Unreal Fest 2022 Sessions | Unreal Engine (2023)

Making Better Blueprints

Join us to see practical uses of sharing, communication, creation, and cleanliness with Blueprints.

Making Chorus Sing Across 10 Platforms

Ten platforms sounds like a lot, but it’s totally doable. Just look at Chorus, Deep Silver FISHLABS' recent space-shooter. Learn how the team organized their polishing efforts, tamed performance issues, and used data to plot their optimization strategy, so you can solve issues before they start.

Building Modular Characters in Unreal Engine

The stories you create aren't static, so why should the look of your characters be? Using the UE5 Lyra Sample Project as a starting point, this session will discuss various techniques available to add, swap, and customize your characters.

Enter the Rumbleverse: What Goes Into a Good Battle Royale?

Wrestling, cannons, cartoon mayhem—Rumbleverse has a lot going for it. Find out how Iron Galaxy Studios made sure this high-flying battle royale was always operating at 60 FPS through strategic optimizations and engine modifications.

Asset Dependency Chains: The Hidden Danger

When you are dealing with assets, it’s easy for dependency chains to get out of hand. And sadly, you don't always notice them until they become a big problem. In this talk aimed at programmers & blueprinters, you’ll learn about how to spot, analyze, and fix them using tricks we've developed at Lucid Games so you don't make the same mistakes!

The Gritty Reality of Real-Time Cloth and Rigid-Body Character Physics

A nuts-and-bolts approach demonstrating some lesser-known/understood aspects of simulation setup for character secondary motion in Unreal Engine. We'll look at some new UE5 features of Chaos Cloth and Rigid Bodies, best practices when setting up character simulation, and a few debugging tips.

Building Open Worlds in Unreal Engine 5

Take a look at the various tools Unreal Engine 5 provides to help build massive open worlds.

Improving Developer Iteration in Unreal Engine 5

Faster iteration by developers on content arguably leads to better quality products. Learn more about upcoming UE5 features for modern world development teams and how they have already impacted developer iteration for Epic Games on The Matrix Awakens and Fortnite.

Advanced UI Templating Techniques using Widget Blueprints and Materials

Learn the latest UI implementation techniques from the Epic Technical UI Design Directors. Templatize the way you build UI in UMG with techniques including new and improved named slots, material instances driven by the Sequencer, and other ways to streamline the UI design and iteration process.

Exploring the Gameplay Ability System (GAS) with an action RPG

Character abilities are essential to RPG mechanics. In this talk, learn how Silent Games used Unreal Engine's GAS, Data Tables, Enhanced Input Systems, and more to enhance gameplay for an upcoming third-person action RPG.

Improving Iteration in Geo-Distributed Scenarios

Learn how to make large projects flow, even when devs are working from multiple locations. Get tips from the Coalition as they cover the deployment of UE5’s Unreal Cloud DDC and Virtual Assets to reduce sync time and create faster iteration loops for their project currently in development.

Phil Cousins
Engine Technical Director, The Coalition

Joakim Lindqvist
Senior Tools Programmer, Epic Games

Grace Yen
Senior Product Manager, Epic Games

Modulating Game Difficulty with Machine Learning

Explore what happens when machine learning (ML) and Unreal Engine’s Environment Query System (EQS) are used for adaptive gameplay. Using a hide-and-seek game as our guide, we’ll show how AI decisions can influence game difficulty in ways that always reflect the current game state.

Alexandre Peyrot
Senior Machine Learning Specialist, Eidos Sherbrooke

Romain Trachel
Principal Machine Learning Specialist, Eidos Sherbrooke

How to Create Scripting Tools That Designers Love

When scripting feels accessible, designers can create complex levels without worrying about the technical hurdles that hold them back. In this talk, you’ll learn how to make a suite of UE tools that will help them get there, as we go from paper-design mission to implementation example.

Working with Data in Unreal Engine 5

How can programmers create environments where designers, artists, and game logic work as one? Through intuitive data systems. Learn the art of storing data in Unreal Engine, as we analyze how different methods impact designers and/or help teams scale.

Building Tools Quickly: Blueprints, Menus, Utilities, and Widgets

Better tools means faster iterations. In this talk, Embark Studios explore how their internal tooling ecosystem helps developers compose new tools in a flexible and consistent way. Topics include: Unreal Editor extensibility, Blutility, what you can do with Hazelight's Angelscript fork, and more.

Maximizing Your Game’s Performance in Unreal Engine

Everyone on the team should be able to gauge the performance impact of their work. Join Unreal Engine Evangelist Ari as he uses the new built-in tools of Unreal Engine 5 to find nasty performance traps and bugs he maliciously planted in his demo project before the presentation.

Crystal Dynamics: Taking the Heroic Leap from a Proprietary Engine toUE5

When something is built for you, it can be hard to let it go. In this panel discussion, we’ll focus on the challenges and immediate upsides to switching to UE5. And since the panel is pretty game-agnostic, any developer can get something out of this.

