They Create Worlds

TCW Podcast Episode 161 - The 100,000 Part 2   Part two of our look at the SPA's list of top programs of the 1990s!  We cover more games, and focus on the ones that made it gold with 100,000 sold!  We wrap up the episode with a few honorable mentions from the silver list of 50,000.  We see some old favorites re-appear on the list.  We also see some names we have not seen yet!  Thank you again to a...

TCW Podcast Episode 160 - The 100,000 Part 1   We want to thank everyone for helping us to reach 100,000 downloads of the podcast!  We started in September 2015 and are amazed at the love & support we have received.  To celebrate, we are looking at the list of the SPA's highest sellers of computer software in the 1980s.   We start off in part one looking at the three 500k sellers and then move...

TCW Podcast Episode 159 - International Adventure   In this episode, we look at the computer game company 'Adventure International' which is one of the first companies to put out adventure games on early home computers.  Founded by Scott Adams, no not THAT Scott Adams, and his ex-wife Alexis.  The company had a short lifespan of less than a decade.  We look at the life of Adams, and how his love o...

TCW Podcast Episode 158 - Computer Space   Computer space is a game steeped in mystery and myth.  The game is a reimagining of Space War.  Developed through a partnership between Nutting Associates and Syzygy, Computer Space went on to have modest success.  The game is viewed as having little to no impact.  In this episode, we explore how Computer Space had much more influence.  The game had a lot...

TCW Podcast Episode 157- Final Fantasy's Tale   We look at a game franchise that spans fifteen titles and is still growing strong! Final Fantasy has a deep history with many influences and creative talent coming together to create a game of somber mystery and wonder. Final Fantasy had themes drawn from Conan the Barbarian, Elric of Melniboné,  rock music, and the art of Toshitaka Amano. With the h...

TCW Podcast Episode 156 - Madden for Some Football   We cover the man, the myth, the legend of football John Madden! He is famous for taking the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl win and a long career as a sports analyst and commentator. Madden is perhaps best known for the yearly football video game property. In this episode, we look deep at the inception of the game series, how John Madden became...

TCW Podcast Episode 155 Nintendo Playing With Toys   In our final look at Nintendo in the early years, we see the transition into toys and electronic games.  Nintendo brought over some popular western games such as Twister in partnership with Milton Bradly.  The legendary engineer Gunpei Yokoi invented some of Nintendo's first toys.  These toys included; the Ultra Hand, the Ultra Machine, and the...

TCW Podcast Episode 154 - Nintendo Playing with Controversy   In part two of our look at the history of Nintendo, we cover the aftermath of Hiroshi Yamauchi's father abandoning the family. He ended up growing up under the care of his grandparents. Unfortunately, after a stroke suffered by his Grandfather, Hiroshi Yamauchi had to take over control of Nintendo in his early twenties. Because of this...

TCW Podcast Episode 153 - Nintendo Playing With Cards   We start off our look at the complete history of Nintendo.  The company started as a side project of a cement company trying to get cement into Kyoto.  From the humble start of being in a small house with six employees, Nintendo started to grow into an unrivaled producer of cards not just in Japan, but in the Japanese empire.  We end with Hir...

TCW Podcast Episode 152 - Grand Theft Auto 2 by 3   With the groundwork of the series laid down, we continue our look into the franchise of Grand Theft Auto.  GTA 2 went to market during a transition phase with Rockstar, Take-Two Interactive, and DMA (Soon to be Rockstar North), sorting out who would deal with what.  GTA 2 was a modest success, but it is GTA 3 that made Rockstar and Take-Two take...

TCW Podcast Episode 151 - Grand Theft Auto 1   We start our look at the legendary game series Grand Theft Auto.  A game series that had many influences that came out of the British PC market.  The game may not have seen the light of day if it was not for developers and executives championing the game to BMG Interactive.  With the help of a PR campaign to stir up false controversy that lead to a sp...

TCW Podcast Episode 150 - Gottlieb Part 2   In part two we look at the further development of Gottlieb as a coin-op company, and how they established themselves during the 50s through the 70's.  Eventually acquired by Columbia Pictures. Gottlieb would start making small steps into the video game space.  Though many inside the company still viewed themselves as a pinball company, the shrinking pinb...

