Note: this interview originally came out in the summer of 2023. Susanne is now appearing at the Dreamhack Winter event. You can learn more about the event and her schedule here: https://dreamhack.com/winter/
You can find FortniteFarmor on Twitch.
Susanne Karlsson doesn’t look like your average streamer. Her bright eyes, soft and calm smile could belong to a teacher, a career she retired from a few years ago. At 65, she’s also older than the common age you would normally associate with famous content creators. She’s quick to laugh, but you can sense her warm no-nonsense attitude is never far away. Online, people know her as FortniteFarmor, Fortnite Grandma, and what began as local celebrity has grown into global recognition over the past year.
These days, Susanne streams Fortnite three hours five times a week. During the summer, it’s a little less, so that her viewers, mostly young boys, can go outside.
“I want them to meet friends, go swim, play football”, Karlsson explains. “So, instead of three hours, I play only two in the summer, that way they’ll have time for other things”.
It’s that consideration that has made her channel such a favorite. From the moment you enter her stream, you’re greeted with a safe harbor. A place where you know you can just be yourself, and learn how to be who you want to be without judgment.
Which isn’t to say there aren’t rules.
“I want everyone to play in a safe environment, but if they don’t follow my rules, if they are bad, and if they cheating, I block them for one week”, Karlsson says with a gentle smile.
“That way they can consider what they have done. Then I let them back, and if they continue to misbehave, I block them one week more”.
She lets that sink in for a moment, then, she smiles again.
“But when they follow the rules, when they’re kind, they are always welcome back. They are still my friends and I take them back no matter what. Everyone can make mistakes”.
We’re meeting in between her streaming sessions during the summer, just before the upcoming DreamHack event. Karlsson is a guest at the content creator’s booth, and she’s doing a meet and greet with fans across Sweden. Last time, she couldn’t go more than a few meters without someone stopping her for a picture or to tell her how much they enjoy her work.
For Karlsson, it all seems still like a dream.
“When I was young, there was no streaming! There was no Internet. That didn’t arrive until internet 1993, years after I was born”, she exclaims.
“But I know how my grandchildren feel when they can play with a streamer that is near to them. I know how happy they are. So, I think about my viewers. It takes no time from me to make them happy, it just gives me happiness in return”.
I started to play Fortnite five and a half years ago, because my oldest grandchild wanted someone to practice on.
Tell us about yourself. Did you have any history with video games before you started to play Fortnite full time? Can I say playing it professionally?
Oh, I’m not professional! I am 65 years old. I’m married have two children, a son and a daughter. My son is married and has three children. Two of them play Fortnite. I started to play Fortnite five and a half years ago, because my oldest grandchild wanted someone to practice on.
So, he asked me: “Grandma, can I try to kill you?” I said, of course you can.
But that’s when I started to play, and that was Fortnite. Then the youngest one asked if I could play Roblox with him. So, I started to play Roblox. Before that, we would play Heyday on our smartphones. I haven’t played much before that. Tetris, Minecraft on my smartphone. My children played Super Mario when they were young. But since then, I haven’t played almost anything.
I play just because it’s fun, and not like a pro. Not at all. I die all the time. That is what I am best at – dying! But I also heal and help people all the time. So, I have not been much video games in my past.
Do you feel like there was a big learning curve? Is it still like you’re learning new things?
Yes, all the time. Today when I was streaming, in the last 30 minutes, there was a big streamer and YouTuber, who came into my stream. He told me, “You have the new weapon!” Do that, do this, do that. And I did, and got the new weapon, and I was very happy. They’ve helped me learn a lot.
I still learn all the time, even when I have died in the game. I just watch my teammates play. So, I learn every day, and even still, I have much more to learn.
What was the initial community response when you started playing? I joined to watch one of your streams, and it was it was really nice to see how everyone was very supportive.
Yes! They are so supportive all the time. My stream has a chat, but I have rules. I’m a family friendly streamer. Everyone has to be nice, use nice words, they can’t bully anyone or swear. My moderators remove those messages instantly. They write a lot, so much that I have to have a 30 seconds delay, just so I am able to read some of what they write!
What’s more is they write happy things. When they are happy, they say it. It’s like a conversation, and every person has their own conversation with me. Which means I have to remember lots of things all the time. And I do, for them.
