’s punishment, the onset of the Great Winter, the chaos that broke out throughout the human world, and then the attack of the giants of frost and fire.
It speaks of our fears of annihilation, whether through environmental destruction, nuclear weapons, or cosmic catastrophes. The determinism is frustrating on the one hand, but on the other hand, the courage of men and gods in the face of torment is inspiring. It is important to allow hope for rebirth and a better kind of existence in the new world.”
Ragnarok speaks of our fear of annihilation, whether through environmental destruction, nuclear weapons, or cosmic catastrophes.
Dr. Caroline Larrington
Alex Harakis, lead writer on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök, agrees. He says the Ubisoft Sofia team was drawn to the legend because it is “a story of hope that rises from the ashes of defeat”. It has a universal appeal that transcends time and space, but is also a natural springboard for storytellers studying Norse tales. From our modern and fragmented knowledge of the Viking myth, two events have overshadowed everything else: the Norse creation myth and the end times. Between them, one is the most obvious candidate for adaptation.
“The creation myth is fascinating but totally surreal,” says Harakis. In addition, it is somewhat separate from everything else, although we make several references to it in Dawn of Ragnarök. For comparison, the end-time myth represents what works best for us – narratively, it is contained but it is epic, it is Connecting to the epics that come before, it’s the culmination of Odin’s character’s arc. An added bonus was that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla had already dealt with the topic without answering every last question.”
Weave it Norns
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
However, the framework of the myth leaves plenty of room for interpretation. “Like all Norse mythology, the legend of Ragnarok is not told in Old Norse sources in the kind of detail we would like as a modern audience,” Crawford says. Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson provided the most expansive account in the Prose Edda – a thirteenth century pamphlet on Norse mythology – which itself is based on The Seeress’s Prophecy found in the older Poetic Edda. Its roots go back to the oral literary tradition of pre-Christian Iceland, lending it a useful mystery to modern storytellers.
Harakis and his team of story designers can tweak the minutiae of the legend to relate it to today’s Assassin’s Creed lore. Legendary events are reinterpreted as true global catastrophes, and the central battle between gods and giants is stripped of mysticism to fit the game’s broader sci-fi narrative.
“One of the ways we have reinterpreted the mythical parts of our story is by rearranging, or even cutting, parts of the timeline described in the myths,” Harakis says. “For example, the precise arrangement of the flyers leading up to Ragnarok, along with the way events began to unfold as soon as they happened. This allowed us to streamline our story and enhance its dramatic impact.”
The legend of Ragnarok is not told in Old Norse sources in the kind of detail we would like as a modern audience.
Dr. Jackson Crawford
Even our divided understanding of Ragnarok gives storytellers useful anchor points from which they can suspend a coherent plot. But it is the breadth and size of these portions that makes them so rich as a creative resource. Touching on the diverse range of factions and inhabitants of the Norse worlds, Ragnarok stands out not only as the most famous of Norse legends but arguably the most ambitious.
Northgard developer Shiro Games told TechRadar Gaming that the story’s plentiful narrative opportunities made it an obvious choice for preparing the strategy game’s first update. Fire giants, spectral warriors, and other creatures of myth were introduced as new unit types, a new biome was included to reflect the charred landscape of the world that was, and volcanic eruptions were added as deadly interpretations of fighting gods – the deep mythology of lore provide the perfect backdrop for a new game mode.
fatal predictions
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
Video game developers are not alone in their fondness for myth. Just look at Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarök or the many historical fiction novels that encourage myth to understand its prevalence in contemporary stories of Norse mythology. Step back, and you’ll reach JRR Tolkien’s Poetic Edda in The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, and hop a few more decades to find Richard Wagner’s 19th-century Ragnarök-inspired musical drama by Richard Götterdämmerung.
“People taste the extremes,” Crawford says. “The idea of a culture that anticipated, not the eternal rule of its gods, but the defeat of those gods in a terrible battle with monsters is a cinematic idea. It could be said that it has a meaningful message to understand the pessimistic tone that runs through much of Norse literature in another way.”
It is especially important now that we are facing the climate emergency; The world as we know it will truly destroy the lives of our grandchildren
Dr. Caroline Larrington
Ragnarok’s disastrous scope, along with the hopeful thread of rebirth that underpins it, seems painfully relevant in light of the past few years. “If you read the newspapers, you sometimes feel as if every day brings with it a new ‘Ragnarok’ threat, and yet we persevere,” Harakis says.
“It is especially important now that we are facing a climate emergency; the world as we know it will be truly destroyed in the lives of our grandchildren,” says Larrington.
“In Ragnarok, the world ends with ice and fire, while here will be fire and floods. Humans are terrified and don’t know what to do, while Einharjer (the Valhalla dead) cannot reign. This is where we are, running in the face of disaster, not knowing what to do.”
“The gods know that it is too late, and the powers they have built can only make a brave show. Perhaps for us, it is not too late, and Sirte – the leader of the fire giants – will not come to us with his blazing sword that splits the sky. But like Odin, I fear he will be late Ragnarok, but he will come.”
