Advisor Peter Stahl on Games, the Attention Economy, and the Focus Crisis

Hi Peter. You've spent 20 years in gaming, at large gaming companies to founding your own studio. Tell us your story and what brought you into the industry initially?

Looking to become a top-level programmer I researched multiple industries back then. At that point the possibility of building video games for a living hadn't really occurred to me, until an old friend from university told me that he was exploring just that. When realizing the intriguing mix of artistry and technology required to build a video game, I applied to the game studio DICE here in Stockholm.

The gaming industry is obviously as varied and diverse as music, movies or anything else. As a fellow gamer myself, I've spent most of my gaming hours in competitive multiplayer esports titles where community and collaboration was the main driver. But what types of games were you most interested in? What would be a game that truly excites you today?

Well, while consoles like Home Pong, Amiga, and the Nintendo NES were the start of my fascination, the games that have accumulated most of the many thousands of hours played, are high intensity action games. Games like Battlefield, Valorant, and League of Legends. Today, as life has enough intensity overall, I've found my way back to the more immersive and tranquil game experiences such as cozy games like Journey and Kingdom.

From my own experience I would argue that I've mostly had positives from being a gamer. I've met some of my best friends to this day from playing games together. And gaming is bigger than movies and music combined. Yet the old "bad rep" lingers. Many still view the activity as a waste of time. Having lived through this shift first-hand, what changes have you seen in your time? Where are we heading next?

To me, the experience of video games is one of escapism, much like movies and other forms of entertainment. It's a "place" I can go to that tickles my imagination in almost endlessly interchangeable ways. So, to reflect on your question, it is probably as much a waste of time as a child's play with sticks and stones in that case.

“To me, the experience of video games is one of escapism, much like movies and other forms of entertainment.”

As for where we head next, I'd say that games will continue to grow and move into more people's lives. Of course, there are both upsides and downsides like with many things. While we enjoy the benefits of escapism, fun of play and digital social activity, we of course must always maintain and balance the addiction of screens, ever splitting focus, and the importance of in-person socializing.

Despite the changes and evolution, every type of game genre still struggles with their own sets of problems. Esports games have cheaters and along with other online multiplayer games often have huge amounts of toxicity and racism due to the nature of allowing communication behind anonymous nicknames, MMO's are often blamed for having P2W features built in. These are of course not new problems, what's your take on why these problems remain?

Regarding cheats and toxicity, as a game developer, it's unfortunately a never-ending whack-a-mole game with bad actors. You find and shut down a specific cheat or toxic activity; a new one appears the next minute, day or week after. I'd say the fact that the bad actors can act occluded and anonymously from somewhere else in the physical world, makes them dare to go further. We cannot ever, as an industry, stop to counter this and should also always try to keep it in mind when designing the games at their cores.

And then there's the latest problem, which I think spans across almost all game genres, which is the human attention economy. Games don't just compete with games anymore. They exist in the Attention Economy and now compete with the likes of TikTok, Instagram and Netflix. Daily rewards, Battle Passes, constant dopamine loops. The industry has perfected engagement. But there's a thin line between a great game and an addictive machine that eats your attention. Where does game design go from here when human attention has become the ultimate commodity?

That's a great question. Currently game design has little choice but to follow the overall market sentiment, which is a return to smaller and upfront-paid games from a long period of (more money-focused) "live service" type of games.

My blunt view is that with the games industry becoming an almost $200 billion market (compared to Hollywood's movie industry at $80 billion), the industry attracted actors with a larger product and money focus. A shift that, in the minds of gamers, started to seep into the most important thing that really made the industry - the fascinating and complex work of art that it is. Each game being its own story, fun and beauty - much like a great music CD you paid for once to enjoy forever.

Do you see any trends among game developers and studios in wanting to create purpose-driven content and games instead of escapism- or engagement style games?

Yes, I advise multiple organizations that use video games as a vehicle for their purpose. It's another beauty of video games in my view since, not only is play as natural as walking to us humans, the endless possibilities of interaction and fun engagement make it a good fit. Beyond the obvious learning of languages, math, and history, I've come across very creative and playful virtual reality solutions for children that struggle with giving blood samples at the doctors.

“It's another beauty of video games in my view since, not only is play as natural as walking to us humans, the endless possibilities of interaction and fun engagement make it a good fit.”

Digital tech, particularly social media, is designed to "remove friction". Infinite scrolls and autoplay make passive consumption effortless. It feeds endless doom scrolling that eats away our attention and leads straight to brainrot. Games, however, require active participation and problem-solving. How can the broader tech industry learn from game design to create software that actually demands focus and helps people become more capable, rather than just extracting their time?

Yes, as of a few years back, the concept of "gamification" has become a thing. There are both good and bad examples in the tech industry market today. Some tastefully utilize smart designs of achievements, clear and visceral goal setting, and fun interactions to educate or generally better engage the user. In some cases, it goes overboard and turns into that "only extracting time from the user", i.e. addictive bells and whistles and overly celebratory effects to make the user return as often as possible without properly contributing to the educating or informing.

We are currently living through what Scientists are calling "The Focus Crisis," where baseline attention spans are dropping globally. As a veteran in interactive entertainment, how do you see this impacting the future of gaming? Will the industry have to adapt to lower attention spans, or will games become one of the few places left where people actively practice deep focus?

The true evil of doom scrolling and shorter attention spans certainly creep into the games industry as well, to some extent at least. Younger players in Roblox usually switch fast among games if it's not entertaining enough, faster than games were played previously. However, on the flip side, video games have that upside and opportunity (unlike TikTok and similar doom scrolling platforms) to offer deeper engagements and meaning once the players find something they enjoy. So, yes, games are likely one of the places where people actively practice focus.

“So, yes, games are likely one of the places where people actively practice focus.”

This brings us to your advisory role at BRYM. What was it that drew you to the company? And what do you envision for their future?

They had me at "the focus crisis". After having experienced and seen the effects of doom scrolling for many years now, I believe it's a necessity for humans to learn how to counter it. I foresee BRYM's clever technology becoming integrated into wearables and matched with the right visual experience, being able to help individuals, families, workplaces, schools be able to focus on important things in their lives.

And to wrap up, what piece of advice do you have for aspiring game developers and studios in the era of the attention economy?

Building a game that somehow matters to you on an emotional level, will matter x10 more to you when looking back later.