TCW Podcast Episode 149 - Gottlieb Part 1   We look at the company Gottlieb which was a major coin-op company founding during the roaring twenties, and rising to prominence in the great depression, and post war era.  The company is most well known for pinball, and the many contributions to making it more than a gabling device.  We follow the rise of the company up until the 1950s.  Though not quit...

TCW Podcast Episode 148 - The Mysteries of Imagic   We look at the company Imagic.  This company only lasted a few short years during the lead up to, and through the crash.  The company is notable for innovative packaging, and creating games that pushed the graphical fidelity of the Atari VCS to new levels!  They were also one of the first companies to use graphics on a computer to then be transla...

TCW Podcast Episode 147 - Others in the Field Too   We look at the contributions of other in the field chronicling video game history, and trying to write perspectives on what we know at the time.  To start we look at Gaming Alexandria which has become one of the major communities dedicated to preserving video game history, and has many contributors who work on a myriad of projects.  We look at th...

TCW Podcast Episode 146 - Storytime with a Book 2   Alex reads and annotates a chapter of the book dealing with the founding of Activision!  We cover not just the chapter but the thought process, and behind the scenes that went into the chapter.  The story is helped with extra information that Alex was able to gleam from interviews, and trial transcripts.  A larger perspective telling of the early...

TCW Podcast Episode 145  - Revisions and Updates 3   Our sixth year anniversary!  In this episode we look back at the podcast and correct some of the errors that were made in the past.  First we explore the company Fun Games which was sued by Atari for making clones of Atari products using stolen equipment.  The source and story of this is better told with new information that has come to light. ...

TCW Podcast Episode 144 - Ascension into the Black Gate   In our final part looking at the history of the Ultima series we start off looking at Ultima VII.  This game is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the series.   The game combines story elements with a massive world to create a truly unique experience.  The game is followed by two major commercial failures.  Those failures being Ultima...

TCW Podcast Episode 143 -The Prophet of the Avatar   In part two of our look at the Ultima series we start with how Richard came to the morality system that became a central feature of the franchise.  Using a combination of features he likes from various worlds religions, his own experiences, and so on Richard crafted the eight virtues that the play, who would become the avatar, would have to emul...

TCW Podcast Episode 142 - Ultima: Exodus to Akalabeth   In this episode we look at the legendary series of Ultima!  We look at the lead up inspiration, and influences that led to the creation of Ultima.  This episode ties in heavily with our look at Origin Systems.  In this we use the creation of Ultima as a microcosm of the development of the PC industry.  The plight of the bedroom coder.  Wantin...

TCW Podcast Episode 141 - The Console Market of the 70's and 80's Part 2   In our second part we look at the emergence of the programable consoles.  We see how many companies kept falling into the same trap of FCC regulations, heat issues, and chip shortages.  By the time most of these issues were sorted out, with the notable exception of the Apple II being classified as an "industrial computer",...

TCW Podcast Episode 140 - The Console Market of the 70's and 80's Part 1   We look at the early dedicated hardware systems in the United States.  We have talked about many of these companies in the past.  However we have not brought the story together at a large scale looking at the influences these companies had on each other, the consumer market in general, and what the market could handle.  We...

TCW Podcast Episode 139 - Tec Toy and Brazil   We look at the video game industry in Brazil.  A big thanks to Marcus Garrett and his book "1983+1984 " which details a lot of the video game industry in Brazil.  We delve into the interesting history of outside companies operating in Brazil and the gray market that has developed as a result.  Once we have laid the groundwork we look at the company Te...

TCW Podcast Episode 138 - Dave Nutting Associates   This is our second half looking at Dave Nutting and specifically Dave Nutting Associates.  We see how they are able change the industry by showing the viability of solid state Pinball.  Despite the setback of not being able to license the technology to Bally/Midway they pressed on with developing video games.  Specifically Gun Fight which had rea...

TCW Podcast Episode 137 - Dave Nutting & Nutting Industries   In part one of our two part look at the contributions of Dave Nutting to the video game industry, we see where he came from.  Some of his contentious relationship with his brother, and some of the design contributions he did that led to developments in the future with coin-op games.  With the founding of MCI he was able to further f...