Shirley Curry told us a couple of years ago what it was like to become a YouTube celebrity at 80 years of age, a feat she accomplished when her love of Skyrim, and her gameplay videos, came to the attention of Reddit. "Grandma Shirley" now has more than 412,000 followers on YouTube, where she posts videos on various topics and games—she recently seems to have gotten into Call of Cthulhu—but Skyrim still dominates her playlist.
She was understandably disappointed, then, when The Elder Scrolls 6 was "announced" at E3 with the caveat that it won't be out for many years yet. "Well, I guess that puts the nail in my coffin, literally!!!" she wrote last month in a comment on another streamer's video. "When Skyrim 6 comes out I'll be 88!! So I probably won't get to play it, so I'm going to quite [quit?] dreaming for it!!! :("
Her comment was picked up and shared on Reddit over the weekend and quickly morphed into a call to incorporate her into The Elder Scrolls 6 in some way, be it an NPC, a location, a unique weapon, or in some other appropriate fashion. There's actually precedent for this—the Skyrim NPC Erik the Slayer is a tribute to Erik West, an Elder Scrolls fan who died of cancer six months prior to Skyrim's release—but response to the petition was a little slow out of the gate, and internet petitions aren't exactly binding legislation to begin with.
Thus, while the petition continues to collect signatures, wheels are also turning on Plan B: Modding Curry into Skyrim. Redditor phanton-scribbler said Curry is "enthusiastically on board" with the idea, and has given permission to use her likeness and her voice, and even offered to record any specific dialog that might be required.
Fan-made projects can be inconstant, let's say, but the biggest challenge facing this one is apparently the sheer volume of material at hand. Phantom-scribbler said volunteers are required to watch Curry's videos and pick out the best lines: Location-specific dialog, expressions of wonder and disgust, "kill quotes," and anything else that might be useful.
"How cool would it be to come across an elderly Breton who wants to kick some ass and asks to come along with you. Her story is even perfect just as it is," redditor anachronisticUranium suggested on the Shirleysgrandkids subreddit.
"She's twice widowed and has four kids and nine grandkids. She calls all her subscribers 'grandkids.' So, maybe she has a sword that both of her husbands died using. She calls it 'Widowmaker.' She takes it up and puts on some armor, says, 'Come on, Grandson/daughter!' and you're off to tackle whoever gets in your way. Who wouldn't want her as a follower?
The "Widowmaker" angle is maybe a little weird, but I love the idea of incorporating Curry into the game somehow. She's a positive, welcoming voice on YouTube, and her Skyrim fandom is obviously beyond question. She knows a thing or two about running a gang, too—handy knowledge for any worthwhile NPC.
Thanks, Eurogamer.