They Create Worlds

TCW Podcast Episode 186 - Atari's Distribution Nightmare   In this first part deep dive at the fall of Atari and the video game industry, we look closely at the distribution nightmare and the factors forming it. There is a lot of new information here, and we drill down deep on the factors that led to the early 80's video game crash. Though many wish to blame ET, or bad games causing the crash, in...

TCW Podcast Episode 185 - A Very Naughty Dog Pt 2   In our continuing look at Naughty Dog, we examine the continuing development of Crash Bandicoot and the Jax and Dexter series. After Sony's acquisition of Naughty Dog, and during the development of Jak 2, Andy and Jason decided to part ways with the company to focus more on their personal lives. They did help in training people to take their plac...

TCW Podcast Episode 184 - A Very Naughty Dog Pt 1   Before "The Last of Us" what eventually became Naughty Dog was founded by two teens Andy Gavin, and Jason Rubin. They were drawn into the uncharted waters of computers by making their first published game Ski Crazed. From there they put on the rings of power to become the youngest game developers for EA releasing a game to outdo Ultima on the Seg...

TCW Podcast Episode 183 - A Working Model of Vending   The arcade industry had many influences. From traveling fairs, clockmakers, and more. Eventually, with the invention of putting a coin-activated door on tobacco boxes in bars, the idea inspired others to make coin-operated vending machines and cast iron banks that were marked as toys but were used for gambling in bars. This is a deep dive into...

TCW Podcast Episode 182 - The KOEI Dynasty   We continue our look at KOE and their move onto the console space. This transition is rocky due to the increased costs of cartridge manufacturing. They were able to secure funding by holding a luncheon at the Imperial Hotel for distributors. They were able to start production on Nobunaga's Ambition for the NES. From there they continue to improve settin...

TCW Podcast Episode 181 - The Fabric of Koei   We look at the company KOEI and the power couple Yoichi and Keiko Erikawa. Keiko came from the city and had a love of design and investing. Yoichi came from the Japanese countryside and loved games and local history. Yoichi made board and card games based on historical events and people. They met in college when Yoichi rented a room from Keiko's grand...

TCW Podcast Episode 180 - Space Invaders Part II   In part two of our look at Space Invaders we explore the impact of the game on Japan and the world. Space Invaders started off rocky, but operators soon realized that players were crazy for the game. Popularity exploded, and Taito was unable to fulfill the orders coming in. This led to the licensing of popular products to other companies in Japan....

TCW Podcast Episode 179 - Space Invaders and Nishikado   We look at the life and career of Tomohiro Nishikado, and the life influences that led to his creation of one of the most influential games ever made. Space Invaders! Starting life at the tail end of World War II, Nishikado always had a rebellious streak wanting to get into electronics then follow his mother into education. After some diffic...

TCW Podcast Episode 178 - The Intellivision Part 2   In part two we look at how Mattel starts aggressively marketing the Intellivision by directly attacking Atari in its advertisements. New leadership by Josh Denham helped to foster this and to rework the production of the Intellivision to make it for cheaper. This lower cost model was released as the Intellivision II. Still some in the company we...

TCW Podcast Episode 177 - The Intellivision Part 1   In part one of our look at the Intellivision we look at the rocky road that made the system almost not come to market. The system had issues with both settling on chipsets to use as well as production problems. Not only was the system delayed multiple times, but the price kept going up. The Intellivision was marketed as an a gateway into computi...

TCW Podcast Episode 176 - The SEGA Technical Institute   SEGA has had a long history of mixing the west and Japanese ideas. To that end, we look at the SEGA Technical Institute or STI. A project to blend the best of Japanese and American developers to create unique games with worldwide appeal. Many talented people worked for STI, and this blending was realized with the release of Sonic the Hedgeho...

TCW Podcast Episode 175 - Shady Cocktail Cabinets   We look at the formation of cocktail cabinets in lounges and cocktail bars. There was an untapped market in these upscale establishments. The problem came from being able to break into the established coin-op industry. This led to some shady practices by various marketers targeting investors who did not know the industry. The cocktail cabinet des...

