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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
Sunday Dec 01, 2024
Sunday Dec 01, 2024
TCW Podcast Episode 223 - D&D & Video Games 2E
In the second part of our exploration of Dungeons & Dragons and its connection to video games, we examine the game’s refinement and rise in popularity. D&D was a groundbreaking experience, brought to life through Gary Gygax’s collaboration with others, particularly Dave Arneson, who developed many of its foundational concepts. The game evolved from miniature wargaming focused on medieval combat, with Tolkien-inspired high fantasy elements added later as an afterthought. These fantasy rules closely resembled those of Rules for Middle Earth but weren’t universally embraced, as some players preferred the realism of traditional wargaming, making it challenging to satisfy both audiences. We also delve into the well-known controversy between Gygax and Arneson and the creation of the Blackmoor campaign setting. We explore how TSR released the original box set and then evolved it into AD&D. Additionally, we examine how RPGs began to take off as a whole new type of game that people could play. Finally, we look at how D&D became embroiled in the cultural backlash of the 1980s "Satanic Panic."
Transcript: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/transcripts/tcw223
Livestream 2024 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahP86-2H8lc
Playing at the World - Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/3YokLZC
The Elusive Shift - Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/3C8cHVq
Game Wizards - Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/48uCtzi
Leonard Nimoy The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins Full Album Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuQbus0xfhk
Playing at the World - Rules for Middle Earth: https://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-precursor-to-chainmail-fantasy.html
Knights of the Dinner Table: https://kenzerco.com/
Bunnies & Burrows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunnies_%26_Burrows
Tunnels & Trolls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnels_%26_Trolls
James Dallas Egbert III: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dallas_Egbert_III
Chief Wiggum - It Almost Looks Like an Arrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb5k0iOBdsU
Bake him away Toys!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBOvfN2Y4oo
Mazes & Monsters Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLi422rkUIY
NYT - D&D: Satanic Panic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATUpSPj0x-c
D&D Cartoon Lore Explored: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9lZxOMMufM
Matel D&D Handheld Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY2OI7sVHjQ
Matel D&D Electronic Labyrinth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STU1I_x0-so
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Intellivision): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MDVwAXVJ3w
[Adult Themes] Dark Dungeons Comic: https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=0046
[Some Adult Themes] CBS - What was the Satanic Panic?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plEImKEIRm8
(BADD) Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Ies6NVAeA
New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!
TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com
Twitter: @tcwpodcast
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds
Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com
Alex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: 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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