Join SideFX at GDC 2026 where you can learn about procedural techniques that support game artists as they develop top tier experiences for gamers. You can find us on the show floor or at the sponsored session which focuses on the great work being done by Embark in Arc Raiders and The Finals.
FESTIVAL HALL
West Level 2 | Booth SC04
You can find Houdini at booth SC04 in the Table Top Summit to meet with SideFX staff and discuss all things procedural. There will also be some SWAG so be sure to visit early!
Monday March 9 | 10:30 am -5:30 pm
Tuesday, March 10 | 10:30 am -5:30 pm
Wednesday, March 11 | 10:30 am – 5:30 pm
Thursday, March 12 | 10:30 am – 5:30 pm
Friday, March 13 | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
MEET WITH SIDEFX
Does your studio wanna meet up and talk Games Pipelines & Upcoming Houdini Tech.
Sponsored
Session
West Hall Room 2009 | Tuesday March 10, 2:00 PM
Freedom Through Structure:
Character Pipelines at Embark
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.
Erik Östsjö is a technical artist at Embark Studios, developing character workflows for Arc Raiders and The Finals. He works primarily with Houdini and Universal Scene Description (USD). His focus is exploring where artistic control and procedural automation meet.
Björn Arvidsson is currently a Senior Character Artist at Embark Studios. He started as a Technical Artist before moving into Character Art at DICE on the Battlefield and Battlefront franchises. At Embark, he focuses on developing the character pipeline and smoothing out workflows to bridge technical and creative goals, while remaining hands-on with character asset creation.