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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
Aug 15, 2026
Aug 15, 2026
1 hr 27 min
TCW Podcast Episode 264 - Knights of the Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic did not simply bring Star Wars to the role-playing game format. It was BioWare’s effort to build a cinematic RPG in a part of the galaxy far enough from the films to tell a new story, while drawing on decades of Expanded Universe worldbuilding, tabletop systems, and the storytelling model popularized by Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy. This episode examines how BioWare combined a fully voiced cast, real-time-with-pause combat built on the Star Wars d20 system, cinematic presentation, and a story structured around one of gaming’s most famous twists to create a major hit. We then follow the business decision that sent the sequel to Obsidian Entertainment on an aggressive schedule, exploring how The Sith Lords developed its darker ideas about the Force, choice, and predestination, why its unfinished release became central to its legacy, and how the series’ path toward a third game came to an end.
TCW 108 - Adventuring With LucasArts Part 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW108-adventuring-with-lucasarts-part-1
TCW 109 - Adventuring With LucasArts Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW109-adventuring-with-lucasarts-part-2
TCW 204 - Exploring The Mass Effect: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW204-exploring-the-mass-effect
TCW 205 - Shepherd's Mass Effect 2 & 3: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW205-shepherds-mass-effect-2-and-3
TCW 233 - Baldur's Gate: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW233-baldurs-gate
The Ewok Adventure - Cavern of Courage (Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2OaBk89KyU
Why the Thrawn Trilogy is Great!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haBxgD3vJ4c
West End Games - Star Wars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snh9D_hUp30
West End Games Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNGGAdVHJcE
Celebrating 20 Years of Star Wars: KOTOR With the Iconic RPG's Canadian Creators: https://mobilesyrup.com/2023/07/13/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-20th-anniversary-canadian-developers-interview/
Dark Horse Tales of the Jedi: https://archive.org/details/star-wars-tales-of-the-jedi-collection_20211001_1515/Tales%20of%20the%20Jedi%20%231/
KOTOR 1 - Revelation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc6eDFobJXg
Neverwinter Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeO6SuOtjUQ
The Basics of Cinematography: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rAe8RuICYM
Film Making Basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFwMRVwrKcA
The 180 Rule Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcCbPZUimbc
The Secrets to Writing Compelling Plot Twists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHbOVOZWhZM
HK-47 (KOTOR 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg1gTas7OAA
HK-47 (KOTOR 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CqpGfWrmc4
The Littlest Hobo (S1 E10): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blDP8AtvyaI
KOTOR TV Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Z2wqSasxU
KOTOR Xbox Intro Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F3gGiTfgzU
KOTOR 2 - Star Wars Criticism Done Well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIkD35vHZG8
KOTOR 2 Theory Might Blow Your Mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyEOa1jHaAs
WTF Were Kreia's Goals During KOTOR 2?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHUhHDEX0J4
KOTOR 2 Intro Gamplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRY_k5NoS8Y
New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!
TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com
BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds
Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com
Alex's book: 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: RoleMusic - 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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