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

Thursday Jun 15, 2023

Will Wright’s Sim City

Thursday Jun 15, 2023

TCW Podcast Episode 188 - Will Wright's Sim City

We look at the life of game designer Will Wright who developed the hit game Sim City. Wright was, and is a very talented individual with a deep passion for learning. As a child, he was not into video games, and only his interest in robotics led him to investigate computers more. From there he was enamored with the original Flight Simulator and the possibilities it promised. Though it was not until his exposure to Conway's Game of Life that he really took an interest in programming. This led to his development of Raid on Bungling Bay, and from the tools used to make that game, he found more fun in creating a city simulator he call microtopolis. This simulation game would eventually become what we know as Sim City!

Solaris by Stanisław Lem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)

What is Montessori in 18 Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljuw3grZ11Q

Victor Tugelbend: https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Victor_Tugelbend

The Cannonball Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2hGFN8NlLQ

Apple II Flight Simulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHdW9RA6skQ

Raster Blaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4n5elO-LLs

Play Game of Life: https://playgameoflife.com/

Documentary on Game of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk2MH9O4pXY

Memorable Moments in the Wild Kingdom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJXzwURlRw

C64 Raid on Bungling Bay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CjNj1gfj0I

NES Raid of Bungling Bay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZudVNf7hN0

TCW 084 - Time Shared: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/time-shared/
Servo Basic Concepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzo9m0tMD0A