Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 122+ hours!
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Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 122+ hours!
TCW Podcast Episode 228 - PopCap Games
PopCap Games was initially overlooked by the larger gaming industry due to its focus on fun, well-designed, and polished casual games. Their first major hit, Bejeweled, became a consistent source of income, allowing PopCap to invest time in developing new titles. This led to the creation of Peggle, which helped solidify PopCap’s reputation, particularly after developers at Valve became hooked on the game’s deeper skill-based mechanics and puzzles. The success of Bejeweled and Peggle continued with their ports to the iPod and, eventually, the iPad, further expanding PopCap’s popularity. This growth culminated in the release of Plants vs. Zombies, which debuted on PC before being adapted for iOS. The game’s seamless touchscreen integration made it a standout app for the newly launched iPad. As the gaming industry evolved, PopCap struck a deal with EA, which acquired the company, leading to the departure of its founders over the following years.
Attack Retrieve Capture: https://alchetron.com/Attack-Retrieve-Capture
Shariki Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMwGy1fv41g
Play Dimond Mine: https://www.crazygames.com/game/diamond-mine
Bejeweled: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvLtaf1PFVM
Palm OS - PDA Gaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nfg4YIoYas
TCW 122 - A Casual World Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/a-casual-world-part-1/
TCW 123 - A Casual World Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/a-casual-world-part-2/
Zuma Deluxe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwpuOhuVnnQ
Alchemy Deluxe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p902uQ_y3r4
Play Alchemy Deluxe: https://archive.org/details/alchemy-deluxe
Bookworm Deluxe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA1NSyldUQ8
The Oral History of PopCap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwzxWLonObo
Burnout 3 Takedown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6vHTQv9JHY
Peggle Deluxe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlnieE-h6k8
Peggle Extreme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAKLiepJDrM
Peggle Extreme (Steam - Free): https://store.steampowered.com/app/3483/Peggle_Extreme/
Bejeweled (iPod): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7iHTM0ryWm0
Peggle (iPod): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qhWSm0zNSrk
Insaniquarium Deluxe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U04weIAra20
Plants VS Zombies (PC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XENla8M3910
Plants VS Zombies (iPad): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvopYLzwb90
PopCap Games on Internet Archive: https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22PopCap+Games%22
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/
They Create Worlds
Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 122+ hours!
