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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.
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

Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Activision and Kotick Part 3
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
TCW Podcast Episode 169 - Activision and Kotick Part 3
In our final part on Activision and Kotick we see how Activision continued to develop and acquire new IPs. With Spycraft they were in on the Siliwood era of games a trend that continued with Zork Grand Inquisitor. Attempts were made to gain further ground with games like Interstate '76, Big Game Hunter, and Apocalypse. However it was not until Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Call of Duty, and the eventual acquisition of Activision by Vivendi that Bobby Kotick was able to realize his goal of becoming the largest 3rd party developer!
Spycraft The Great Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHWFO6SL-wY
Zork Grand Inquisitor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sEvzdefXk8
Interstate '76: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLB-dUOUg6Y
Pixel Blurring: https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/rwtc13/not_just_imagination_due_to_pixel_blurring_older/
FF1 CRT VS LCD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z_6Uoea_DI
Big Game Hunter 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHBUVdxQUEU
Heretic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7niU6A3yYeU
Hexen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwqGlFjgAOw
Hexen 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgHq_muqeH0&list=PL30CJwxIgVycgZ1Cw_5WeejC0CbDBfg79
Apocalypse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM191mkD3U0
Top Skater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx9vMnLAglQ
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEGVwVz_ZRw
Real Life James Bond: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roAKodJ3TuM
Medal of Honor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6ivwknQN54
Medal of Honor Allied Assault: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTH8A7Q9V54
Call of Duty Finest Hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pn0qx_PL7M
Call of Duty (pc): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7KJ7yDJDGk
Shoot to Kill British Training Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXqwh2o_zzs
American VS German Automatic Weapons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkUom-XkgC0
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, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major online retailers: 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
Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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