A Melbourne studio has reached the final stages of building a unique videogame that is entirely structured as a musical. Summerfall Studios managing director Liam Esler, who co-founded the studio, said they wanted to create something that was loud, new, and majorly character-focused – and a musical. The result is Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical , which includes music from popular Melbourne-based comedy-music group  Tripod and other lyric and song writers. “It’s one thi

George Thompson’s life is one of routine. His wife, Gwen, has late-stage Alzheimer’s disease so he needs to make sure that she takes her medication, has a shower, goes to the toilet, eats properly, keeps somewhat active and goes to sleep correctly every single day. His routine has not changed for over two years, and he has all but given up on altering it. “I have no free time whatsoever anymore,” George says. “I’ve totally sacrificed my social life. I have friends that I have

The “out-of-control” normalisation of sports betting, particularly in young men aged 18-24 years, has prompted major sports across Australia to join forces to limit its impact. St Bernards Football Club player Sam Singarella, 18, said sports betting happens more than people might think within the age group. “It’s out of control. It’s actually crazy how normalised sports betting is within young men,” he said. Young men are now the largest group of sport betters in Victoria,

It’s up to the sports community to change the culture that makes young men feel it’s not masculine or “manly” to talk about their struggles with mental health, a football coach says. Avondale Football Club coach Sam Cutri said too many young men lack outlets to speak about their mental health. The sports community should “break that cycle and really make it a priority to tell our fellow young sports guys that it’s okay to feel down, upset or mentally exhausted”, he said. “It’

The L2P learner driving program is pushing to expand to more regions in Victoria to help more young people complete their driving hours, a coordinator says. Ten years old last month, the program is suffering from extended waiting lists in the aftermath of Covid-19 restrictions and because of the lack of regional services. L2P co-ordinator Sarah Massey said the driving program was only run by 60 councils in Victoria and young people outside those regions were having to squeeze

On the surface, Chloe* and Jessica have nothing in common. None of the same friends, none of the same interests. One is an author and speaker, the other works in our courts. Yet both tell a similar story of struggling with porn addiction in their teens, which began affecting their life and relationships. Jessica says she was first exposed to pornography at 13. “I was researching online for a school project. I first realised porn had become an addiction when I tried to stop w

An art exhibition of work by Indigenous artists who are or were in jail is highlighting the transformative impact of the program, an organiser says. The exhibition Confined 13  is showing 400 artworks from 350 different indigenous artists now or previously in prison. Indigenous arts officer Matty Chilly from support group The Torch says the aim is to prevent prisoners from reoffending, by “keeping that work ethic up”. “The program is there to help them find a focus in their

“Preston Market is the soul of the city,” says Darebin councillor Gaetano Greco. “The market cannot be demolished or relocated. You can build something new, but how do you transpose all that character and soul?” In April, the Victorian Planning Authority released revisions to the draft redevelopment plan for historic Preston Market, after considering 386 submissions from a host of individual objectors and community groups. Changes include a reduction in the maximum height of

The rise in interest in board games is giving hope to two Melbourne University students who last week finished the initial development of their tabletop game. Game design students Ango Zhu and Kris Lee demonstrated their food industry game Undercooked! at the uni’s Melbourne Connect space last weekend to see how it tested with players. The game requires three players to work co-operatively to complete food orders in under four minutes. Lead game designer Ango Zhu was optim

Some young Australians not taking flu seriously enough this year – leaving themselves exposed, experts warn. Ian Barr, the deputy director at the WHO Collaboration Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, said that the nation’s vaccination rate against the flu is very low, particularly for university-aged Australians. “Currently we’re only having about 20 per cent of people being vaccinated who are eligible … and young adults are probably some of the lowest vaccination

When Ellie Phillips turned 15, she was excited to land her first job at McDonald’s. “My mum worked at Maccas when she was a kid, and all I’d been told is that they have great training programs and it looks really good on your resume,” Phillips, who is now a nurse, says. Seven years later, Ellie is one of almost 20,000 young workers who are part of a multi-million dollar class action against the fast food giant. The action alleges that McDonald’s ripped off underage workers

For Taylor Watkins, two days at home after her second miscarriage was not enough time for her to be able to recover and return to work. “[The] miscarriage was life-shattering; I think I cried every day for a month straight and it was the hardest thing I have ever been through emotionally,” she says. “I don’t think it’s something that I will ever truly recover from, to be honest.” Australia’s Fair Work Act was amended last year to give parents who experience a miscarriage two