They Create Worlds

https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/feed.xml

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The games we love reveal something true about who we are, and about the world that made them. They Create Worlds is a podcast about the people, technology, and forces that built the video game industry.

Through video game history, the show looks at how culture, business, and technology shaped what we play, tracing the choices and circumstances that led to the games so many people around the world enjoy.

Each episode digs into where games came from, who made them, and why they were made the way they were. Business decisions, technological shifts, and creative choices all shaped what ended up on screen, and the show covers all of it together, not just one piece in isolation.

Hosted by Alex Smith and Jeffrey Daum, They Create Worlds grew out of long conversations about the strange corners of the industry and the patterns that only show up when you look across companies, platforms, and decades. That conversational feel remains, built on careful research, clear structure and editing that makes even the deepest topics easy to listen to.

History turns out to be less settled than it looks. New documents surface, memories conflict, and the clean stories about why things happened the way they did rarely survive contact with the evidence. The show digs into all of that, following the creative and business forces that pushed and pulled on each other, and uncovering the human stories that lie beneath the games so many people around the world enjoy.

New episodes are released twice a month.

Episodes

Monday May 15, 2017

Laser Craze

Monday May 15, 2017

TCW Podcast Episode 042 - Laser Craze

We cover the brief, yearlong, craze that was the laserdisc. We go into great detail on Dragon's Lair the game that really kicked it off in the United States. Though many other companies tried to take advantage of the medium, unfortunately it was unable to sustain itself. There were a few games that did as well, if not better than Dragon's Lair, they all ended up being part of what was just a brief fad in the downward trend of the arcade scene.

Quarter Horse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Imd1acT2qc

Astron Belt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPLX6HSZsx4

Dragon's Lair Promotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZrgeI0DDP8

Dragon's Lair Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6uEx5gWovA

Dragon's Lair NES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyGTMTJ6egU

Dragon's Lair Coleco Adam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSinFyg6Y5Q

The Making of Dragon's Lair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bIxeYYSm-c

Cliff Hanger Operator Promotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc5MKWJ7j6Y

M.A.C.H. 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm5u4ErDPF4

Star Rider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soQbVEb3-TQ

Bega's Battle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J2JVgUqSdE

Cobra Command: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN1LC2s4P-w

Firefox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnHl0fyejqc

New episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month!

TCW Email: tcwpodcast@gmail.com

Twitter: @tcwpodcast

Alex's Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download:http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode

Outro Music: RolemMusic - Bacterial Love - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love

Monday May 01, 2017

Beating Them All Up

Monday May 01, 2017

TCW Podcast Episode 41 - Beating Them All Up

We delve into beat 'em ups, and fighters. We cover why they did not take hold until computer technology progressed far enough to allow for human analogs to be animated well. We go into the beat 'em up craze, and then the transition to fighting games that occurred with the release of Street Fighter II. We touch on the fall of fighting games from the mainstream with Tekken and Soul Calibur. The scene is still out there, and has a dedicated following. However fighters are not the system sellers they once were.

Warrior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX4NspoYD8o

Jungle Hunt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPATWODXlh4

Apple II Karateka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKqk9kosCs4

Spartan X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jncBelS_Nhk

Karate Champ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwV3xqS9_aQ

Renegade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1fl38u9I9k

Double Dragon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfZz-1e-dUQ

Yie Ar Kung Fu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXOL8tZQX20

Street Fighter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8al2U4xSFNQ

Final Fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyAHGHo22Og

Fatal Fury: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG17S8yRz6A

Street Fighter II World Warrior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI284D4y1q4