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

Monday Jul 01, 2024

The Exidy of the 80's and 90's

Monday Jul 01, 2024

TCW Podcast Episode 213 - The Exidy of the 80's and 90's

In our second part, we look at Exidy as we wrap up the 70s and explore their products of the 80s and 90s. They continued developing microprocessor games with a variation on Pac-Man with Mouse Trap. The game was moderately successful during the downturn in the mid-80s. Exidy tried to leverage the power of an Atari 400 computer to create arcade machines with their Max-A-Flex system. Unfortunately, only four games were produced for the system. Their new light gun hardware enabled the creation of some very interesting shooting games, including Crossbow, Cheyenne, and Combat. When Exidy entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it was hoped that Chiller would make Exidy popular again in the same way Death Race did in the 70s. Exidy managed to exit bankruptcy and continued to refocus itself on redemption games. However, the company met its end in the early 90s when embezzlement by an employee forced the company to close. The rights to the properties were sold off, allowing Pete Kauffman to retire in comfort.

Starfire Case and Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZNj3JdtJ5c

Starfire Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5r_SM-ugOU

Rip Cord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww5VNeAYIec

Crash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUAC_2sRx0g

Bandido: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_mMOSUvbLg

Fire One (Cabinet and Pictures): https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/fire-one

Fire One (Gameplay): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOl0NR5in5o

Tail Gunner 2 (Cabinet Gameplay): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdQhexOUzFQ

Tail Gunner 2 (Old Cabinet walk around): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtqlduONDx8

TARG (Cabinet): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pZk2xQcSUs

TARG (Gameplay): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qaz-xh8igtE

Venture (Gameplay): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CInXyYrp9zI