After a long, unintended hiatus, we’re back and off to an auspicious start: the end of the video game industry. What actually caused the industry to crash back in 1983? Was it really as simple as a bunch of games being so bad that they destroyed the companies that created them? And was the crash so calamitous that people just… stopped liking games? (Hint in both cases: no!) Moreover, the video game industry now once again finds itself in a period of existential turmoil, with AI, layoffs, studio closures, and an endless barrage of competing media threatening to crash the traditional games industry as we know it—or at least transform it into something unrecognizable. Does the video game crash of the ‘80s provide us with useful parallels? Can we learn from the cultural and economic realities of that moment, even though the games themselves were far more primitive? Alexander Smith, host of video game history podcast They Create Worlds and author of what is perhaps the definitive book on early video game console history, “They Create Worlds: The Story Of The People And Companies That Shaped Video Game History,” joins us to answer all those questions and more.

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And now for something kinda different: As those of you who follow me, Nathan, probably know – because I will not shut up about it – I wrote a book! It's called Stream Big: The Triumphs And Turmoils Of Twitch And The Stars Behind The Screen, and by the time you read this, it will be out! Stream Big was partially born of a desire to clear up misconceptions surrounding Twitch, livestreaming, and content creators, so a discussion of the book seemed like a natural fit for this show.

Then I realized it was also a golden opportunity for one of my favorite things, INTER-AFTERMATH BRAND SYNERGY, which prompted a eureka moment: I could bring on other members of the staff to ask me questions about a subject I've spent the past more-than-half-a-decade investigating. I decided on Riley MacLeod and Luke Plunkett, neither of whom consider themselves all that well-versed in Twitch or the world of content creation, because I figured they'd be best-equipped to present their own misconceptions in an honest and curious way. Also, Luke is a self-proclaimed Twitch hater, and haters always ask the best questions.

So if you've always wondered what the deal is with Twitch and the creators on it – why and how they've managed to amass so much influence within the world of video games, especially as the more traditional press fades into an, at best, secondary role – this is the episode for you.

Credits

- Host: Nathan Grayson (temporarily supplanted by Riley MacLeod and Luke Plunkett)

- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude

- Subscribe to Aftermath!

About The Show

You Are Error is Aftermath's podcast about common misconceptions in and around video games. Each episode interviews a different guest about something that either games or the people who play them frequently get wrong: It could be something mechanical, like climbing. It could be something born of narrative and world building, like Cyberpunk 2077's obsession with artificial limbs and exoskeletons, as opposed to what disabled people in the real world actually want and need. A topic could be fairly lighthearted in nature, like horses, or it could be heavier, like an exploration of how arms manufacturers use games as advertisements. Regardless, the goal is not to chide or condescend, but to explain how we got here and what it all means – both for games themselves and for culture more broadly. Games matter. Let's start treating them that way.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the triple-A portion of the video game industry reeling from layoffs, a lack of funding, and a series of high-profile flops, some fans, pundits, and even developers have begun looking to indies to save the day. But we've also arrived at a point in time where, more so than ever, "indie" means a lot of different things to different people. As it turns out, many games we refer to as "indie" now cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to make. And as big companies struggle to find funding, it's not like small developers are suddenly flush with cash. Where does this disconnect come from? Why do so many fans – knowledgeable and engaged ones, no less – still view indies as solo operations running on passion, a pocketful of pennies, and a dream? And did independent game development ever truly work that way? Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell, one of the original "solo" indie devs (who has for quite some time run an entire studio), joins us to demystify the time, resources, and manpower it takes to make even a small commercial game these days.

Credits

- Host: Nathan Grayson

- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude

- Subscribe to Aftermath!

About The Show

You Are Error is Aftermath's podcast about common misconceptions in and around video games. Each episode interviews a different guest about something that either games or the people who play them frequently get wrong: It could be something mechanical, like climbing. It could be something born of narrative and world building, like Cyberpunk 2077's obsession with artificial limbs and exoskeletons, as opposed to what disabled people in the real world actually want and need. A topic could be fairly lighthearted in nature, like horses, or it could be heavier, like an exploration of how arms manufacturers use games as advertisements. Regardless, the goal is not to chide or condescend, but to explain how we got here and what it all means – both for games themselves and for culture more broadly. Games matter. Let's start treating them that way.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.