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They Create Worlds

They Create Worlds

Written by: Alex Smith and Jeffrey Daum
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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.

Copyright 2015-2026 . All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • Dragon Quest Part 2
    Oct 15 2026
    TCW Podcast Episode 268 - Dragon Quest Part 2 Yuji Horii continued developing adventure games after The Portopia Serial Murder Case, but his growing interest in Ultima and Wizardry led him to incorporate role-playing elements into his work. Karuizawa Yūkai Annai combined adventure-game investigation with Ultima style overworld exploration and a climactic fighting sequence that included leveling, showing Horii’s desire to bring RPG ideas into a different kind of game. As the Famicom became a phenomenon in Japan, Weekly Shōnen Jump editor Kazuhiko Torishima created Famicom Shinken, a regular feature covering games, tips, and tricks. Its material became so popular that the magazine placed it in special envelopes to prevent readers from copying the information without buying an issue. Enix, meanwhile, brought PC successes including Door Door and The Portopia Serial Murder Case to the Famicom. When dedicated game magazines began competing for that audience, Torishima reshaped Famicom Shinken around an inside look at the creation of a new game. He brought together Horii and Koichi Nakamura, who wanted to make an RPG, with Enix as publisher and Shōnen Jump as the source of exclusive development coverage. Torishima also recruited Akira Toriyama, then at the height of Dragon Ball’s success, to design the game’s characters. Horii and Nakamura combined Ultima’s overworld and exploration with Wizardry’s combat and detailed monsters, while Nakamura developed a menu system inspired by the recently released Apple Macintosh. Composer Koichi Sugiyama joined after responding to an Enix survey card for a Shogi game, bringing a new musical approach to Dragon Quest. The first game succeeded, but its sequels turned it into a cultural phenomenon: Dragon Quest II expanded the party to three characters and added broader storytelling, while word of mouth, a delay, and a cartridge shortage drove demand even higher. By Dragon Quest III, the series had become so popular that it sold one million copies on its first day, and store owners held a midweek resupply until the weekend at the urging of the National Police Agency, helping create the enduring myth that new Dragon Quest games could only be released on weekends. TCW 114 - The Wizards of Sir-Tech: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW114-the-wizards-of-sir-tech TCW 115 - The Return of the Sdraziw of Sir-Tech: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW115-the-return-of-the-sdraziw-of-sir-tech THE HOKKAIDO SERIAL MURDER CASE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHWnvyK7uvc THE KARUIZAWA KIDNAPPING GUIDE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0WGusYjg0E Harvey Birdman - Not there, there!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeRTo8MuTrw TCW 181 - The Fabric of Koei: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW181-the-fabric-of-koei Karuizawa Yūkai Annai (Part 8): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhKXziP2JwU Karuizawa Yūkai Annai (End): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m56mYPiauQ TCW 134 - Famicom: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW134-famicom TCW 135 - The Famicom Disc System: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW135-the-famicom-disc-system TCW 253 - Masanobu Endō: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW253-masanobu-endo Door Door (Famicom): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrN0_iGy2DA The Portopia Serial Murder Case (Famicom): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcQhnJxP7qU TCW 011 - The Genesis of JRPGs: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW011-the-genesis-of-jrpgs Slime concept art: https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonquest/comments/1rmxfgy/do_you_know_the_original_idea_behind_the_slime/ Dragon Quest 1 Art: https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Category:Dragon_Quest_I_official_art Wizardry 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uUHjeWJLUs Dragon Warrior 1 (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmzHrNVelL0 Dragon Quest (Famicom) Cart, Manual, and gamplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f62DSsg9NXU Morita Kazuro no Shogi (PC 98): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oDGHVj5ask How to play shogi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABrpbjoHCk Wingman 2 (PC 8801): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_M2ARASwps The Road to Dragon Quest: https://archive.org/details/roadtodragonquestmanga/Road%20to%20Dragon%20Quest%20%28Searchable%29/ The Road to Dragon Quest (Translated): https://mangadex.org/title/9d751491-a72d-41ae-8d95-3cb420a9d582/the-road-to-dragon-quest Dragon Warrior NES OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_jq0eqJKHU&list=PLo-SH6FNUdp3oJua5LbxQ9VL8LOyRVTFl Dragon Quest Symphonic Suite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-ZqUPMwoSg&list=PLhdWViYE-gnm2kSB2wnAPcq7wbbMNohfr 2020 Tokyo Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Dragon Quest Overture: https://youtu.be/6u6uCbe6zh8?t=3080 Dragon Warrior II (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4NsE4tpb6k Dragon Warrior II Map: https://mikesrpgcenter.com/dw2/maps/world.html Dragon Warrior III (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNnlkwdXNow New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month! TCW Email: feedback@...
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    1 hr and 40 mins
  • Dragon Quest Part 1
    Oct 1 2026
