Montréal-based Élisa Interactive has raised an $875,000 pre-seed round to create entirely new worlds … in the video game Roblox.
“People go [on Roblox] to get together and have fun online, and that’s what we’re betting on.”
Founded by father-son duo François and Julien Bélanger, Élisa Interactive’s AI-powered level design tool makes creating video game worlds easier. A user can tell the tool what they want in their video game world, such as a castle or village, and it will make it right before their eyes.
The tool, called Me-Z-Scene, doesn’t generate assets to create the world; it’s more like putting existing pieces down on the table. Those pieces can then be modified by hand or by Me-Z-Scene to fulfill the user’s vision. In an interview with BetaKit, François compared the tool to a Playmobil toy set.
“You can follow the instructions and make what is in the box but, most of the time, what you want to do is create your own world,” François said.
The tool was originally created to eliminate the “drudge work” of making a 3D scene for game studios and professional developers, François said. Despite ample interest, it quickly became clear that route meant making a specialized version of the technology for each studio Élisa worked with. That’s when they realized the potential of enabling game development for a non-professional audience.
Enter Roblox, one of gaming’s largest phenomena, with over 151 million daily active users. The game is built almost entirely around user-generated content (UGC), with seven million different “experiences” to choose from. Naturally, a Roblox player might want to try out creating a world of their own, but not know how.
“That’s something you can’t do in Roblox without … a lot of developer skills,” François said.
Thanks to Roblox’s open nature, Élisa Interactive’s Me-Z-Scene can easily plug in and help amateurs create their own experiences for the game. François noted there’s also potential for Élisa to eventually expand into other UGC-forward games, such as Minecraft or Fortnite.
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The pivot got a vote of confidence from Élisa’s pre-seed backers, including AQC Capital, Anges Québec, Investissement Québec’s Eurêka Fund, and a group of angel investors.
Right now, Me-Z-Scene is being tested by just under 100 users, with a “full-fledged” launch planned for the fall. On launch, Élisa will charge users based on credit usage, though the exact pricing model is yet to be worked out. Still, François thinks its target audience will have no problem paying to become worldbuilders.
“People go [on Roblox] to get together and have fun online, and that’s what we’re betting on,” François said. “We’re not promising them that they’re going to make tons of money and everything; we’re promising them [they will] have fun with their friends in their own custom environment.”
Feature image courtesy Élisa Interactive.