Doris Self (September 18, 1925 – October 3, 2006) was a video game competitor who gained recognition in the 1980s as "the world's oldest video game champion". In the 2007 ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'', Self was recognized as the world's oldest video game competitor. The documentary film '' The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'' detailed Self's quest to recover her standing as the "oldest champion" from John Lawton, the 72-year-old co-founder of the
Funspot Family Fun Center
Funspot Family Entertainment Center (or simply Funspot) is an arcade which features one of the largest collections of late-1970s to mid-1980s games in the world. It is located in the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire, United St ...
in
Weirs Beach, New Hampshire
Weirs Beach is an area within the northern part of the city of Laconia in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located on the southern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. The cruise ship ''Mount Washington'' terminates there. It is a popul ...
, who had captured the world title on ''
Depthcharge
''Depthcharge'' is a single-player arcade game released in 1977 by Gremlin Industries. The game, which uses a black-and-white CRT display, presents the player with a cut-away view of a section of ocean, on the surface of which is a destroyer ...
''
Career
On July 1, 1984, Doris Self made video game history when, at the age of 58, she gained recognition as the "world's oldest video game champion". As a competitor on ''
Q*bert
''Q*bert'' (also known as ''Qbert'') is an arcade video game developed and published for the North American market by Gottlieb in 1982. It is a Video game graphics, 2D action game with Puzzle video game, puzzle elements that uses Isometric video ...
'' at
Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an organization and social media platform for people involved in the culture and activity of playing video games. It facilitates their interaction as well as their competition and recognizes their achievements.
Twin Galaxi ...
' 1984
Video Game Masters Tournament The Video Game Masters Tournament was an event that was created in 1983 by Twin Galaxies to generate world record high scores for the 1984 U.S. Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. It was the most prestigious contest of that era and the on ...
, Self scored a world record mark of 1,112,300 points on Twin Galaxies' Tournament Settings (TGTS) – the most difficult settings that allow for only five-men in the game.
In 2005, Self traveled to London to continue her quest to regain the ''Q*bert'' World Record. She was one of the featured stars at the Classic Gaming Expo-UK, held Saturday, August 13, 2005, in
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...
, United Kingdom. As an honorary member of the
U.S. National Video Game Team
The U.S. National Video Game Team (USNVGT) was founded in July 1983 in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States by Walter Day and Jim Riley as part of the Electronic Circus tour, with Steve Sanders as the first captain. After the Circus folded, Day re-esta ...
, she was part of a contingent of video gamers who traveled to Paris, France on Napoleon's birthday (August 15, 2005) to hand-deliver an tall proclamation signed by hundreds of British players that challenged
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
to a London vs. Paris video game championship.
During the weekend of April 6–9, 2006, Self faced-off against Kelly Tharp, of
Sellersburg, Indiana
Sellersburg is a town located within Silver Creek Township, Clark County, Indiana, United States. It had a population of 9,310 at time of the 2020 census. Sellersburg is located along Interstate 65, about 15 minutes north of Louisville.
Histo ...
, in a highly publicized ''Q*bert'' contest, held at Apollo Amusements in
Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2 ...
. Titled "The King vs The Queen ''Q*bert'' Smackdown," the event was filmed as part of the ''
King of Kong
''The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'' is a 2007 American documentary film about competitive arcade gaming directed by Seth Gordon. It follows Steve Wiebe in his attempts to take the high score record for the 1981 arcade game ''Donkey Kong' ...
'' documentary.
In the 2007 ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'', Self was recognized as the world's oldest video game competitor. In ''The King of Kong'', her quest to recover her standing as the "oldest champion" was documented, as she tried to regain the title back from John Lawton, the 72-year-old co-founder of the
Funspot Family Fun Center
Funspot Family Entertainment Center (or simply Funspot) is an arcade which features one of the largest collections of late-1970s to mid-1980s games in the world. It is located in the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire, United St ...
in Weirs Beach, New Hampshire, who had captured the world title on ''
Depthcharge
''Depthcharge'' is a single-player arcade game released in 1977 by Gremlin Industries. The game, which uses a black-and-white CRT display, presents the player with a cut-away view of a section of ocean, on the surface of which is a destroyer ...
Self's ''Q*bert'' career was preceded by a flight attendant career. At the age of 19, she was among the first female flight attendants at
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Ea ...
, graduating in 1945 as a member of Eastern Air Lines’ first class of airline stewardesses. And, in 1954, while working with legendary air ace
Eddie Rickenbacker
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.National Air and Space Museum in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Self had still been practicing and preparing for her next world record attempt on ''Q*bert'' when she died from injuries suffered in an automobile accident in
Plantation, Florida
Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 91,750. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the E ...