6 d. ago Cosy video games are on an unstoppable rise. Will they unleash a darker side?

Non-violent games about cooking, farming or tidying now rival the more traditional video game pursuits of shooting and fighting in popularity. So what will the #cozy genre tackle next?In 2017, a game design thinktank called Project Horseshoe gathered a group of developers together to define the concept of cosiness in video games. Games, of course, have had non-violent elements since the medium was invented. Early life simulators such as 1985’s Little Computer People, a low-stakes game in which the player interacts with a man living his unremarkable life in a house, could fit the bill; then there was the proliferation of social farming simulations after 1996’s chibi-adorable Harvest Moon.But the resulting report, Coziness in Games: An Exploration of Safety, Softness, and Satisfied Needs, is probably the first organised effort to define a then-emerging genre. The group zeroed in on three core things: safety, abundance, and softness. Cosy games (cozy in US spelling) don’t have high-ris...

Politics

7 d. ago Poor mental health is driving young people out of their jobs. My own journey showed me how to help | Fran Boait

We need to confront the social conditions that impact them – and the toxic workplaces they’re trying to push back againstLast month, new figures showed that one in four young people in England have a mental health condition. An unwillingness to examine the challenging social and economic conditions – from housing insecurity to financial concerns – means there can be a tendency to explain this rise as a result of overdiagnosis, although there is little evidence for this claim. Clinicians cite the criteria for diagnosis to show that overreporting is not substantiated – if anything, the severity of reported conditions has increased, in part due to a reduced stigma resulting in more people seeking help.Young people with poor mental health are nearly five times more likely to be out of work, and there is a growing understanding that inadequate support around young people’s mental health in the workplace is driving them to leave or consider leaving their job. In response, the government h...

Society

8 d. ago Marcus Rashford makes surprise Man Utd decision despite brutal Ruben Amorim axe

Marcus Rashford and four other Manchester United stars were told that they didn't have to report back for pre-season training this week as they explore moves away

Politics

8 d. ago Farmers more likely to seek financial advice as concerns focus around pensions

Almost half of farmers say they plan to seek financial advice over the next six months as concerns about their finances are most likely to focus on their pensions, according to a new study.

Economics

3 w. ago New report explores financial concerns for veterans in Scotland

The Scottish Veterans Commissioner has published a new report exploring the financial wellbeing of veterans in Scotland.

Politics

4 w. ago Gregor Poynton MP meets UK Veterans Minister to raise plight of Linburn Veterans and Scotland's Military Museum

Gregor Poynton, MP for the Livingston constituency, has today met with the UK Labour Government’s Veterans Minister, Al Carns, to highlight the urgent situation facing residents at the Linburn Park in West Lothian.

Events