The World Within, 2023
Augmented Reality Experience
Sep 2022 - May 2023
Research Through and For Design.
The World Within (2023) is an augmented reality (AR) experience designed to explore digital and immersive ways of therapeutic storytelling.
Exploring the imaginative narratives, magic, and metaphors, I created this project with the intention to speak to all the worlds and children that exist in each one of us.
The World Within (2023) is an augmented reality (AR) experience designed to explore digital and immersive ways of therapeutic storytelling.
Exploring the imaginative narratives, magic, and metaphors, I created this project with the intention to speak to all the worlds and children that exist in each one of us.
“Live Coding” is a new term in creative coding used to program ‘on the fly’ performances with code, music, and beyond.
We Reap What We SO is a live coding performance that uses Haskell programming language and computer networking to create compelling visual and audial output using JavaScript and other tools.
The performance recording was a part of the bi-annual 2022 NYU Abu Dhabi Art Center Showcase.
Technologies:
︎ JavaScript (p5.js, Hydra)
︎ Musical Programming (Tidal Cycles)
Team members: Amina Kobenova, Dania Ezz, Shreya Goel, Thaís Alvarenga.
We Reap What We SO is a live coding performance that uses Haskell programming language and computer networking to create compelling visual and audial output using JavaScript and other tools.
The performance recording was a part of the bi-annual 2022 NYU Abu Dhabi Art Center Showcase.
Technologies:
︎ JavaScript (p5.js, Hydra)
︎ Musical Programming (Tidal Cycles)
Team members: Amina Kobenova, Dania Ezz, Shreya Goel, Thaís Alvarenga.
Road to Acceptance, 2021-2025
Virtual Reality Game Experience
October 2021 - Present
“Road to Acceptance” is a virtual reality game experience designed to explore grief education and counseling tools.
The game leverages Virtual Reality Perspective Taking (VRPT) in a fantasy narrative to foster connection and understanding between the user and the narrative, which relies on Kübler-Ross model of grief.
The Kübler-Ross model outlines five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Each stage is represented as a game level, which requires completion through body movements and interaction.
Presented: Digital Games Research Association Conference (2024), IEEE Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health (2025).
Watch our video teaser.
Technologies:
︎ Unity
Team members:
Amina Kobenova, Thais Alvarenga, Ons Taktak,
Piper Stickler, Sri Kurniawan.
The game leverages Virtual Reality Perspective Taking (VRPT) in a fantasy narrative to foster connection and understanding between the user and the narrative, which relies on Kübler-Ross model of grief.
The Kübler-Ross model outlines five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Each stage is represented as a game level, which requires completion through body movements and interaction.
Presented: Digital Games Research Association Conference (2024), IEEE Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health (2025).
Watch our video teaser.
Technologies:
︎ Unity
Team members:
Amina Kobenova, Thais Alvarenga, Ons Taktak,
Piper Stickler, Sri Kurniawan.
Making Beshbarmak, 2025
Cultural Heritage Game Experience
June 2024 - Present
“Making Beshbarmak” is an interactive cooking game rooted in Kazakh and Kyrgyz cuisines. Designed to depict and celebrate Central Asian cultural heritage, the game introduces players to the region’s vibrant art and food traditions.
Ongoing research studies suggest that Making Beshbarmak supports linguistic and cultural retention among players unfamiliar with Kazakh and Kyrgyz cultures.
The game was showcased at the 2024 ArtsIT Games & Interactivity Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and is scheduled to appear in the 2025 BIPOC Games Showcase at the The Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, NY.
Technologies:
︎ Unity, Adobe Illustrator
Team members: Amina Kobenova, Adina Kaiymova, Tristyn Lai, Alim Utemisov.
Ongoing research studies suggest that Making Beshbarmak supports linguistic and cultural retention among players unfamiliar with Kazakh and Kyrgyz cultures.
The game was showcased at the 2024 ArtsIT Games & Interactivity Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and is scheduled to appear in the 2025 BIPOC Games Showcase at the The Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, NY.
Technologies:
︎ Unity, Adobe Illustrator
Team members: Amina Kobenova, Adina Kaiymova, Tristyn Lai, Alim Utemisov.
Social Conjurer, 2024
Multi-User Runtime Collaboration with AI in Building Virtual 3D Worlds
June 2024 - September 2024
Generative artificial intelligence has shown promise in prompting virtual worlds into existence, yet little attention has been given to understanding how this process unfolds as social interaction. We present Social Conjurer, a framework for AI-augmented 3D scene creation, where multiple users collaboratively build and modify virtual worlds in real-time. Through an expanded set of interactions, including social and tool-based engagements as well as spatial reasoning, our framework facilitates the creation of diverse virtual environments. Findings from a preliminary user study (N=12) provide insight into the user experience of this approach, how social contexts shape the prompting of spatial environments, and perspective on social applications of prompt-based 3D creation. In addition to highlighting the potential of AI-supported multi-user world creation and offering new pathways for AI-augmented creative processes in VR, we present a set of implications for designing human-centered interfaces that incorporate AI models into 3D content generation.
Read our pre-print on ArXiv.
This work was produced at Microsoft Research and belongs to the “Speaking the World into Existence” research initiative.
Technologies:
︎ Unity, Photon Fusion, LLMs
Team members: Amina Kobenova, Cyan DeVeaux, Samyak Parajuli, Andrzej Banburski-Fahey, Judith Amores Fernandez, Jaron Lanier.
Read our pre-print on ArXiv.
This work was produced at Microsoft Research and belongs to the “Speaking the World into Existence” research initiative.
Technologies:
︎ Unity, Photon Fusion, LLMs
Team members: Amina Kobenova, Cyan DeVeaux, Samyak Parajuli, Andrzej Banburski-Fahey, Judith Amores Fernandez, Jaron Lanier.