Alisha Thayer
Senior Technical Designer II, Crystal Dynamics

Alyssa Reuter
Technical Art Director, Crystal Dynamics

Scott Stevens
Technical Director, Crystal Dynamics

Till Brenner
Technical Director, Crystal Dynamics

Ben Irving
Executive Producer, Crystal Dynamics

From Liquid to Unreal: Why We Ditched Our In-House Engine

Switching engines is a big deal! In this talk, 11 bit studios—and the Frostpunk 2 team—will help you bypass the mistakes they made as they moved from their proprietary Liquid Engine to UE. Topics include: biggest challenges, internal QA changes, feasibility planning, and what came next.

UE Mobile Rendering Update: Recent Enhancements for Modern Mobile Devices

This session explores recent additions and improvements to mobile rendering, including a number of features in UE 5.1, perfect for licensees wanting to ship UE games on mobile (especially AAA titles). While the talk will be more programmer-focused, content creators may find useful takeaways as well.

35 UE5 Features You Probably Don't Know About

Has a developer ever casually mentioned something that made you realize you could've cut months off your last project? You could be that developer! Join Unreal Engine Evangelist Chris Murphy as he runs through some of the lesser-known UE5 features that could turn weeks into days!

Empowering Creation with Non-destructive Voxel Landscapes in UE5

In this session, we explore a new world creation paradigm with Voxel Plugin’s Landmass workflow in Unreal Engine 5. You'll learn about the non-destructive iteration process, the power of mesh composition, and the perks of new Unreal Engine 5 features like Lumen.

The Unbreakable Team: Maintaining Build Stability in Unreal Engine

Using the latest code and content can be invigorating, but only if it never negatively impacts the team at large. Learn how Embark Studios ensures stability for new versions of Unreal Engine, game code and game content. Alert systems, automated Unit and Integration tests, and Data Validation are your friends.

Cross-play, P2P, and Unreal Engine—Easier Said Than Done

Cross-play is something players really like these days, but outside of dedicated servers, it’s rarely happening. Why isn’t it a standard yet? Join People Can Fly as they explain what it took to ship a cross-play P2P game that could also be managed in a live environment. It was a little bumpy.

Virtual Cinematography and Non-Linear Editing Workflows on The Quarry

The Quarry made headlines for its digital humans and 80s horror vibes. Learn how a non-linear (NLE) approach to sequence editing emulated the film-strip paradigm of the movie industry, and opened up opportunities to use Unreal Engine’s virtual production, often for cross-discipline collaboration.

Power Your Games with Free Epic Online Services

Get an overview of Epic Online Services and how you can use it to add cross-platform authentication, voice chat, matchmaking, and more to your game for free. Topics include: key functionality, getting started, and how to use the SDK/Unreal Engine Online Subsystem plug-in.

Rajen Kishna
Technical Account Manager, Epic Games

Josh Markiewicz
Lead Engineer, Epic Games

Hear the future of UE Audio

Crafting a believable immersive audio experience is a cornerstone of making great player experiences. Come hear the latest updates to the UE audio engine that will not only make it easier for your audio team to express their creative designs, but help them collaborate deeply in the same tool set with the rest of your team.

Grace Yen
Senior Product Manager, Epic Games

Aaron McLeran
Director of Audio Engine Technology, Epic Games

Dan Reynolds
Senior Technical Audio Designer, Epic Games

Advanced Development and Debugging for Android/iOS

Ever wanted to ship a AAA UE title on Android or iOS? Then this talk is for you. Learn how the Epic Mobile Team debugs each platform using the AGDE extension, Xcode, and more. Other topics include: allocating memory use, device scalability, compiler and toolchain settings, and future tools.

Axel Riffard
Software Engineer, Developer Relations, Epic Games

Dmytro Vovk
Engine Programmer, UE Mobile Team, Epic Games

Building a Safer Digital Ecosystem through Developer Tools

Regulators and industry-leading gaming companies have been working to create safer experiences for young audiences, without taking away from the gameplay experience. This session will use Superawesome’s partnership with LEGO as a case study to shed light on how some online safety challenges can be solved through collaboration, allowing game publishers to focus on delivering rich gameplay experiences.

Forager: Mushroom Timelapse Photogrammetry

Meet MycoMachine, a Reality Capture-driven toolkit that captures 3D models of natural phenomena - like mushrooms - as they evolve over time. These sequences have already been presented at the Tribeca Film Festival and SIGGRAPH, and are coming to a new VR experience next year. We'll show you the process.

Winslow Porter
Creative Director, Forager Growing Mushroom

Elie Zananiri
Technical Director/Graphics Developer, Forager Growing Mushroom

State of Unreal in Media & Entertainment: Virtual Production Roadmap

The Unreal Engine has been the driving force behind the recent explosion of Virtual Production techniques in Film & Television, and UE5 has put even more fuel on the fire of innovation. Learn whats new and what is coming next as we break down our roadmap for the new features and developments in 5.1.

Miles Perkins
UE Business Director, Media & Entertainment, Epic Games

Jordan Thistlewood
Product Management Director, Epic Games

The Tactical Taco Truck: How Army of the Dead Rolled Into VR

Learn how Pure Imagination Studios turned a series of taco trucks into zombie-killing VR machines for LBE experience, Army of The Dead: Viva Las Vengeance. Using Unreal Engine, the team hit immersion levels that rival (or exceed) major theme-park rides. Find out how.

