I'm a father of an 8-year-old creative boy. I've spent my career as an innovator and engineering leader in Silicon Valley startups, building products and leading teams. I've watched technology change how we work.
Makerplay didn't come from a pitch deck though. It came from something that happened at home.
One spring break
One spring break, we sat down together with no lesson plan. Just an idea: what if we used AI to help him build a real video game, one that was actually his?
We talked through what he wanted, tried things, broke things, fixed bugs, and laughed a lot. By the end he had a working game he could play.
He loved it. Not in a polite “thanks dad” way. He kept going back to it.
Back to school
When school started again, he showed it to his class. The kids were impressed. They wanted to play. He came home buzzing.
If you haven't watched your kid walk into a room carrying something they made themselves, it’s hard to explain how big that feels for them. For him, it was huge.
Why that mattered so much
He was proud in a way I don't see after a high score in someone else's game. For maybe the first time, people weren't reacting to a video he watched or an app he downloaded. They were reacting to something he built.
That stuck with me. Kids spend so much time consuming other people's work. Seeing him get real recognition for creating something of his own felt different, and honestly pretty rare.
Create, don't just consume
Most screen time for kids is still consumption: feeds, games other people made, AI used as a shortcut instead of a tool. I wanted a better option for my son, and for kids like him.
So I built Makerplay. Kids learn to think through an idea, describe it clearly, and use AI to turn it into a real game they can share with friends and family. There are guided missions, patient AI coaches, and a creator page of their own. No ads, no inappropriate content, and no chat with strangers.
Makerplay exists so more kids can have that first proud moment, when they realize they can create instead of only consume.
If that resonates with you, I'd love to hear from you.
— dad@makerplay.ai
(yes, you can write me and I'll reply :-)