Shirley Curry is known lovingly in the gaming community as Grandma Shirley and Skyrim Grandma due to her amazing Lets Plays and the feeling of family she offers her viewers. She’s a gaming treasure, one to protect at all costs, but it looks like trolls haven’t gotten the memo and because of that and underlying health issues, Miss Shirley is taking a small step back from her time streaming.
Curry took to her vlog earlier this month (via VG247) to share some details about what’s going on with her, including health concerns. When she took to her camera once more, Shirley revealed that her health “isn’t very good” and that she has concerns over her high blood pressure. She attributed that partly due to her rising stress levels and how she’s “going to have to take control of it. Some comments are stressing me out way too much.”
Look, if you bully an 80-year old gamer – or any gamer, really – you’re sad. And mean. And your momma should have raised you better than that. Shirley has always been a light in our community; a welcoming figure that offered family to those that might not have one and entertainment for those just looking for a new gamer to follow.
According to Shirley, the rise in trolls stems from her love of RPGs and actually getting involved in the role-playing aspects of, well, Role-Playing Games. Apparently some viewers have an issue with her playing these types of games the way she wants to play them, taking the scenic route, and that constant commentary is weighing down her enjoyment.
“I have played Skyrim for years,” she added in the above video about all of the backseat gamers that take their feedback a little too far, “and I know about the HUD, I know about the different mechanics, how to play the game, and I don’t have to be reminded and told all the time.”
She added that she will also be taking a more proactive approach to her community and step one of that after her break is to crack down on trolls: “Any comments I see like that are going to be deleted. I don’t have to be told about what games to play, and describe to me what the games are like. I look at all the games. I’m a gamer, and if I wanted to play them I would be playing them. And when I tell somebody ‘no,’ that’s a simple answer. Easily understood. You don’t need to come back with ‘Why?’ Because I don’t have to explain myself. And when I do nobody seems to get it anyway.
“I’m not enjoying recording any more at all. It’s no longer fun. I feel like I’m under a microscope all the time. I have much more fun and I play much better when I’m just playing by myself. It puts a lot of pressure on me, and any gamer when people are watching them play, especially when they nit-pick everything.”
Related: Beloved Gaming Grandma, Shirley Curry, Is Front and Center In New Documentary
At the end of the day, gaming is about enjoyment. If she enjoys the RP aspects of RPGs, let her do just that. You are on her channel, not the other way around. Sometimes your criticism isn’t necessary, sometimes it’s OK just to sit back and enjoy the ride and if you’re not enjoying it? It’s time to move on. Let Shirley live, she’s incredible.