    TCW Podcast Episode 267 - Dragon Quest Part 1 Kazuhiko Torishima is not well known outside Japan, especially in relation to video games, but the Weekly Shōnen Jump editor was instrumental in bringing together many of the people behind Dragon Quest. He encouraged Akira Toriyama early in his career, helping him develop the work that led to his first major hit, Dr. Slump. Torishima’s friendship with Weekly Playboy writer Akira Sakuma, built around their shared interest in video games, introduced him to Yuji Horii. Torishima gave Horii regular opportunities to write about computers and games for Shōnen Jump, which drew Enix’s attention as it prepared a contest for game submissions. Horii entered Love Match Tennis for fun and, while covering the contest, discovered that it had won alongside Koichi Nakamura’s Door Door. The two became friends, while Nakamura went on to port Door Door to multiple platforms and found Chunsoft. Enix later sent the contest winners to AppleFest, where Horii, Nakamura, and Torishima encountered Wizardry. Meanwhile, Horii’s work on adventure games produced The Portopia Serial Murder Case, a hugely influential game often credited with helping establish the popularity of visual novels in Japan. These connections, shared interests, and early successes brought together the people who would create the Dragon Quest phenomenon. TCW 011 - The Genesis of JRPGs: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW011-the-genesis-of-jrpgs Tomato The Cutesy Gumshoe: https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/akira-toriyamas-manga-theater-chapter-3/chapter/23730 TCW 053 - The History and Merger of Enix and Square: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW053-the-history-and-merger-of-enix-and-square TCW 074 - The Japanese PC Industry: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW074-the-japanese-pc-industry Love Match Tennis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jdbvLs3QgI TCW 101 - The Fabric of Koei: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW181-the-fabric-of-koei TCW 102 - The Koei Dynasty: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW182-the-koei-dynasty Door Door (NEC PC 9801): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiM5d0jWQy8 Door Door (Fujitsu Micro-7): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk4PcFwzQsc TCW 114 - The Wizards of Sir-Tech: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW114-the-wizards-of-sir-tech TCW 115 - The Return of the Sdraziw of Sir-Tech: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW115-the-return-of-the-sdraziw-of-sir-tech Wizard and the Princess (PC Jr): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTbeYX9BVcs The Portopia Serial Murder Case (PC 8801): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSeDy0qCZQU New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month! TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com Alex's book: 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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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • The 10 Best Selling Atari Games
    Sep 15 2026
    TCW Podcast Episode 266 - The 10 Best Selling Atari Games An internal Atari document visible in the background of the documentary Once Upon Atari provides a rare look at the company’s best-selling VCS games during the years leading up to, and just after, the video game crash. The Atari VCS was designed around just two player graphics, two missile graphics, and a ball, yet its most successful games pushed that limited hardware in new directions. These games were created by a diverse group of programmers who found new ways to expand what the system could do. By examining sales figures across multiple years, including the net sales of individual games, the document reveals both the titles that defined Atari’s commercial success and the real impact of the crash on the company. There are also surprises in the list, including a driving game, two takes on the Pac-Man concept, and the fact that Atari’s most successful game was not a failure. Once Upon Atari: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389237/ Atari Archive: https://www.youtube.com/@AtariArchive/search Super Breakout (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjpOaPxU0rs Missile Command (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24vQuyrwTQ0 Vanguard (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewQDKtc1i-4 Street Racer (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSYY1kK9so Yar's Revenge (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBHrU65JDF4 Video Olympics (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZOn9OIN_r4 Circus (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twnPnn_-Rm0 Raiders of the Lost Ark (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLqi0F_wQcs Air Sea Battle (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l0AQ5LuvQM Bowling (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrvEDIcMZnI Football (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao8PkhQZ8TI Video Pinball (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycwy0iDjDLw Centipede (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNfhqTGvFWg Asteroids (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgCwCLQFzWs TCW 217 - Ed Logg: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW217-the-games-of-ed-logg TCW 241 - The First 10 Years of European Consoles: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW241-the-first-10-years-of-european-consoles Asteroids Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6oUWACx1Mo Breakout (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5AKyI3neQk ET (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmrQkQsM9FU TCW 104 - A Holistic View of ET: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW104-a-holistic-view-of-et TCW 202 - Advanced Balls and Paddles Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW202-advanced-balls-and-paddles-part-2 Warlords (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDzQ8QhGJdY Berzerk (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5cXL5fCdK8 TCW 102 - Stern Electronics: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW102-stern-electronics Night Driver (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNk52A0dWto Mrs Pac Man (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us2WUK8bUC8 Defender & Chopper Command (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsWHav1U3lQ Space Invaders (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad3TLYZOI-M Pac-Man (Atari 2600): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pop1E2DidVQ Dragon Warrior Commercial 1989: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qL5_3EhqK8 New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month! TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com Alex's book: 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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    1 hr and 53 mins
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