TCW Podcast Episode 174 - The Computer Wars Part 3   In our conclusion of the live stream, and our look at the computer price wars we see the implosion of the home computer market in the 1980s. The main players were trapped in a race to the bottom. Eventually, Commodore was able to beat out Texas Instruments. This also took out the smaller players like Coleco and Mattel. In the end Commodore was a...

TCW Podcast Episode 173 - The Computer Price Wars Part 2   In part two of our look at the computer price wars, we dive deep into the major players. Commodore with the VIC-20 and Texas Instruments with the TI99/4A were the major players. Other players included Apple, the TRS-80 Color, and even the US version of the ZX Spectrum.  As fears mounted that Japanese PC makers would eventually price out th...

TCW Podcast Episode 172 - The Computer Price Wars part 1   Part one of our live recording as we cover the Computer Price Wars. We focus on the development of the PC market. The state of computers in the home. The hobbyist computer market, and the major players involved. We see the rapid development of computers and the shift to pre-assembled PCs. We wrap up by looking at the major players of the l...

TCW Podcast Episode 171 - A Rogue's Survival Part 2   In part two we look more closely at the evolution of rogue and its descendants. The game Hack which lead to the development of NetHack, and Moria.  These games continued down branching paths to have influences on MMOs, Diablo, and others. We then jump ahead to the modern indie scene, and how the random generation aspects were adapted to create...

TCW Podcast Episode 170 - A Rogue's Survival Part 1   We start looking into Rogue by looking at the computer systems that helped to spawn its creation. We cover the history of UNIX. The development of UNIX is tied heavily to the development and distribution of Rogue. Rogue was programmed in partnership between Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman. The game featured extensive replayability. The game start...

TCW Podcast Episode 169 - Activision and Kotick Part 3   In our final part on Activision and Kotick we see how Activision continued to develop and acquire new IPs. With Spycraft they were in on the Siliwood era of games a trend that continued with Zork Grand Inquisitor. Attempts were made to gain further ground with games like Interstate '76, Big Game Hunter, and Apocalypse. However it was not unt...

TCW Podcast Episode 168 - Activision and Kotick Part 2   In part two of our look at Activision under Bobby Kotick's leadership. We see how Activision's franchises and licensed properties were leveraged for revenue. We look at how Activision had to revive the entire development apparatus from scratch. They used the animation skills of a Disney-trained trained animator for Pitfall the Mayan, Adventu...

TCW Podcast Episode 167 - Activision and Kotick Part 1   In part one of our look at Activision and Bobby Kotick we look at the early life, and history of the man.  We see from an early age how business was always a driving factor in his life.  Furthermore, we see some of his early companies and challenges as he transitioned into the technology field.  With the help of influential businessman Steve...

TCW Podcast Episode 166 - Centuri   We look at the rebirth of Allied Leisure under new management and funding.  The company found a niche importing Japanese games from lesser known companies.  They also continued to leverage licensing to do cocktail cabinet styles of popular games.  Most notably the big four games that made the company rocket to the top were: Eagle, Phoenix, Pleiads, and Vanguard....

TCW Podcast Episode 165 - Allied Leisure   We look at the origins of the coin-op company Allied Leisure! The company came from a coin-op veteran who wanted to help his son establish a company he could call his own. Despite some notable successes Allied Leisure was plagued with quality issues in production. They made some unique games in coin-op with F-114, their pong clone, and pinball with cockta...

TCW Podcast Episode 164 - Fallout   History. History is always changing. Greek historians recorded tales in scrolls, and simple books. Historians of the modern era use interviews, micro-film, and court documents to decipher history. In this episode Alex and Jeffrey look at the Fallout of all that historical work. How they can shape and mold it into the continuing narrative of the video game indust...

TCW Podcast Episode 163 - California Pacific   We look at the company California Pacific. Founded by Al Remmers the company played a large role in launching the careers of Bill Budge and Richard Garriott. Al Remmers was in a unique position as a publisher. He had contacts with retailers spanning the entire country. In a way California Pacific was both one of the first distributors and used the EA...

TCW Podcast Episode 162 - Spinnaker Software   Often we laugh at educational games and software.  We tend to view the products as jokes and something that cannot fully succeed.  In our look at Spinnaker Software, we learn that there is more to it.  The company was short-lived but was founded by people with a deep passion for technology and gaming. They released games, and software that helped to s...