Show HN: Pixel Arcade Studio –kids make playable browser games by instructing AI

Hi HN, I'm Oliver. I've been in the software and cloud engineering industry for a long time (28 years), and this past year genuinely changed how I think about coding.

The bottleneck isn’t syntax anymore. It’s clarity. I now spend more time describing what I want, testing results, and refining instructions than writing code line by line.

The spark for this project came from a presentation I gave at my son’s school in December, 2025. I expected mild interest. Instead, kids were completely engaged — hands up, pitching game ideas, iterating in real time.

That made me question something I’d always taken for granted: maybe the first skill kids need in an AI-first world isn’t coding. Maybe it’s learning how to instruct AI, evaluate output, and iterate responsibly.

Pixel Arcade Studio is a browser-based game studio where kids create real, playable games by giving instructions to an AI assistant. No coding, no installs, no open social features. Games are private by default and parents control visibility.

This is a side project I built nights and weekends. I’m here for honest feedback: – What would you question or distrust about this approach? – If you’re a parent, what would you need to see to feel comfortable with it?