That kind of engagement must feel very rewarding, considering the image of Twitch chats and YouTube comment fields.
It does. The streaming makes me happy, because when I say they (the players) are happy or if they are feeling bad, they can write it in the chat. I can say something to them.
I tell them, everyone is perfect and their best exactly as they are right now. I tell them that if they feel sad, it’s okay to feel sad. You have to be honest, and you’re good, you are the best you, exactly as you are.
That makes them feel better, and it makes me happy when I see that response.
My stream is a safe place where they can feel there’s a quiet place, a place you are safe, and you can feel you get support for whatever you do.
It really does feel like the kind of positivity that we need.
In the gaming world, there is so much bad and harsh language. My stream is a safe place where they can feel there’s a quiet place, a place you are safe, and you can feel you get support for whatever you do. If you’re not the best at game, it’s okay. You don’t have to be the best. You just have to be there and have fun together. That’s what I want to share to everyone. Just be yourself. That’s what I’m doing all the time.
I try and tell my younger family friends that as well. Because there’s so much competition, and it’s pushing us to feel that if we’re not the best, well, then we’re just terrible. And you really shouldn’t have to worry about that.
In Fortnite, you can fall and get knocked down. If you fall down from high ground, your character drops all their things. So, I tell my players, “Oh you did fall down! Well, just wait, I can come and help you”.
That’s because it’s okay to fall down. I do it all the time. But then, I always tell them, I will help you. So, they do the same.
When you started playing more and when you realize that this was something that you wanted to do more that Did you talk to your friends and family about it? And how did they react? Or how did they react now when they see you playing?
My husband, I call him grandpa. Because I’m grandma for the whole world now. So, I call him grandpa. I told him that I will play with the grandchildren. That was okay.
Then, when it started to grow, and I had help with putting together the YouTube videos, I didn’t tell anyone. My friends don’t know what gaming is. They are too old. It’s not like it was a secret, but they didn’t know, until the they saw it in television. They saw it in newspapers. And then they asked, “Oh, you’re a gamer?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
Nothing more. On Swedish television, there is a channel for kids, and there was a chapter with me. So, my cousin’s son was watching TV, and he told her, you have to come, there is an old person playing games! And she said, that’s my cousin! She’s 44 years old, and this was the first time we met.
But it was thanks to her son that we met. So that’s lovely. And I’ve now played with him, her son, in Fortnite!
Did you win?
Yes!
But I think that those who are younger, they think it’s nice that you play Fortnite, that you play games. They’re just OK with it. My friends who are older, they say they don’t understand. And that’s OK, too! It’s a very mixed response, but everyone is positive in the end.
Nothing happens if you don’t try new things. You have to be open to it. The world is changing.
What kind of advice would you give to others who aren’t typically into gaming? I think about my parents, who are the same age. I remember they used to play Tetris and games like that when he was younger. My mom likes board games, but neither of them enjoys video games. So, I thought, how would I explain this to them? If somebody asked you what is the thing that makes it so fun or makes it so worthwhile, what would you say?
Try!
Nothing happens if you don’t try new things. You have to be open to it. The world is changing. I can’t do the same thing I did when I was five years old. There were no computers when I when I was born, there was no television. The telephone was stuck in the wall!
Now you can walk around with a telephone, you can even see the other person on the call! I can see you here on this computer as we’re talking from other countries.
So, if you don’t try new things, you don’t explore new things. You have to try. Don’t be afraid. You don’t need to be a pro – you can be a beginner. It’s not a bad thing, ever.
If I would like to ask, do you want to play Fortnite with me? And I think about that in my head, and I don’t ask you, I can’t ever get that “yes” from you. And if you say “no”, well, nothing happens. So why not try? Don’t worry about what other people say.
That’s a really wonderful lesson.
It’s always better to try than to regret that you never did. And when you do game, co-operate! Stick together, and help each other. If I help, they help me.
One last question: If there was one thing you could include in Fortnite that isn’t there yet, what would it be?
I wish there was a pause button. The parents don’t know how it works. So, when they say food is ready, and the kids have to just leave the game, they leave the other three people on their own. I wish there was a pause button, so they can go and eat. Or if they could give a warning, even just 10, 15 minutes before they are going to eat. Parents have to learn to time these things!