Dialogue-based Role Playing Games (RPGs) require powerful storytelling. The narratives of these may take years to write and typically involve a large creative team. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of large generative text models to assist this process. \textbf{GRIM}, a prototype \textbf{GR}aph-based \textbf{I}nteractive narrative visualization system for ga\textbf{M}es, generates a rich narrative graph with branching storylines that match a high-level narrative description and constraints provided by the designer. Game designers can interactively edit the graph by automatically generating new sub-graphs that fit the edits within the original narrative and constraints. We illustrate the use of \textbf{GRIM} in conjunction with GPT-4, generating branching narratives for four well-known stories with different contextual constraints.

Amazon Prime Day is here. The mega-retailer's two-day sales event for Prime subscribers is in full swing, and there are plenty of deals on some of our favorite gear and gadgets, from Alexa-enabled speakers to robot vacs to laptops and tablets. The WIRED Gear team tests products year-round. We sorted through hundreds of thousands of deals by hand to make these picks. Crossed out products are out of stock or no longer discounted. Our Amazon Prime Day coverage page has the latest stories, and our Prime Day Shopping Tips will help you avoid bad deals. You can also get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 here. Updated July 13: We've added five new deals, including JackRabbit eBike, Apollo City 2022 electric scooter, and more. We've also shifted a few sections around to highlight new deals, removed a number of expired deals, and updated prices and links throughout. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. We've got a separate roundup of more great home and kitchen deals right here. There are blenders, and then there are Vitamix blenders. I was skeptical, but like my fellow Gear reviewer Joe Ray, the Vitamix made me a blender person. A blender is, essentially, just a blade atop a motor.

The central government on Friday adopted a bill to revise the road traffic law that would legalize delivery robots and driverless cars under certain conditions. The bill, to be introduced during the current session of parliament, also calls for the creation of a permit system for businesses providing such services. Also planned are new rules on the use of electric kick scooters. If the bill covering what the government calls Level 4 autonomy is enacted, the new rules will come into force within a year for driverless cars and delivery robots and within two years for electric scooters. By the end of March 2023, the government aims to realize mobility services using unmanned autonomous vehicles as a means of transportation for elderly people in depopulated areas.

Japan is considering a system to screen and approve providers of fully automated driving services within limited areas, under the supervision of prefectural public safety commissions, the National Police Agency said Thursday. The agency says it aims to submit an amendment to the road traffic law to parliament next spring, as the government intends to start "Level 4" automated mobility services in designated areas of the country, such as along abandoned railroads, in the fiscal year that runs through March 2023. Operating under Level 4 automation, a vehicle always performs the functions of acceleration, steering and braking, including in emergencies, according to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. A government panel that has been discussing the autonomous driving services, and new mobility concepts such as electric scooters, released its final report Thursday, which will serve as a basis for the police agency's amendment bill. According to the agency, the amendment will stipulate that fully automated driving will be allowed only for vehicles operated in designated areas for the purpose of providing mobility services for passengers, instead of private cars.

Given all the talk of supply chain issues this year, it's no surprise that we're starting to see early Black Friday sales hit the internet before November 1. Best Buy announced last week that it's first early Black Friday event would begin today, and as promised, the company has discounted hundreds of gadgets from headphones to robot vacuums to electric scooters. Best Buy is also has a "Black Friday Price Guarantee" on these deals, which means that you shouldn't see these gadgets go on sale for less at Best Buy before Black Friday proper comes around. And if they do, you can get the difference reimbursed to you if you're a My Best Buy or Best Buy Totaltech member (the former is free to sign up for, so it's worthwhile to make an account). We sifted through this first round of early Black Friday deals and picked out the ones that are worth your money. Also, some of the sale prices are being matched on Amazon -- we've made note of which those are below so you can decide where you want to shop. Our favorite pair of Sony headphones, the WH-1000XM4, are down to a record low of $248 right now.

If you sent me a message on Twitter, email or pigeon post, please give me a few days to dig out of the pile that awaits me. You might recall that I mentioned I was off to do some backpacking and climbing in Grand Teton National Park and then eventually would make it to Yellowstone National Park. Yes, the crowds were real, especially for those who stuck to the traditional schedule of sightseeing between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. I took the early morning and late evening approach and never encountered the infamous parking lot traffic jams. It's that tactic that allowed me to take a ride in an empty T.E.D.D.Y., the autonomous vehicle that is being piloted in Yellowstone this summer.

When we saw personal robots being discontinued last year, we couldn't figure out why these technologies are not getting there yet. We can't deny the fact that every future technology comes with glitches. Some of these glitches are so intense that it becomes hard to even accept that form of tech in our everyday life. Just when you think of riding a self-driving car, you hear about a crash, and the dreams of stepping into the future shatter instantly. But 2020 has been showing us a whole new form of life we've never dreamt of before.

Editor-at-Large based in London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Expertise in Internet, Music, Unemployment, Sexual health, Stocks & trading, see all» Education, General business news & info, Careers & workplace, Pharmaceuticals, Government, Environment & green living, Concerts, Small business, Celebrities, Books, Drinks, Video games, Science & space, Automotive, Sports, Technology, Movies, Board games, Charity & volunteer work, Jobs, Social media, Politics, Food, dining & restaurants, Travel, Pets, Health, Men's health, Food, recipes, Women's health, Entertainment Over the next decade, businesses will face maturing cybercrime and renewed nation-state cyberattacks. Both of these threats are key areas for which businesses need to be aware, as well as for governments to take action. Electric scooters are growing in popularity in many parts of the world. While the safety risks have been well-publicised, such as data posted by the U.S. CDC, the cybersecurity risks are not as well known – and yet these could be equally serious.

Electric scooters are invading America, with scooters from popular brands including Lime, Bird, Spin, Lyft, and Uber becoming commonplace in major city centers. These dockless scooters, which are controlled by mobile app, accounted for 45.8% of all micromobility trips in 2018; this number is significant, considering 84 million micromobility trips were taken in 2018 alone, the National Association of City Transportation Officials reported. The success of scooters are built on the promises of reducing traffic congestion, providing a more efficient and cost-effective means of travel, and decreasing harmful emissions, according to the INRIX's Micromobility Potential in the US, UK and Germany report. However, scooters are also responsible for at least 1,500 injuries and eight fatalities of US riders since late 2017. The injuries and deaths have caused many US cities to take pause, with Atlanta recently banning scooter usage during nighttime hours, and San Diego considering a temporary ban.

Every day at around 4 p.m., the creeeek criikkk of stretched packing tape echoes through Huaqiangbei, Shenzhen's sprawling neighborhood of hardware stores. Shopkeepers package up the day's sales--selfie sticks, fidget spinners, electric scooters, drones--and by 5, crowds of people are on the move at the rapid pace locals call Shenzhen sudu, or "Shenzhen speed," carting boxes out on motorcycles, trucks, and--if it's a light order--zippy balance boards. From Huaqiangbei the boxes are brought to the depots of global logistics companies and loaded onto airplanes and cargo ships. In the latter case they join 24 million metric tons of container cargo going out every month from Shekou harbor--literally "snake's mouth," the world's third-busiest shipping port after Shanghai and Singapore. A few days or weeks later, the boxes arrive in destinations as nearby as Manila and Phnom Penh and as far afield as Dubai, Buenos Aires, Lagos, and Berlin. They appear in the world's largest cities and smallest villages: selfie sticks held up in front of Indian temples, a (rebranded) Xiaomi electric scooter cruising down San Francisco's Market Street, and a DJI drone flying over pretty much anywhere.