Doris Self: The world’s oldest video Game Champion

When we think of video games, we imagine a bunch of teenagers playing their console from the moment they get home from school before they're inevitably called down for dinner. Yet, the world of gaming stretches far beyond the younger generation, with people of all ages playing video games; in fact, it is estimated that over 2 billion people play video games.

Although, what might be even more shocking is that the world’s oldest video game competition winner was 58 years old when crowned in 1984. Doris Self, born 1925, was officially recognised as 'the world's oldest game competitor' by the Guinness World Records in 2007. She gained fame in the 1980s when she made video game history by breaking records at the 1984 Twin Galaxies Video Games Masters Tournament after scoring an almost unbelievable 1,112,300 points in the arcade game Q*bert.

At the time, Doris faced stigma as a middle-aged woman within the game industry which was dominated by young males at the time. She was also known for her different approach to gaming, refusing to memorise game patterns, stating that she preferred to "go with the flow."

Before her gaming career, Self worked as a first-class flight attendant from the age of 19 and was amongst the first female stewardesses to fly with Eastern airlines. She continued travelling around the globe with her gaming career. She was named as an honorary member of the US National Video Game Team and featured as a star player at the Classic Gaming Expo-UK in 2005. Later that year she was part of a group of gamers who delivered an 8ft tall proclamation to Paris, challenging the city to a London vs Paris video game championship.

Are you interested in combining your artistic, programming and design talents with your love for gaming?

The University of Bolton is leading the way for UK Universities by offering some of the first dedicated Games courses, providing graduates with the skills and opportunities to work with the most notable names in the gaming industry.

We offer both Undergraduate, Postgraduate, full-time and part-time courses in Games Design, Games Programming and Games Art. For more information on how to apply, click here.