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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

Friday Sep 15, 2023
The 7th Guest
Friday Sep 15, 2023
Friday Sep 15, 2023
TCW Podcast Episode 194 - The 7th Guest
We cover the 7th guest in so much detail it's frightening! This game has everything from a genius bedroom programmer from the UK teaming up with an artist who made some raunchy comics, to bar fights, Twin Peaks, and a Shakespeare troupe. The 7th guest has it all to bring us a game that turned CD-ROM from an expensive luxury to a must-have item for any PC. Join us as we look at all the influences that led to the creation of a horror classic The 7th Guest! Just don't try and beat the virus!
TCW 082 - An Unlikely Paring of Siliwood: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/an-unlikely-pairing-of-siliwood/
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EePWe5JZins
Ballblazer ZX Spectrum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOQiy2JB3x8
Ballblazer 11 Version comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tkwWD_BWWQ
Metropolis PC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=415OUgctnX0
Defender of the Crown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvW6okgy4wA
Spot the Video Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Ezmf6z3kM
Twin Peaks the Story Before Season 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_64-4c_E3o
Simpsons Burn's Suit Wiggum's Twin Peaks Dream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICGwfkAYwr0
The Shining Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZQvIJxG9Xs
House on Haunted Hill (1959): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsnw-RNGKFY
The Fool's Errand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkSKESj9JQA
Jeremiah Nunan House: https://www.loc.gov/item/or0072/
3D Studio Visual History: https://beforesandafters.com/2020/06/04/a-visual-history-of-3ds-max/
7th Guest Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYlMZ-4Jvkw
The 7th Guest Making of VHS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd63F3d2FCI
George A Sanger: https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeASanger
7th Guest Can Puzzle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kakxPvGIAI0
7th Guest Microscope Puzzle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVbYO6BV6BI
The 7th Guest Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXyOTnc3Bg
New episodes are 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 on-line 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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