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

23 classes. One Masterpiece.

Taught by the kid's own AI, no coding — full access for every student. Start with Foundations, branch into what you love, and graduate:

Foundations · 4 classes

Learn to direct AI

First WinYour WorldPrompt PowerDirect Your AI

Ship your first games, then learn to direct — and check — your AI like a pro.

Branches · pick what you love

Go deep on a craft

Arcade & Physics3D WorldsLevel & MechanicsPixel ArtSound & MusicBot BuildingDebug & QACatch the AIBranching StoriesShip It
🎓 Graduate

The Masterpiece

One original, polished game of your own — designed well, with living enemies, that looks and sounds great. Finish it, and you graduate.

Every class ends in a real, published game — 23 of them on the way to a Masterpiece that's entirely their own.

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.

Ways to collaborate

More than a pilot — a partnership.

Every path starts with one cohort. From there, you pick the pace:

① Start here

Pilot cohort

One class or club, ~8 weeks, ending in a showcase. Prove the model.

Light
② Grow

Inter-school challenge season

BINUS headlines a themed season; other schools join. Recognition, judged in age bands — not a public ranking.

Social
③ Amplify

Showcase & demo day

Students present live to parents and community — the authenticity moment and a proud event in one.

Visible
④ Lead

Flagship school partner

BINUS co-shapes the program as a founding partner — first in the region.

Deep

On inter-school events we celebrate many kinds of winning — most creative, most improved, judges' pick — so effort and creativity win, never just resources.

Try it yourself

Don't take our word for it — build a game tonight.

The Foundations are free — no code, no card, no setup. Five minutes at thetales.com and you'll feel exactly what a student does.

1

Go to thetales.com

Tap Start free and make an account.

2

Tell your AI an idea

Use the Claude or ChatGPT you already have.

3

Save it to your arcade

A real, playable game — in one sitting.

🎓 Want every class unlocked to explore the full Academy? We'll comp your team's accounts — send us the emails and it's open, no charge.
Where it goes next

It started with one kid's arcade.
The next one could be a BINUS student's.

Devin's arcade became TheTales. Give us one cohort, and by showcase day this profile is full — real games, made by your students, playable by the world.

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