They Create Worlds

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

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130Episodes

Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 140+ hours!

Activision and Atari

November 15, 2020

TCW Podcast Episode 126 - Activision and Atari

We look at the video games that Activision made for the Atari VCS/2600 when the founders of Activision split from Atari. Activision focused on graphics and presentation as a key factor in the game creation process. They were able to push the limits of the Atari VCS to do things that were thought impossible by the base system. The sunset employed in the game with Stampede is used again in later games and became a kind of hallmark of some Activision games. With the release of Pitfall 2, the inclusion of a special chip providing enhanced graphics, and music hints at where the VCS could have gone had the crash not occurred!

TCW 009 - The History of Mediagenic Part 1: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/history-of-mediagenic-part-i/

TCW 010 - The History of Mediagenic Part 2: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/history-of-mediagenic-part-ii/

How CRT Televisions Work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4UgZBs7ZGo

Dragster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz79pdqiyk0

Checkers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhtePX2BApk

Fishing Derby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_25-gc-sno0

Boxing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JAf0RDD_qg

Bridge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sckeVsRrsc

Skiing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVBcKKCEkB0

Laser Blast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvnq96SVQh0

Tennis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TueiMj2l3k

Ice Hockey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aev4tsHuPc

Stampede: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-e2ZE5YDeU

Stampede Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB6fbtr9pb4

Freeway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5pdJz3DcNk

Freeway Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqHxuTPcSAs

Kaboom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-SBEh2p9KA

Kaboom Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkNztWEVxD4

Avalanche Arcade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VDvRlNuaX4

Barnstorming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzekJZZ9QW0

Barnstorming Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOIxiVjjZgU

River Raid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnFjVybfxj4

River Raid Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Baep8YZO-l4

Starmaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmJcXXvK2Bo

Starmaster Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClO_Gvr7G2U

Sky Jinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ3ppEtCs0w

Chopper Command: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EecA8TdChxo

Pitfall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAJzamWAFOE

Pitfall Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA4V-n8Ft3g

Grand Prix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWkPqNl0nw8

Seaquest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErknoYi8Ja0

Decathlon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfaOTKClseM

Robot Tank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U9_AzXddBU

Robot Tank Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdJF5jhajb4

Pitfall 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZIMaJnzPzw

Pitfall 2 Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3AWTX3V2yY

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

TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com

Twitter: @tcwpodcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book is available for preorder and should be released through CRC Press in December 2019: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

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

The Visions of Coleco Part 2

November 1, 2020

TCW Podcast Episode 125 - The Visions of Coleco Part 2

In our second part look at Coleco we dive into the electronics and transition into programable consoles. We see how they influenced the post crash consoles of Nintendo and Sega. With the release of Colecovision we saw one of the most advanced consoles of the pre crash era. The system was able to do faithful recreations of many popular arcade games. This is most exemplified with the release Donkey Kong. Coleco tried to transition into computers with the release of ADAM. However this turned into a disaster for the company and marked the turning point into a rapid decline. They were able to stay afloat for a little while with the release of Cabbage Patch Kids, however Coleco was unable to recover from the downward spiral.

TCW 025 - Mattel Electronics?: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/mattel-electronics/

Coleco Quarterback Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93u6POODKQY
Coleco Head to Head Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmLX1ylQhMs

Mini Tabletop Arcade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iuo0njOI-qE

Colecovision Retrospective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhOyuI4MwS8

Colecovision Turbo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbxX3DK3pSU

Colecovision Zaxxon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGIAKKsNylU

Colecovision Donkey Kong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI9WwdVb-_A

ADAM Computer Comercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-dmEFOT3FY

Coleco Adam Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAYCqMchb88

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

TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com

Twitter: @tcwpodcast