523.9K
Downloads
257
Episodes
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
Wednesday Apr 01, 2026
Wednesday Apr 01, 2026
TCW Podcast Episode 255 - The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
After Arena and Daggerfall's triumphs, Julian LeFay's Battlespire spinoff marked his last hand in the Elder Scrolls universe. Amid conflicts while working on other projects, LeFay left. Ted Peterson had already departed after Daggerfall. This left Bethesda Softworks with none of the original creators for the next Elder Scrolls. Development stalled amid Bethesda turmoil, spawning Redguard which introduced the Pocket Guide to the Empire, an unreliable in-universe narrator that sowed mystery and deep worldbuilding for Tamriel's forged empire. New lead Todd Howard ditched procedural generation for handcrafted openness where everything interacted. Morrowind featured quests like the falling wizard and pantsless Hentus, hiding logical lore amid hundreds of books blending mythology, humor, and misdirection. Morrowind launched on PC and Xbox at a dire hour for Bethesda. It's make-or-break success rescued the studio from probable collapse in a dark time.
The Elder Scrolls Legend - Battlespire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk9uKElPCJQ
Pensacola Wings of Gold (S1E1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDVuiLIKLAE
The Elder Scrolls Adventures - Redguard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7-Hup8Pqms
The Terminator - Skynet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD4ZLkbnDCA
Pocket Guide to the Empire (1st Edition): https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1393284074508.pdf
RCW 144 - Ascension into the Black Gate: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW144
The-Spolier.com: https://the-spoiler.com/RPG/New.World.Computing/Might..magic.6.html
Might & Magic VI - Solution by J Pike: https://rpggamers.com/walkthrough/might-magic-vi-mandate-of-heaven
Might & Magic VI - Solution by Mike Marcelais: https://rpggamers.com/walkthrough/might-and-magic-vi-solution
Morrowind - A Falling Wizard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWVKMMxCgY4
Morrowind - Hentus Needs Pants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSSv1mcI_GM
The Elder Scrolls - Morrowind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVFyDmd9RsA
Morrowind Map: https://en.uesp.net/maps/mwmap/mwmap.html
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/
No comments yet. Be the first to say something!