A hack and slash 3rd person role-playing game. A Hansel and Gretel-themed cooking simulator. A 3D horror game set in a maze. These are just some examples of the games Pranav Sukesh (’25) creates. Combining unique ideas, creative coding and matching artworks and soundtracks, he devotes countless hours to developing video games. Serving as a creative outlet and a shared interest with his friends, video games are more than just a hobby for Pranav. 

Pranav’s interest in computer science was sparked in elementary school through Scratch. After seeing games other people made in Scratch, Pranav was inspired to invent his own games. He began with simple projects like moving a sprite, though both the complexity of his work and his interest in creating games grew quickly. Eager to expand his skills, Pranav turned to YouTube tutorials to learn more about using Unity, a game development software for creating games.

“Initially, I would be copying 3D platformer tutorials on YouTube, beat for beat,” Pranav said. “As I kept going, I realized that it was really fun to figure things out on my own. I leaned more away from tutorials and more towards what I can do more with my own thoughts and other Internet resources on how things function.”

As Pranav’s games are typically individual projects, he combines his interest in programming with creativity to make the artwork and soundtrack for the game. With an interest in both developing and playing video games, Pranav often takes inspiration from games he plays, whether it be a good feature in the game or something that could be improved.

For Pranav, one of the most meaningful ways to bring his video games to life is by creating the soundtracks to them himself. As a skilled guitarist and drummer, he makes small custom soundtracks, often using his own recordings or recreating songs. Pranav values the versatility of both these instruments across different moods and genres, using them to incorporate his personality into his work. While not essential to the gameplay of platformer games, Pranav sees the soundtracks as a way to make gameplay more enjoyable and immersive. He believes that this creative process is not just about coding — it’s about enjoying the experience, which he sees as the core reason he pursues his interest.

“The programming is a lot more bare bones,” Pranav said. “There’s no other consideration you have to put in other than will it work and will it fit with everything else I have. Meanwhile, for art and sound, they need to go in tandem, so you can’t have spiky art and soft music. You need to make sure they feel cohesive together to create this really effective experience overall.”

Pranav’s love for game development inspired him to attend a summer program at Carnegie Mellon University focused on game development. At the summer program, students collaborated with each other to create a game. In this program, Pranav oversaw the production of the game while continuing to help with solving programming problems.

“At CMU, I would spend 12 to 14 hours just sitting there trying to get things to work,” Pranav said. “The major difference is that it was more of a burden because there was a lot more to do. It was really nice to be in a community of other people who knew the same things I did, but also slightly different. I was totally fine working for a long period of time because I also had my friends there working on their own projects.”

Pranav’s helpful personality and love of programming are appreciated both in and out of the classroom. Computer science teacher Anu Datar admires how Pranav’s drive not only makes him a motivated and hardworking student but also helps him inspire his peers.

“I like how approachable he is and also that he likes explaining things to others because that is a completely different skill set,” Datar said. “He’s able to break down a problem and explain it to a peer or to someone who is coming in for the training sessions. That’s one quality that I really admire about him. Not just his talent or his skill, but his ability to help others learn that skill.”

Pranav’s collaborative spirit extends beyond coding and music. Whether he works on an assignment or an extracurricular activity, Pranav’s infectious dedication is prevalent to people in all aspects of his life. Close friend Varun Thvar (’25) attests to Pranav’s willingness to take initiative that consistently motivates those around him.

“One thing that I learned from Pranav is that he’s really smart, especially in video game development,” Varun said. “He’s also really imaginative. I remember for a literature into film project, there was an assignment to do an adaptation of a work. Everybody else did like stories, but he made a cooking video adapted from Hansel and Gretel, which he became incredible. It was pretty cool and took him a long time to make, but that kind of commitment inspires me.”

Close friend Victor Gong (’25) met Pranav in middle school and bonded over their love of Pokémon and Scratch games. Inspired by their shared interest, they worked together to create the Game Development club. Victor notes how Pranav’s ambitious personality helped him become a leader who emphasizes the importance of teamwork.

“Pranav works really hard with designing games, and he has big aspirations,” Victor said. “It’s really rare in the current era to actually pursue something that you truly want to do. I really respect that about him, and I find it really inspiring.”

Game development combines Pranav’s affinity for both programming and producing music, serving as a creative outlet and as a way to explore his interest in computer science. For all the work he has done in creating games and pushing himself to improve, what matters most to him is the sense of fulfillment it brings to do what he loves most.

“I’ve been doing programming and CS for a while, but I get a lot more enjoyment out of making games,” Pranav said. “It’s something that will give me something tangible compared to working on code problems or fine-tuning some specific software. This is a lot more physical to me, even though it’s still digital. It feels a lot more personal because it’s something that I can physically play.”