They Create Worlds

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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

Friday Jul 01, 2022

Allied Leisure

Friday Jul 01, 2022

TCW Podcast Episode 165 - Allied Leisure

We look at the origins of the coin-op company Allied Leisure! The company came from a coin-op veteran who wanted to help his son establish a company he could call his own. Despite some notable successes Allied Leisure was plagued with quality issues in production. They made some unique games in coin-op with F-114, their pong clone, and pinball with cocktail cabinets. Unfortunately many setbacks including a fire, the death of Robert Braun, the stigma of the company being known as Allied Looser, and the near liquidation of the company when the bankruptcy was declared. Allied Leisure had a fascinating history and would be reborn as Centuri when David Braun sold the company.

Slot Cars in the 60's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQWsUABpPk

Monkey Bizz Flyer: https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=arcadedb&id=1088&image=1
Picture of Unscramble: http://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/unscram.htm
Wild Cycle Cabinet Unboxing and Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhInZ6cUSL0

Wild Cycle Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fij6jpYb1T0

Sonic Fighter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ8AAxGOvHQ

Spoolsville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esLVT3A9Bfg
Sea Hunt Cabinet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSzLZ6BQJBs&t=1s
Sea Hunt Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5fkypjoKts

Paddle Battle Pictures: https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8963

Pictures of Tennis Tourney: https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10072

Ethan Johnson's Article History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/2017/12/31/the-mysteries-of-2017/
Zap Pictures: https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10666

Super Shifter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9sP-cq8eCA

F114: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgJ1PgGLlqQ

Street Burners (Cabinet pictures and short video): https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9801

Pinball Dyn-O'-Mite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXmGJqQrIsM