Take a virtual reality dragon ride on this homemade rig, and other esoterica

Have you ever found yourself watching a scene from Game of Thrones where Daenerys Targaryen is flying through the heavens astride her majestic dragon, Drogon, and wished you were in her place? Well, if you don’t mind looking a bit silly, then you’re in luck, because independent VR developer Abhishek Singh is doing just that. Check out a video of his solo project, How To Fly Your Dragon.

I won’t lie: if I had the opportunity to fly a virtual reality dragon, I would do it in a heartbeat, no matter how silly I looked. Singh says it took him about three weeks to build the entire experience, from the rideable dragon to the code.

"The entire fabrication of the physical dragon and the sensors was completed in about a week. The rest of the time was spent in modeling the virtual dragon and the entire virtual world, coding the experience in Unity and fine tuning it so the movements and manipulations of the physical dragon synced up perfectly with those happening in the headset."

And why did Singh bother adding dragon wings and a snout to the physical apparatus if the experience happens in virtual reality? “[F]or me the experience begins way before the user even puts on the headset.” Looks funnier, too.

Moving on, HBO’s other juggernaut of a hit series, Westworld, is nearing the final two episodes of its inaugural season, and there is no doubt the show is a hit. With the show being so popular, fans all over are mashing it together with Game of Thrones. I mean, even George R.R. Martin wants a crossover, so why not?

To that end, Polygon visited the HBO’s official Westworld site and asked the site’s helpful host, Aeden, several Game of Thrones questions, and got one interesting response.

"Westworld website response to Game of Thrones question"

Nice and cryptic.

Finally, and this falls under the umbrella of Westworld SPOILERS, fans are connecting the pair of HBO juggernauts through two important lines, one from each show. Both have become iconic in pretty short measure, and both share a word in common.

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In Episode 7, “Trompe L’Oeil,” it is revealed that Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), the Head of the Westworld Programming Division, is actually a Host (an android). We find that out when Bernard pays a visit to a secret house made by Westworld founder Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins). “What’s behind this door?” his human companion asks. “What door?” he replies, revealing that his programming doesn’t allow him to see it. The internet quickly compared this line to Hodor’s famous refrain: “Hold the door.”

But wait, the madness runs much deeper.

Ahhh, now we’re putting two and two together and getting seven! Wait, that doesn’t add up.

Yes, Mike, too soon.

And then someone brought in True Detective, because sure.

It would be neat if HBO was giving a tip of the hat, if you will, to Hodor and Game of Thrones here, but I doubt it.

h/t VRScout, Alphr, US Weekly