I’m an older gamer and the coolest teacher at my school – Reader’s Feature

A reader writes in to explain why all his pupils are so impressed by his gaming skills, and why you don’t have to give up playing video games as you get older.

This article is a respectful homage to one which was published a few weeks ago, which I very much enjoyed reading. However, I wanted to highlight an alternative experience for some of us older gamers.

‘Sir, are you the teacher who platinumed Elden Ring?’

I was asked this question a few months ago by a pupil whose name I did not know, as I had been asked to supervise an absent teacher’s class. I am usually hesitant to volunteer personal information to classes and pupils unless I have built a solid rapport with them over time but, since there were only minutes left in the period, I decided to deviate from my normal practice. There was also something genuine about the enthusiastic way in which the unknown pupil had asked this question.

‘Yes, that would be me,’ I smiled. ‘I’ve also platinumed many other FromSoftware games too.’

The pupil, who was around 16 years old, stared at me with his mouth literally agape for a few seconds before blurting out, ‘That is so awesome, sir!’

In the short time that remained until the period bell, we exchanged experiences of playing Elden Ring, which the pupil had still not managed to complete. I also learned that he had heard about my gaming exploits from his friends in my regular classes, and that I was regarded as something of a ‘legend’ amongst his fellow pupils as a result.

For some background, I’m 53 years old and have been a chemistry teacher for over 30 years. In all that time I’ve enjoyed the job immensely but have learned to strike a balance between having a good relationship with pupils, while also keeping my distance with respect to my personal life. However, once I get to know a class well, and it becomes clear that they have appropriate levels of maturity and respect, I then start to reveal more about myself.

This inevitably leads to conversations about gaming. Although many teenagers do like the well-known free live service games, there are also a significant number who talk to me about their enjoyment of single-player games. Other conversations I’ve had include how great God Of War Ragnarök is, the lore of the Assassin’s Creed games, and the challenges of the DLC for XCOM 2.

At the other end of the spectrum, I also have conversations and exchange games with the head teacher of the school, who is a few years older even than myself. He enjoys single-player games too, and plays on the easiest difficulty, which he finds a great way of relaxing after work.

To conclude, we can all enjoy games in our own way, regardless of age. There are many young gamers who have similar tastes to those of us who are older, and mature gamers can still give a good account of themselves when it comes to overcoming difficult gaming challenges. I often play local versus multiplayer with my 12-year-old son, and for now at least we are very evenly matched, much to his good-natured frustration!

I recently revealed to a trusted class that I had just reached my 50th platinum trophy and updated them each week over the term on my progress towards completing Ragnarök on Give Me God Of War difficulty. As a result, they have assured me that my legendary status is now in the stratosphere!

By reader ameisa (PSN ID)

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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