Dorothy Discusses: Gaming 👾

Recently, Jim and Oli sat down to talk about all things gaming, from favourite soundtracks and controllers to the titles they’ve sunk the most hours into. Rather than reducing games to simple ratings, their discussion focuses on user experience and nostalgia, spanning decades of play. From the chunky keys of the Amiga 500 to modern systems like the Nintendo Switch, they explored how gaming has evolved while still holding onto its magic especially within today’s indie gaming scene.

The full video to their discussion is linked at the bottom of this page or you can keep reading this blog post to see the highlights of their chat.

Jim reflected on his first gaming experience with the ZX Spectrum +2, fondly remembering “a little natty cassette drive attached” a notable console which we’re sure for many old-school gamers like us, this will be an instantly recognisable image. The conversation soon moved to other classics, including the Amiga 500 and classic titles such as The Secret of Monkey Island and Sensible World of Soccer. Jim admitted he spent countless hours playing them in his youth, joking that he’d be “so embarrassed if you had the … metrics of how many hours you’ve sunk into something” the way you can with modern games.

Image © Dorothy

When asked about his favourite console, Oli chose the Nintendo GameCube, describing its small discs as “very futuristic” and a sharp contrast to other console models available at the time. For both Oli and Jim, these consoles represented more than just a console, it helped define an exciting era in their life.

Image © Dorothy

Jim’s choice, however, was more “controversial” (so he claims). He named the Nintendo Switch as his all-time favourite console. While it may be a more modern phenomenon, his reasoning was heartfelt he says “I just I just love it. It's just great. And now I'm playing games with my kids and seeing the joy that they're getting from the Switch”. Oli however asks Jim, “had your kids been older or you not had kids, would it be a different console?” and there is an honourable mention to the classic PS2 console describing it as “amazing” and compares gameplay on it to “watching movies”, similarly, to sharing the joy with his own kids he said, “I kept calling my parents and going "Oh my god, look at this. It's like a It's like a movie playing”. In a sense, that sentiment sums up what this discussion reinforces, games aren’t just entertainment, they’re designed to make memories which connect different people and generations.

Moving onwards, the focus shifts towards actual games as opposed to consoles, both were asked what they think is the most under appreciated game is. 

Jim begins by discussing ‘Journey’, sharing his thoughts on how it was “so ahead of its time and so moving”, Although he acknowledges that it is “so simple” he believes this plays into the games advantage. He calls it “incredible”, adding that he “doesn’t hear people talk about it enough”.

Meanwhile, Oli chooses a completely different style of game, Dragon Warrior Monsters, which he recalls playing on the Game Boy, He compares the game to Pokémon in the sense that the aim was to “capture” monsters and breed them. Similarly to Jim it is clear to see that Oli shares a passion, for a game designed with a simple concept, but one which has long lasting impression on players. 

The conversation moves on with questions like favourite game soundtrack? Jim picks Xenon 2 Megablast, while Oli chooses the iconic Tony Hawke Pro Skater 2 which describes as being known for playing “pre-existing songs” and “pop-punk”- which pretty much sounds like a Dorothy playlist!

The bulk of the conversation relates to the hardest game both have played. Oli kicks the discussion off with a niche indie game ‘Baba is You’ designed by Avri Tekari. He says it is “really smart” as the goal is to “push words around to make new phrases which then control the mechanics of the game”-sounds super complicated right?!

Jim, however, finds FIFA - a classic and fan favourite in the gaming community- really hard. Claiming “everybody who has played more than once will be able to beat me” and admits that he “just doesn’t know how people put the combos together”. In comparison to a similar football stimulation game Pes (Pro Evolution Soccer) Jim said he felt a bit lost as the “pitch was just too different”.

The conversation leads to the next question: what game both have played most? Oli leads by discussing indie game ‘Rust’, which features on our Stamp Sheets: Indie Video Games print, claiming to have played the game for around an impressive “260 hours” in total.

The conversation then loops back to football simulation-style games as Jim shared that he was “obsessively consumed” with ‘Football Manager’, “to the point where like the players were almost too real for me and I'd be I'd be walking to work, conducting player interviews in my head with imaginary players. And they would also give me encouragement because at that stage I was trying to get fit. So, like when I was feeling terrible running, they'd be like they wouldn't have given up now would they?” It’s fair to say that game successfully captured Jim’s imagination, whether he liked it or not!

Image © Dorothy

Both go on to discuss award winning game Claire Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023) when asked what titles they would like to be new additions to our Classic Games Print. Although Oli suggests you would have to swap out The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild, Jim jokingly suggests that he think it would be fair to add all The Legend of Zelda games on.

The chat is rounded up by asking what their favourite indie video games are off our New Stamp Sheets: Indie Video Games print, without hesitation Oli says Inscyrption and after some (long) thoughts Jim concludes his all-time favourite is Journey but Inside comes as a close second. It’s fair to say that Indie games remind both Jim and Oli why they started playing in the first place, they’re fun and sometimes rough around the edges but full of ideas you won’t find in mainstream titles. In a way, for Jim and Oli some modern indie games feel closer to those early Amiga and GameCube days, it’s exciting to know that the creative spark in gaming hasn’t disappeared, it’s just moved into different corners of the industry and we love it!

Our New Stamp Sheets: Indie Video Games print aims to celebrate smaller teams of developers who are experimenting in the gaming world, who are willing to try something strange just because they can (a bit like us really). 

You can check out the full discussion in the video below.

Our New Stamp Sheets: Indie Video Games is available from here, and the full collection of our full collection of gaming prints and products is available here.