A GRANDMOTHER, who has amassed nearly 20,000 followers on Twitch, has become “hooked” on battle royale game Fortnite at the age of 76.
Cath Bowie, from Moray, Scotland, was introduced to Fortnite by her grandson Lewis, 24, when it was first launched seven years ago.
She describes the moment as “love at first sight” to PA news agency, having already tried her hand at popular games like Mario Kart, Fifa and Minecraft.
Bowie now streams herself playing the fan-favourite multiplayer game, in which players or teams fight to be the last standing, on streaming platform Twitch.
Under the gamertag Grumpygran1948, Bowie records herself playing Fortnite and narrating her matches to thousands of watchers.
“I didn’t mean to go into gaming. It just obviously happened,” she said.
“I just went into my grandson’s bedroom, where he was playing with his PS4 and I saw Fortnite.
“I didn’t know, obviously, what it was at that time, he had to explain he was playing it, and people speak of love at first sight. Well, it truthfully was for me.”
What is Fortnite, anyway?
FORTNITE is an online video game played by up to 250 million people across the world.
In it, 100 players compete on their own or with a small group of pals to grab weapons, gather resources and build defences, before fighting it out to be the last man (or team) standing.
Matches take about 20 minutes, and you can drop into a new game within seconds of your previous one finishing.
It’s bright, it’s cartoony and it’s fiendishly compelling.
Skill is rewarded but luck also plays a huge role, meaning no two games are ever the same and everyone feels like they have a chance of winning.
Fortnite has also made its developer billions.
In Europe it’s rated 12+, meaning it’s suitable for those aged 12 and up.
The battle royale mode is free to play, but there is also a story-driven single player and co-op mode called Save The World that players have to pay for.
Pop culture crossover events are very common because of the game’s huge audience.
These involve players being able to buy themed outfits for the movie, TV show or brand, as well as getting some themed activities in-game to do too.
These might be new places to explore, new challenges to complete to win themed accessories, or new game modes that are loosely related to the theme of whatever is being crossed over with.
Bowie first started playing Fortnite on her grandson’s account “every opportunity” she got.
Although, the fascination was so strong that she eventually went out and bought her own PS4 gaming console, and set-up her own account.
She added: “I was absolutely fascinated with it, so that was one of the days that, you know, when I’m old I’ll reminisce about my Fortnite game. That’s one day I will never forget.”
While Fortnite used to be branded a ‘kids game’, it has earned the love of millions of adults since it launched in 2017.
The gamer granny often plays in a squad, with other players around the world, some of whom she has even made friends with.
“My community is absolutely fantastic. It really is constant chat and everybody being so friendly with each other. Apart from my husband, it’s my life,” she said.
“I’ve got folk that joined me that didn’t know each other and now they are playing together after I have finished my stream or before.
“The thing that I really like is, some folk have really very bad days in their life.
“Some folk are not very well, maybe have got some issues, and there is always somebody there to support them.”
The Twitch streamer has also become the brand face of Ikea’s new gaming furniture collection called Brannboll.
Bowie says she will reminisce about her gaming days when she eventually becomes too old to play – and has urged other mature gamers to “just go for it”.
“Forget about your age. Just go for it and enjoy yourself. Look at the enjoyment I’ve had,” she said.
- Find out all the latest Fortnite news, stories and updates
