They Create Worlds

A video game history podcast looking at the whole industry from a scholarly viewpoint!

With a little fun on the side :)

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

CUC International kept beating estimates until Henry Silverman saw the books and uncovered fraud built on phantom subscriptions and merger-money games. That scandal helped push its software division into Vivendi's orbit.
TCW259: https://t.co/ddjyFsHEfc
#AccountingFraud #Vivendi

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

Walter Forbes turned a phone-in shopping club into CUC International, spent $1.7B on software companies, then merged with HFS to form Cendant. How was this company always just barely beating estimates?

🎙️ TCW258: https://t.co/G3fpw7sYhw

#VideoGameHistory #CorporateScandal

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

Nine cartridges, a Sears rebrand, and clever sprite tricks that pushed a new console to its limits. The Atari VCS launch titles were modest, but their fingerprints are everywhere. https://t.co/hAJnCn1jYQ
#AtariVCS #Atari2600 #RetroGaming #VideoGameHistory

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

@darthrawn24 I wish I could give you a time frame. Alex is still researching and writing it. Hopefully soon (tm).

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

Jeffrey has to rush to get an episode done today! Learn about the nine launch titles of Atari! #Atari #VideoGameHistory
https://t.co/rzOvWe54VR

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

Bob Jacob wanted to put Hollywood into games and nearly pulled it off. #DefenderoftheCrown, Wings, Rocket Ranger, and a football game that quietly inspired EA Sports, all from a studio that lasted five years. https://t.co/o7H5JMGooh #Cinemaware #RetroGaming #GamingHistory

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

With the original creators gone and development stalled, a new Bethesda team inherited the Elder Scrolls. Todd Howard's Morrowind ditched procedural generation for a handcrafted world so rich it saved the studio from collapse. https://t.co/JUcuBYgytH
#Morrowind #ElderScrolls

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

@bogorad222 Glad you liked the video, and found us!

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

From sports sims to Elder Scrolls Arena: how Bethesda's Julian LeFay and Vijay Lakshman built the gladiator-to-RPG pivot, then LeFay's massive Daggerfall vision met Ted Peterson's intricate design & gray plots. https://t.co/Yg9cHrg22E #ElderScrolls #Daggerfall #Bethesda #Arena

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

Jeffrey is editing the podcast! Come check out how it is all made!

https://t.co/rzOvWe54VR

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

From “Dig Dug” tactics to “Xevious” secrets and “The Tower of Druaga” that helped shape Zelda, Masanobu Endō pioneered concepts that still resonate in games today, from hidden secrets to layering story into gameplay. https://t.co/O2Po6DUNaM #MasanobuEndo #Xevious #TowerOfDruaga

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

How did Virgin go from music to games like Command and Conquer, The 7th Guest, Aladdin, and The Lion King? We explore the rise and fall of Virgin Games, from early development and European distribution to major licenses and corporate collapse.
https://t.co/nDF4HTjBc7

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

How did a budget software publisher become the foundation of SEGA Europe? We look at the rise and fall of Mastertronic and how a failed console push changed its fate.
https://t.co/J68CwAK3EC
#theycreateworlds #videogamehistory #segahistory #retrogaming #mastertronic

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

Quest logs, auto-mapping, and early RPG innovation helped define New World Computing. We trace the studio’s growth from Might and Magic through Heroes, the push for faster releases under 3DO, and how pressure and overextension led to its collapse.
https://t.co/PslfdXAaTV

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

From the SX 64 and Plus/4 to the C128 and the rise of the Amiga, Commodore entered a new era after Jack Tramiel’s departure. The Amiga 1000 and its bouncing ball demo marked a major shift as Commodore moved into the sixteen bit age.
▶ https://t.co/Mtsj53xCZU

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

From the PET to the VIC-20 and C64, Commodore evolved from business machines to home computing powerhouses. Smart marketing, the SID chip, and low prices made the C64 a billion-dollar success of the 8-bit era.
▶ https://t.co/N31X3YCxzP
#Commodore #PET #VIC20 #C64 #RetroComputing

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

From lamps and typewriters to computers, Jack Tramiel’s drive shaped Commodore’s rise. A Holocaust survivor turned entrepreneur, he led Commodore through scandal and calculators to computing with MOS Technology.
https://t.co/MmPoJgETeZ
#Commodore #JackTramiel #VideoGameHistory

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

Join us for a day of recording the history of Commodore! LIVE!

https://t.co/rzOvWe54VR

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

Fumito Ueda entered games through art, not play. Influenced by Flashback and Another World, he created ICO’s hand-holding bonds and Shadow of the Colossus’s haunting battles. His style reshaped design and inspired creators worldwide.
▶ https://t.co/xCJVI5qTd1

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

@DuranteP_94 Most of the ideas for II and III came from WARG, but Greenberg and Woodhead were still involved in making these ideas work, so I probably overstated his lack of involvement a little bit, though it is true that his design contributions lessened in III (and actually in II as well).

[They Create Worlds @tcwpodcast]

@DuranteP_94 which other sources identify as the Wizardry Advanced Research Group, or WARG. However, a Softalk article on Sir Tech in their August 1982 issue makes it clear that these were buddies of Greenberg at Cornell and that they were also chief designers of the second game.