TheTales

Kids don't just use AI.
They learn to direct it.

Students 8–18 direct AI to build real games — and publish a portfolio the world can play.

First winLevel up →
Prepared forBINUS School — Leadership
FromEdy Sulistyo, Founder
SubjectAn introduction to TheTales
How it started

It started with my son.

My son Devin loved to play games — hours on the gadget. One day I asked him to make one with AI, so he could play his own.

To my surprise, it unlocked far more than a game. Through building — with instant gratification every step — Devin got more creative, started to articulate what he means, grew more patient, and learned to spot his own errors. He even teamed up with his friend Gerald to build Nightmare. The games were the hook; the skills are what stayed. So I built TheTales to give that to every kid.

More creativeDreams up his own worlds.
Articulates betterSays what he means, clearly.
More patientStays with hard problems.
Spots errorsCatches his own mistakes.
The shift

The skill that matters just changed.

now → future Writing code by hand Directing AI
Conceptual  Hand-coding is being automated. The judgment to direct AI is the skill that compounds.

For twenty years the advice was "learn to code." The ground shifted. The skill that lasts is directing AI — describe, judge, steer — and it doesn't age as the tools get stronger.

Why games

Not one lucky prompt.

A game that's actually fun almost never works first try — it takes the loop. And the loop is directing AI. (Devin's Sky Hopper is on its 4th tracked revision — not one lucky prompt.)

Describe Play Spot what's wrong Fix repeat
catch 1 ✕ impossible
The bug the AI can't catch

The ball shrinks every catch.

Each catch, the ball gets smaller — so eventually it's too small to ever catch. The code runs perfectly. The AI sees no error. But a kid playing it feels it in seconds. "Wait — this is impossible."

That's the judgment AI doesn't have — taste for what's fair and fun. Games surface it; kids learn to catch what the machine can't.

What we actually teach

Six skills that don't expire.

Articulation

Describe an idea precisely enough that something else can build it.

Creativity

Come up with something worth building in the first place.

Judgment

Tell "technically works" from "actually good" — and say why.

Debugging

Find what's actually wrong — not just that something feels off.

Resilience

A rough first draft is normal. Push through, session after session.

Confidence

Real, playable proof — anyone can open it — that they can make things.

None of it goes out of date as the tools improve — these decide who gets good results out of AI.

Foundation + next step

Understand AI — then build with it.

Understand it  ·  the foundation

Spot bias, hoaxes & hallucinations
Avoid plagiarism, protect privacy
Fact-check the machine
Builds AI literacy — a certificate
+

Build with it  ·  what TheTales adds

Turn an idea into instructions
Build a real, playable game
Judge & iterate to good
Builds a living portfolio

The two belong together. A literacy course gives the first — TheTales gives the second: the creating most programs stop short of.

Why this fits BINUS

Future-ready, made concrete.

AI literacy with rigor

A structured skill ladder, not a novelty club.

Stands out on applications

Real, dated work they can point to — it can help a strong student stand out on a college or scholarship application.

A showcase moment

A demo day — a proud, visible event for parents.

Proof, not a promise: we don't guarantee admission or awards — but a real, dated, public body of work says more than a grade, and can genuinely help a student stand out.

Built for minors

Held to the strictest standards for kids' apps.

Designed around the children's-privacy rules regulators use in the US and EU — the same bar a school should demand before its students touch anything.

USCOPPAChildren's Online Privacy Protection
EUGDPR · Art. 8Children's data & consent
UKAge-Appropriate Design CodeHigh privacy by default
IDPDP LawIndonesia data protection
No ads — ever No open contact between kids Sandboxed & isolated games Parental consent & approval Data minimized by default Report & takedown
The student journey

A ladder anyone can start, no one outgrows.

Week 1First Win
Direct an AI, ship a tiny game.
BuildYour World
Bigger ideas. Learn to judge & fix.
PublishGo Live
A grown-up approves → on their arcade.
RepeatLevel Up
Challenges, badges, harder builds.

Judged within age bands · rewards fun, creativity & effort — never code-golf.

Inside the Academy · full access

Every class ends in a real game — published.

Taught by the kid's own AI. No coding. They bring the ideas and the judgment; the AI does the typing. Foundations is where every student starts:

Lv 1 · Foundations

First Win

Make your first three real games — and publish them to your arcade.

🎖️ Arcade Rookie
Lv 2 · Foundations

Your World

Build your own hero in your own little world — the seed of a whole open world.

🌍 World Builder
Lv 3 · Foundations

Prompt Power

The #1 skill: tell your AI clearly what you want — specific, one step at a time.

🗣️ Clear Director
Lv 4 · Foundations

Direct Your AI

Be the boss: change one thing, play & check, never trust "done," catch mistakes.

🎬 AI Director

Then branch into what they love — Build Games, bots, art, 3D worlds — and graduate with one original, polished game that's all theirs.

Why it works

Why this is really, really good.

A 1-on-1 AI tutor

Taught by the kid's own AI — endlessly patient, personal, at near-zero cost.

Every lesson ships a game

Real, playable proof they can show — not a worksheet or a quiz.

Mastery-gated

The next class unlocks only when they can actually do it.

Judgment over typing

"Change one thing, play, check, catch the mistake" — real discipline.

No coding needed

Any kid 8–18 starts in minutes — ideas first, not syntax.

The whole Academy, open

Every studio, course, and challenge — full access, first game to graduation.

How it runs at a school

Low prep for teachers. Real work from students.

Week 1Week 4Week 6Showcase
Weeks 1–3Direct AI · first games
Weeks 4–5Build & iterate
Weeks 6–7Themed challenge
Week 8Showcase day 🎉
1
cohort — one class or club
90min
a week, self-paced Academy
1
showcase — the parent moment
Cost & commitment

Light to start. Honest about the rest.

Included · pilot
The full Academy
Every student gets full access — the whole Academy, comped for the pilot.

Bring-your-own-AI = near-zero cost. The one thing to size together for a cohort: managed AI — a conversation, not a blocker.

The ask

Let's run one cohort.

BINUS provides

  • One class or club
  • A teacher & weekly slot
  • A room + browsers
  • A showcase date

TheTales provides

  • The full Academy, comped
  • Teacher onboarding + guide
  • A themed challenge
  • Showcase + student profiles

A low-commitment pilot that ends in something real students can show — and BINUS can point to.

TheTales

Every student walks out
with a game — and the skill
that built it.

TheTales grew out of a real kid's arcade. It's live today. The next arcade could have a BINUS student's name on it.

Let's schedule the pilot conversation →
Edy Sulistyo · Founder sulistyo@gmail.com thetales.com
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