a bit about the penguin behind this
About
Sarvin Eshaghi is a game designer, producer and PhD student in Informatics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a background in architecture, landscape architecture and historic preservation.
Her research sits at the intersection of game studies, digital heritage and educational theory. Drawing on years of building educational games across disciplines, she explores how cooperative play and collaborative learning can extend into public and urban space: playable cities and participatory urbanism that foster inclusion, community engagement and a deeper sense of place.
As Associate Producer and Quality Assurance Lead at the stu/dio, the University of Illinois student game studio, she leads QA processes and production standards across projects, keeping creative vision, technical implementation and educational goals aligned.
Research interests Game Studies · Collaborative Learning · Participatory Urbanism · Sense of Place
fun fact: she loves penguins (hence the logo) ♥
Background
Education
4
- 2024–presentPhD, Informatics
At the University of Illinois I read Chicago’s 311 data against its designated landmarks, have been a teaching assistant in game design, and work as Associate Producer and QA Lead at the stu/dio, the student-led game studio.
- 2022–2024MSc, Architecture
A second master’s, in architecture, at Texas Tech University. My thesis built a framework for cooperative play in historic preservation education and a Silk Roads game in Unreal Engine. In the same years I was Game and VR Advisor on SILK, a U.S. Mission Turkey–funded caravanserai project.
- 2018–2022MSc, Landscape Architecture
At Istanbul Technical University I studied landscape architecture and published my first serious-game papers. I also co-founded OyuNest, a game-design startup at İTÜ ARI Teknokent funded by a TÜBİTAK 1512 BIGG grant.
- 2012–2016Bachelor of Architecture
I trained as an architect at the University of Tabriz, Iran.
Recognition
Awards
3
Grants
2
Scholarships
9
- 2026Spatial Scholarship Field School — selected participant (one of fourteen scholars nationally)
- 2023–2026NCPE Conference Student Scholarship
- 2023APT Student Scholarship
- 2023ARCC Graduate Student Scholarship
- 2023Albert & Jackie Payne Memorial Scholarship in Historic Preservation
- 2023Dr. Elizabeth Louden Scholarship in Historic Preservation
- 2023Elizabeth Sasser AIA Scholarship
- 2023Willard B. Robinson Memorial Scholarship
- 2022College of Architecture Graduate Student Scholarship ($15,000)
Service
Scientific review committees
10
- CAAD Futures2027–present
- xArch Symposium2026–present
- Language, Literature, and Interdisciplinary Studies (LLIDS)2026–present
- Computers & Education: X Reality2026–present
- Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (DAACH)2025–present
- International Journal of Serious Games (IJSG)2023–present
- CAADRIA2023–present
- ASCAAD2023–present
- SIGraDi2023–present
- eCAADe2022–present
Service and memberships
7
- 2024–presentAcademics and Research Committee member; leader of the Gamification in Education section
- 2024–presentAuthorized Agent
- 2023–presentTeam Coordinator (Turkish language)
- 2021–presentYoung Entrepreneur
- 2023–2024Honored Member
- 2022–2023Honored Member
- 2022–2023Researcher
Judging
3
- 202422nd Annual Graduate Student Research Poster Competition, Texas Tech University
- 202416th Annual TTU Undergraduate Research Conference
- 202313th Annual Arts & Humanities Conference, Texas Tech University
Skills
Skills and languages
5
- Game development: Unreal Engine, RPG Maker, Construct 3, Twine, Stornaway.io, Bitsy, 3DVista Virtual Tour Pro
- Data and spatial analysis: RapidMiner, Airtable, ArcGIS, QGIS, MS Office
- 3D and ArchViz: AutoCAD, 3ds Max, V-Ray, Rhino, ARCHICAD, Twinmotion
- Image and video: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
- Languages: English (advanced), Azerbaijani (native), Persian and Turkish (fluent)
gentoo penguins say hello with a pebble
Say hi, or let’s make something together
Studios, labs, collaborators and fellow penguin fans welcome. I usually reply within a few days.