When he left Frima Studio, the video game company he co-founded in 2003, Steve Couture had yet to say his final word on youth entertainment. The next steps in his journey could shape the niche even more.
With Epic Storyworlds, the new company that he created together with Canadian producer Ken Faier, who from a young age behaved like the nice organizer of games between friends, wants to build a mass success comparable to that of Caillou or Pat Patrol.
“I want to develop brands that resonate with experienced business people around the world. That’s what I want to dedicate the rest of my career to,” says Steve, who, thanks to his maturity, now has a much better idea of how to build a world-class company.
In fact, he’s already executive producer on a project by bestselling author Marc Brown, who created Arthur, a series that ran on PBS in the United States for 25 years.
“Arthur is about goodwill and in 25 years he has shaped generations. I’d love to be able to do that,” dreams Steve, looking forward to seeing Marc Brown’s new characters on the small screen, in video games and in amusement parks.
A dozen more projects are in the works at Epic Storyworlds: There’s action. And all this in a lightweight model, because most of the projects are carried out by partner studios.
From virtual to real
For most of his life, Steve Couture has inhabited virtual worlds through fiction and animated characters. But when he left Frima five years ago, he got all sorts of offers and accepted the one from Go-Élan, a manufacturing company that makes play modules for children.
The collision of two worlds: manufacturing and software development. After letting the kids play on their sofa, he now let them play in the park!
Steve’s challenge was to bring features from the video game into the outdoor modules. Incorporate interactive elements into designs that need to be child, shock and weather resistant.
“We use screens, animation, voice actors, music and humor. The module laughs kindly at the children when they are not very good at the game,” laughs the entrepreneur, who had the pleasure of testing the result with the children of Go-Élan employees.
roll up your sleeves
Unfortunately, the first interactive game module was born just before the pandemic, when playing in a group was no longer an option. But abdication was out of the question and another concept based on the forest theme was thought up. The first Go-Élan interactive game modules were eventually installed in Rimouski, Donnacona and Sainte-Marie.
Steve Couture lives his life as a great adventure, with the only regret not having lived abroad.
The Warner in California had offered him a job… but the entrepreneur doesn’t have the clerk’s fiber. He is also proud to have contributed to the development of video games in Quebec. But the best role of his life is being the cool dad who plays with his three kids.
A lot of
- Entrepreneurship is…? “Be naive! We don’t know what we’re getting into. »
- If you could change one thing in the world what would it be? “Our habits in the face of the climate emergency to protect the environment. »
- do you admire “People who have the gift of being creatively up to date, who have a special sensitivity to what is to come. »
