They Create Worlds

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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

Saturday Mar 01, 2025

US Gold

Saturday Mar 01, 2025

TCW Podcast Episode 229 - US Gold

US Gold started as an importer of American games before becoming a dominant force in the British gaming industry. Partnering with Ocean Software, they formed a duopoly that shaped the UK and European gaming markets, bringing top titles to 8-bit computers and later expanding into consoles—US Gold backing SEGA while Ocean focused on Nintendo. When competitors began importing Japanese games, US Gold responded by securing a deal with Capcom to port its arcade hits to home computers. As its parent company, CentreGold, went public, US Gold also acquired Core Design—unknowingly setting the stage for gaming history. Because within Core, something legendary was in development: Tomb Raider. Join us as we dive into the rise of US Gold, its influence on British gaming, and its unexpected connection to one of gaming’s biggest icons.

Compute Magazine Archive: https://archive.org/details/compute-magazine

Galactic Chase: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVNM1JH6GNU

TCW 136 - Ocean Software: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/ocean-software/

Beach Head (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9mchOPG1o

Forbidden Forest (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j86veyiIcS8

Aztec Challenge (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLO2mGBID8I

Zaxxon (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB-Tt6O9Onc

TCW 103 - Elite Systems: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/elite-systems/

Commando (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKom2O2H0pQ

OutRun -US Gold EU (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnuYHmSLUY4

Flashback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owuUW4DL4cg

TCW 129 - The Crash That Almost Was: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-crash-that-almost-was/