Doris Self
Encyclopedia
Doris Self was a video game competitor who gained recognition back in the 1980s as "the world's oldest video game champion." In the 2007 Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

 Book, Doris was recognized as the world's oldest video game competitor. In the feature film The King of Kong, Doris' 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 Fun Center
Funspot Family Fun Center is a video arcade and self-declared "classic gaming museum" founded in 1952 by Bob Lawton, and located in the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire, USA. It includes over 500 games, an indoor golf center, a 20-lane ten-pin and candlepin bowling center, cash...

 in Weirs Beach, New Hampshire
Weirs Beach, New Hampshire
Weirs Beach is a village within 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...

, who had captured the world title on Depth Charge
Depth Charge (computer game)
Depth Charge is a game for the Apple II family of computers, created in 1978 by programmer Chris Oberth and published by The Elektrik Keyboard of Chicago, Illinois.-Game play:...

.

Biography

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 at Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...

 1984 Video Game Masters Tournament
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 only one that the Guinness book looked to for...

, Doris 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, Doris 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
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

, United Kingdom. As an honorary member of the U.S. National Video Game Team
U.S. National Video Game Team
The U.S. National Video Game Team was founded on July 25, 1983 in Ottumwa, Iowa, USA by Walter Day and the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard.-Members:Walter Day was the Team Captain and the first five members chosen by Twin Galaxies for the team were:...

, 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 8 feet (2.4 m) tall proclamation signed by hundreds of British players that challenged Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 to a London vs. Paris video game championship.

During the weekend of April 6–9, 2006, Doris Self faced off against Kelly Tharp, of Sellersburg, Indiana
Sellersburg, Indiana
Sellersburg is a city located within Silver Creek Township, Clark County, Indiana, United States. It had a population of 6,128 at time of the 2010 census...

, in a highly publicized Q*Bert showdown, held at Apollo Amusements in Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just to the north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 99,845...

. Titled the "The King vs The Queen Q*Bert Smackdown," the event was filmed as part of the King of Kong movie.

In the 2007 Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

 Book, Doris was recognized as the world's oldest video game competitor. In The King of Kong, Doris' 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 Fun Center
Funspot Family Fun Center is a video arcade and self-declared "classic gaming museum" founded in 1952 by Bob Lawton, and located in the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire, USA. It includes over 500 games, an indoor golf center, a 20-lane ten-pin and candlepin bowling center, cash...

 in Weirs Beach, New Hampshire, who had captured the world title on Depth Charge.

Doris was still 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, Florida
Plantation is the name of the following places in the U.S. state of Florida:*Plantation, Florida, a city in Broward County; the largest of the places named "Plantation" in Florida*Plantation, Sarasota County, Florida, a census-designated place...

 on October 3, 2006. Doris Self was 81 years of age.

Doris' Q*Bert career was not the first time that she had made her mark on history. At the age of 19, she was among the first female flight attendants at Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...

, 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
Eddie Rickenbacker
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was an American fighter ace in World War I and Medal of Honor recipient. He was also a race car driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation, particularly as the longtime head of Eastern Air Lines.-Early...

, she co-organized "The Silver Liners," history’s first association for ex-stewardesses. Today, the DC-3 Doris used to fly on back in the 1940s is hanging from the ceiling of the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...

in Washington, DC.
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