HOUDINI ENGINE

FOR GAMEDEV

Houdini Engine brings a procedural node-based approach to creating game content.

Build networks that define a recipe that can be applied over and over, then wrap them up
to create custom smart assets. Share these assets with colleagues who can load them
directly into game editors such as Unity® or Unreal Engine,® 3D apps such as
Autodesk® Maya® or Cinema 4D® or proprietary game editors.

Procedural Asset being built in Houdini | Feline Arts Asset being deployed in Unity for Suki and the Shadow Klaw | Feline Arts

IN HOUDINI | In Houdini, everything you do creates a node. IN YOUR GAME EDITOR | Houdini Engine lets you load these
These nodes are wired together into networks which define the Houdini Digital Assets into your game editor. Any parameters
flow of data which allows you to easily go back and make changes. added to the asset are available for editing and handles can be set
Networks can also be encapsulated into single nodes called up in the viewport for interactive manipulation. One asset can be
Houdini Digital Assets which let you share your techniques with used multiple times in a level or in multiple levels. Changes made
colleagues. These assets provide artist-built tools that can create to the core asset, even deep into production, will update all
the backbone of a procedural gamedev pipeline. instantiations of the asset.

“The quality of the graphics in Suki and the Shadow Klaw improved dramatically thanks to
Houdini Engine. I have 50 levels, which is too difficult for a one-person team to “hand model,”
so I turned to Houdini Engine which lets me bring procedural assets into Unity to rapidly create
game art without getting bogged down by repetitive actions.”

— Luis Garcia | Indie GameDev | Feline Arts

SIDEFX.COM/GAMES
HOW ENGINE WORKS
2. The network can then be wrapped 5. Artists can load the Houdini Digital Assets
up into an asset and the parameters into a variety of host applications using
promoted to build an artist-friendly UI. the Houdini Engine

4. When the asset is loaded and the

asset UI is utilized, the Houdini Engine
cooks the nodes and delivers the results
back to the host application.

1. A Houdini artist/technical director creates

a procedural solution using the nodes and
networks available in Houdini.

3. The asset can be stored on disk in

an .hda file for sharing with colleagues.

PLUG-INS BATCH
Houdini Engine lets you load Cinema 4D | Houdini Engine for A Houdini Engine license can also FLUID Sims | In Houdini, FLIP fluids
Houdini Digital Assets into other Cinema 4D brings high-end VFX be used to batch process Houdini provide a unique combination of
digital content creation apps such as tools to this popular 3D tool. Artists scenes on the farm. Whether you particle and fluid dynamics to create
Autodesk Maya, Cinema 4D or the will be able to load assets into are rendering to Houdini Mantra, realistic simulations of flowing and
Unity Game Editor. You can also use Cinema 4D and integrate the results processing a large fluid sim or splashing liquids. In Houdini, these
the Houdini Engine API to create with their existing scenes. combining a library of assets into a processor-heavy calculations can be
your own plug-ins for proprietary single scene, Houdini Engine sliced into smaller simulations that
applications. Autodesk 3DS Max | Bring Houdini provides behind-the-scenes control. are distributed to the farm. These
Digital Assets into this popular slices not only speed up your overall
Autodesk Maya | With the Houdini Windows-based 3D modelling and Distributed Rendering | Houdini’s simulation time but also allow for
Engine, Houdini Digital Assets can animation package. This plug-in is Mantra renderer works by process- bigger overall sims because the total
be loaded into Autodesk® Maya® available on github and is being ing scene description [.ifd] files memory used is split into smaller,
with procedural controls available to generously developed by Hideki created by Houdini at render time. more manageable chunks.
artists. These assets can interact Suzuki, a member of the Houdini To free up your workstation from
with Maya geometry and the results community. this task, you can utilize Houdini Wedging | To quickly explore
can be rendered in the Maya UI. Batch to create these .ifd files then multiple iterations in Houdini, you
CUSTOM PLUG-INs | The Houdini send them to the unlimited Mantra can turn to the Wedge tool to
Unity | Create procedural game art Engine API can be used to create tokens which come free with each re-render or re-simulate a shot
using Houdini Digital Assets loaded plug-ins for any number of license of Houdini. multiple times, using different
into the Unity game editor. Create applications. If you are interested in parameter settings. This approach
unique environments and props that creating a plug-in for your favorite PYRO FX Sims | To create smoke lets you easily compare results with
can be modified using parameters app, you can get started right away! and fire, VFX artists can turn to different values whcih can then be
on the asset. Houdini’s Pyro FX tools to simulate stamped on the resulting images to
To explore the Houdini Engine API and render fore and smoke effects identify each wedge.
UE4 | Open the door to powerful and to create your own plug-in, visit then partition and distribute them
procedural workflows with Houdini github.com/sideeffects. There is to your farm using Houdini Engine.
Engine for UE4. Load Houdini sample code from our other plug-ins The speed and memory advantages
Digital Assets into the Unreal Editor to show you how to get started. make this a great way to meet key
and manipulate parameters to get deadlines.
the right look for your game.

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2017 | All rights reserved. Houdini, Houdini Engine and the Houdini logo are Trademarks of Side Effects Software Inc. registered in the USA and other countries. Autodesk Maya is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries. Unity is a
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