
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.
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

Sunday Oct 15, 2023
The Sumerian Game
Sunday Oct 15, 2023
Sunday Oct 15, 2023
TCW Podcast Episode 196 - The Sumerian Game
The Sumerian Game is one of the first uses of video games to help enhance education. Developed using some funds from the National Defense Education Act, the Sumerian game used education techniques where facts and data could be presented not by a teacher, but by a computer. The game itself is notable because it was designed by Mabel Addis, one of the first women to design a video game. Though the game has been lost to time its influence is felt to this day. The first part was the inspiration for Hamurabi, influencing Civilization, and other game designers that followed. We beg to report on this fascinating bit of video game history!
I'm Learnding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKg2ZzPKl2M
NDEA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ChXTy_C3xs
Formal Logic Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_MUDF1d1sU
Formal Logic: https://www.youtube.com/@FormalLogic
Oh No my Brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZoQxH-il7E
Mabel Addis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabel_Addis
Hamurabi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R606drkQ_i8
101 BASIC Computer Games: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/_Books/101_BASIC_Computer_Games_Mar75.pdf
KAISER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sviiX23UMss
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 online 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/

No comments yet. Be the first to say something!