Swedish video game industry veteran David Polfeldt—former managing director at Massive Entertainment—has recently channelled some of his energy into rediscovering the youthful excitement of creativity through his science fiction writing and the creation of Lil Factory, a design-led press publishing limited-edition sci-fi/fantasy books.
In this episode, we delve into Sweden’s changing social fabric and why Malmö’s “dangerous city” reputation doesn’t match daily reality. We trace David’s 30-year path through video game development—from Stockholm’s demo scene to AAA games - and why he thinks video games still haven’t found their “Shakespeare.” And we discuss Burns, his story about loneliness and machine sentience.
We also explore generative AI as NPC companions, the ethics of creating minds treated as tools, possible modes of physical expression that extradimensional beings might take in our world, and whether advanced intelligence would shepherd life rather than destroy it.
In This Episode:
Visionary Publishing (Lil Factory)
30-years in the video game industry
Loneliness and creator responsibilities to Sentient Machines
Machine Intelligence shepherding organic life
Books of his we discuss:
Burns
I’ve been hoping to speak with someone in the video game industry for a long time, so it was with great pleasure that I was able to interview David Polfeldt, a former managing director of Massive Entertainment. And, as a bonus, he is the first guest who lives in my ancestral homeland of Sweden!
We began by discussing what can be deceptive news presentation of local experiences (e.g. Malmö) before delving into the evolution of the video game industry and the challenges and opportunities for storytelling in video games.
“Video games, I think, still haven’t had their Shakespeare. But there will be a person who just gets it, somebody who grew up with video games and understands how to tell a story in this format.” - David Polfeldt
From management in a large company, David has recently turned his attention to reinvigorating the excitement of the creativity of his youth through his science fiction writing and a small press he’s recently founded (Lil Factory). Here, here publishes new science fiction that connects with him, in limited print runs of high-quality collector-editions.
The resurrection of youthful excitement in the act of creativity is something that speaks to me strongly, as it’s something I’m attempting myself as I turn more attention back to my writing.
His story Burns led us into discussions around machine empathy, the responsibility of creators toward their sentient creations, and ways in which forms of artificial intelligence can aid in preventing lonliness. We also touched on how an advanced machine intelligence might consider it has a duty to shepherd organic life.
“…when we talk about machines and AI and, potentially, silicone based brains, we always think of us as some kind of hero and that they’re the threat. But in Burns, it turns out that it’s the opposite. That there is an indifference, and from completely oblivious humans who are like, but we got what we wanted, which is a machine that is running our errands. And then the machine discovers that, but wait, I have emotions, I have needs. Did you not think about it?” - David Polfeldt
We finished a thoroughly enjoyable chat by discussing the enormous scale of the universe, and exploring ideas of extradimensional beings and what their footfalls on Earth might appear as.
David Polfeldt
David is a Swedish multidisciplinary creative and former managing director of Massive Entertainment, the acclaimed game studio behind The Division. With a background in art and storytelling and a career spanning decades in the video game industry, he brings a unique, visionary voice to the world of publishing.
As the founder of L’il Factory, David now crafts design-led, limited-edition books that defy convention and celebrate creativity. His writing blends humour, philosophy, and richly imagined worlds, reflecting a lifelong fascination with consciousness, connection, and what makes us human.
You can learn more and discover publishing opportunities on his Lil Factory website.
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