Ever since I wrote my first line of code, I’ve been fascinated by how simple logic can create worlds, emotions, and possibilities. That curiosity eventually led me into gameplay programming, where creativity and engineering meet in the most unexpected ways.
I’m Mahanthi Kannapalli — a Gameplay Programmer and Technical Systems Designer who loves building interactions that feel alive. I enjoy that moment when an idea turns into a mechanic, a behavior, or a system that surprises the player and—even better—surprises me during development.
With a foundation in computer science and advanced game development studies at SCAD, I approach every problem with both imagination and structure. I love translating abstract concepts into clean systems, and I’m always chasing that feeling of “flow” where design, code, and player experience all click together.
I’m constantly learning, experimenting, and growing—driven by the belief that great games aren’t just played, they’re felt.
A selection of systems-driven games I’ve built and programmed.
First-person horror game focused on tension, pacing, and systemic interactions between sanity, light, and enemy AI.
Fast-paced combat prototype built around a dynamic attack-rate formula, multi-weapon combos, and reactive AI.
2D text-driven mystery where the story changes based on player choices, timing, and hidden state variables.
Hand-combat action game featuring combo attacks, traversal, and combat-focused level design with multiple enemy archetypes.
A side-scroller game built using a fully 3D character and environment, with a fixed front-facing camera for classic side-scroll gameplay.
A detailed private room environment where all assets were modeled, textured, and prepared in Maya, then assembled and rendered in Unreal Engine.
Algorithm-driven gameplay and procedural systems exploring generation, evaluation, and simulation.
A procedural maze generation system implemented using Prim’s algorithm to create structured and solvable maze layouts suitable for gameplay and level design.
A camera-driven system that captures images and assigns a visibility score based on how much of a target object is present in the frame, enabling objective feedback on composition and visibility.
A procedural vegetation system using L-systems to generate 3D tree structures through recursive rule expansion and spatial transformations.
If you’d like to talk about gameplay programming, systems design, collaborations, or opportunities, feel free to reach out.
mahanthikannapalli@gmail.com