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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

Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
The ID Of Game Development
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
TCW Podcast Episode 197 - The ID of Game Development
ID Software; the makers of many games that are beloved by gamers. Due to the need for rapid development ID was forced to separate game design from the mechanics. Having a dedicated game engine that was focused on visual and support technologies as opposed to the specifics of game design. ID Software utilized tools to make levels, licensing the engine to other companies, and so much more. Many moders of Doom got their start in the video game industry by being level designers for other companies. ID was instrumental in popularizing the structure by which games are made to this day.
TCW 030 - DOOM!: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/doom-1479057917/
TCW 192 - Microprose Part 1: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/microprose-part-1/
TCW 193 - Microprose Part 2: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/microprose-part-2/
Slordax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMj2WlSsg4o
Engine Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrqRuxAkkG8
Commander Keen 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQVk6wmaqAs
Miyamoto Explains SMB 1-1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRGRJRUWafY
Batman Forever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAERGZX_8Og
Commander Keen 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKHUOKVzo0Q
Commander Keen 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3aTzbUPktk
Hovertank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7juV9zo5Tk
Catacombs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EjI3TxSNmI
Castle Wolfenstein Apple II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fgok9eHqO8
Doom II Level 13 City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJSQoUcAoGo
Doom II Level 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzGZZnbMhv8
Strife Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjxJbo9jHFo
American McGee levels Doom: https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Category:American_McGee_levels
Quake 1 Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHT2TgMX7Rg
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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