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They Create Worlds

They Create Worlds

By: Alex Smith and Jeffrey Daum
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Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 240+ hours!

Copyright 2015-2026 . All rights reserved. World
Episodes
  • Cinemaware

    Cinemaware
    Apr 15 2026
    TCW Podcast Episode 256 - Cinemaware Bob Jacob launched Cinemaware to fuse movies and video games on Amiga, hiring journalist Kellyn Beeck to design Defender of the Crown's medieval themes. Programmer John Cutter led in-house development after massive outside studio delays, tapping coder R.J. Michael for an intense programming marathon to barely hit deadline and make Defender the Amiga's killer app. Lone coders followed with Doug Sharp's janky Macintosh hypercard-style King of Chicago and Bill Williams' Sinbad, creator of Mind Walker. Licensed properties piled on, Rocket Ranger, Three Stooges, and Lords of the Rising Sun, plus TV Sports Football that inspired EA Sports' empire. Jacob chased Academy Award glory with a 1927 Wings adaptation you couldn't lose, featuring a story told by WWI pilot journals where downed fliers were memorialized via an end credits roll. With poor Amiga reception in the US, loyalty to the system cost them dearly. Pivots to consoles like obscure View-Master Interactive Vision and failed TurboGrafx-16 prevented a PC shift. Amid financial difficulties, Jacob sold Cinemaware in parts after just five years. TCW 082 - An Unlikely Pairing of Siliwood: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW082 TCW 246 - The History of Commodore Pt 3: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW246 Kellyn Beeck - Atari Battlezone for the U.S. Army: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ppv5B6Lwcc Kellyn Beeck - The Pac-Man Zone: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ClEuynw--YQ Kellyn Beeck - Final Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfW6h1_yrvY Commodore Power Play Issue 13 (Page 66 - Who Will Design The Perfect Game? - by Kellyn Beeck): https://archive.org/details/commodore-power-play-13/page/n67/mode/2up TCW 094 - Epyx not Epic: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW094 Defender of the Crown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1qqoczc0m8 SDI (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLOAkpOKWno The King of Chicago (Macintosh): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Oi6a68MqE The King of Chicago (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLaDhmIdvcs Mind Walker (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NygI9u_10Vs Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flpTfx0jaMw The Three Stooges (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAu-XvxV3zs Rocket Ranger (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6vIHcxGyIA Lords of the Rising Sun (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAfMrJ3rpSw TV Sports Football (TurboGrafx 16): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKYCgHhHquM TV Sports Basketball (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gdIRB-6s_k Wings (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL-qtxNgoHU Wings (1927 Film): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jf7Qn1IJsY View-Master Interactive Vision (Sesame Street): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ZciCfgjmg View-Master Interactive Vision (Muppets - You're the Director): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i56ym5vZpQU View-Master Interactive Vision (Disney Interactive Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31QN5aT_RHw Green Eyed Lady by Sugarloaf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYbmls7c8EM Aspen Interactive Movie Map: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf6LkqgXPMU TCW 042 - Laser Craze: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW042 Them! (1954 Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4URRp39XOo It Came From the Desert (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8LaMMSEs5Q It Came From the Desert (Turbo Grafx 16): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVFQXnukUvQ 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/
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    1 hr and 45 mins
  • The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind

    The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
    Apr 1 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/
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall

    The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall
    Mar 15 2026
    TCW Podcast Episode 254 - The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall Bethesda Softworks, founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver with sports titles like Gridiron and Wayne Gretzky Hockey along with licenses like The Terminator, pivoted to RPGs. Demo scene legend Julian LeFay hired Vijay Lakshman as designer and buffer to management so LeFay could focus on games. Together they birthed The Elder Scrolls: Arena, a gladiator combat simulator that morphed, nine months into a 13-month development cycle, into a first-person 3D epic inspired by Ultima Underworld. Arena evolved from a combat management game to a full RPG with a procedurally generated world, unique races like Argonians and Khajiit, and a plot to topple the wizard Tharn. With the second game, LeFay, challenged by Sandy Petersen's claim that CRPGs could never match tabletop RPGs, made Daggerfall a massive world the size of Great Britain: 15,000 cities, towns, and dungeons; 44 regions; 100 factions; skill leveling based on what players actually did; and reputation grinds to unlock quests and plot. Ted Peterson, who took over lead design after Lakshman left, wove a complex plot with gray themes, diverse motivations, and moral quandaries into a simulator packed with layered systems rather than pure RPG simplicity. It sold out the initial run, hit 700,000 units, and became Bethesda's best game yet, bringing fresh air to a fallow RPG era! TCW 156 - Madden for Some Football: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156 Gridiron (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU Wayne Gretzky Hockey (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ Tell Me Your Name (Russia Heat): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU (Explicit) Sodan & Magician 42 - TechTech (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A Terminator 2029 (PC/DOS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo Flesh+Blood (Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw Jason And The Argonauts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY Khajit/Khajiit Has Wares: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares Ultima Underworld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8 The Elder Scrolls: Arena (Box Art): https://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox The Elder Scrolls: Arena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM What Do You Do With a B.A. in English? (Avenue Q): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0 Walk Across the Entire Map in Dragonfall Unity (Timelapse 512x): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg 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/
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    1 hr and 16 mins
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