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March 9-13, 2026
Moscone CenterSan Francisco, CA

Agenda

Freedom Through Structure: Character Pipelines at Embark (Presented by Houdini)

Erik Östsjö  (Technical Artist, Embark Studios)
Björn Arvidsson  (Senior Character Artist, Embark Studios)
Location: Room 2009, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass - Get your pass now!
Audience Level: All
Track: Game & Production Technology, Business Strategy
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: Video
Audience Level: All
Houdini

In this session Erik and Björn take you through the development journey of Embark Studios character pipeline. They discuss leveraging Houdini and USD as the core of their workflows. How it allows them the flexibility of having technical and art focused team members to work in the same shared space. The presenters explore having a procedural mentality, showing concrete examples of working within a range from manual to automated. Using USD in combination with Houdini's PDG and Solaris contexts in order to maximize artistic freedom while minimizing repetitive work. Enabling Embark to support their games Arc Raiders and The Finals, each with varying needs, continuously exploring new solutions in live production.

Takeaway

Attendees will gain insight into how Embark works with characters. Why using Houdini allows them to balance automation with artistic freedom. And what a node-based workflow enables when working on multiple projects.

Intended Audience

For artists and technical people alike, that are curious about how USD and Houdini can evolve their workflows.