Bedtime Kingdom
A calm bedtime story app for iPhone. The child joins in, and the stories stop when they're meant to.
WHY
Friends shipped simple apps that pay their way. I want to prove I can too. And my daughter Freya, who's just turned 7, loves bedtime stories. I want her to be able to choose her own adventure.
DONE WHEN
Launched, with over 1,000 installs and earning revenue.
Scope
In
- The child makes a character with their parent
- One to three stories a night, set by the parent. Then the character goes to bed until tomorrow
- Joining in: saying a word or making a choice
- Stars that earn new clothes, costumes and gear colours
- Memories: a gift from the story when the child does something that matters
- A story focus set by the parent, like starting nursery
- An AI voiceover that uses the character's name
- About 50 written stories with different endings
Out, for now
- Stories made up live by AI (that's version 2)
- Android and iPad
Approach
No more "one more story". The parent sets the number, and when the stories are done, the character goes to bed. I first tried having AI write each story live, around her choices, but the stories weren't good enough. So version 1 has fixed stories with different outcomes, and games where the child speaks along. The free version works, with limits, like the phone's built-in Siri voice instead of the AI one. A subscription gets you the full version.
Milestones
- TestFlightTesting and improving.Done
- Better storiesWriting that flows, and pictures that match the story.Now
- Launch on the App StoreAiming for November 2026.
- 1,000 installsAnd earning revenue.
- Version 2Stories made live with AI, where she decides where it goes.
Weeknotes for this charter
The first weeknote for this charter is on its way.