What Virtual Productions Need to Thrive

Get a bird's eye view of what it takes to create a successful VP ecosystem from Pixomondo, a team that’s taken projects from concept to final pixel. In this talk, you’ll learn about the potential pitfalls and technical details behind successful workflows, so you can start delivering final pixels in camera and post.

Fireside Chat with Writer/Director Emma Needell

As an Unreal Fellowship Graduate, Emma used Unreal Engine to write and direct LIFE RENDERED, a short film that recently premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. Emma has embraced real-time technology to the point where she uses Unreal Engine to write and previs her stories. Come and hear about Emma's views on advancing the art of filmmaking with real-time technology.

Fundamentals of Linear Content Creation in Unreal Engine

Get an intro into how real-time workflows can have a transformative impact on linear content creation and storytelling. In this session, you'll learn what considerations need to be factored in when making the transition from a traditional production pipeline to one based in real time using Unreal Engine.

The Metaverse and YOU: Creating authentic entertainment experiences with real time digital tools

We're witnessing a pivotal moment in the evolution of the entertainment industry, in the movement of live experience into the Metaverse. Using real time tools to bridge the gaps, we are following our creative process from pencil sketch to Unreal to live shows and now back into Unreal. In this session, we will demonstrate how we have revolutionized the potential for interactions within the Unreal Engine, and by extension, how the world will experience music from home and beyond. With our new technical tools, capture process, and the VitaVerse platform, we seek to rethink the future of immersive, at-home entertainment; and further, how this experience can facilitate human connection and audience engagement beyond the physical realm.

Animating in Unreal Engine 5.1

With Unreal Engine 5.0, rigging and animating in-engine became a real possibility. UE 5.1 has taken another step forward, so artists don't have to hop back and forth between various DCCs. Learn about the recent changes to the Control Rigs and animation tools via real-life examples.

Tony Bowren
Solution Architect, Epic Games

Fredrik Nilsson
Lead Technical Animator, Epic Games

10 Things that Producers look for in In-Camera VFX

Learn what producers care about when it comes to creating ICVFX for episodics and feature films. Topics include: overcoming roadblocks, building your LED volume, finding talent, building out new departments, and how to help non-technical staff get the most out of the process.

Luma Pictures: Our Real-time VFX Journey

Join Luma Pictures heads of CG and Technology as they detail what it took to add UE to the high-end VFX pipeline guiding Marvel Studios’ Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and I Am Groot. Get a real take on use cases, tool development, and plans for a USD-based, real-time pipeline.

Chad Dombrova
Head of Technology, Luma Pictures

Oded Raz
Head of CG, Luma Pictures

The ‘Impossible’ Location made possible with Virtual Production on HBO’s House of the Dragon

Hear from ‘House of the Dragon’ director Greg Yaitanes and virtual production supervisor, Ryan Beagan about their experience bringing key locations to the Volume. The challenges the production faced and the solutions created by the team.

Greg Yaitanes
Director, House of the Dragon

Ryan Beagan
VP, Virtual Production, Warner Bros

Turning the Real World into Digital Assets

Interior or exterior, mountain peak, seafloor—every location needs the right digitization process guiding it. In this talk, you’ll learn how to get the best possible 3D scan from any environment, as we explore some RealtyCapture tips and tricks that will lead to photogrammetric success.

The Future of Broadcast Design and Animation

Get a sneak peek at new tools designed for broadcast designers and animators with Andy Blondin, Product Management Director, Broadcast. This session will walk you through a new set of tools titled “Project Avalanche” that will enable you to design your next network TV project fully in Unreal Engine.

Uncompromised Character Deformations in Unreal

Kitestring will be showing off Ozone, their technology that brings uncompromised character deformations into Unreal for use in Games and Virtual Production.

AR Takes the Main Stage

AR is still waiting on a killer device to embed itself in our everyday lives, but that doesn’t mean it’s not making waves. Learn how major live sporting events and music festivals are embedding AR graphics into live feeds to extraordinary effect using Unreal Engine and other virtual broadcast tools.

Brian Frager
Technical Account Manager, Epic Games

Sam Schoonover
Innovation Lead, Coachella

Erik Beaumont
Head of Mixed Reality, The Famous Group

Patrick Wambold
Solution Architect, Epic Games

Scott Millar
Chief Technology Officer, XR Studios

Brain Bar or whatever we are calling it these days

Join Lux Machina's Philip Galler for a brief overview on the roles and responsibilities for staffing a virtual production project in the film live events and Broadcast industries. Focusing on the skill sets, scope and expectations for managing the various and complex facets of blending physical and digital production.

Inside Real-time Production: The Tools That Make it Tick

Peek behind the curtain of a real-time CG production through a live demo from the perspective of an artist and producer. See the benefits of an Unreal Engine-centric workflow firsthand by exploring how ICVR's pipeline tools & automations eliminate hassles and streamline production.

Ihar Heneralau
Chief Executive Officer / Co-Founder, ICVR

Chris Swiatek
Chief of Product / Co-Founder, ICVR

A new reality for live entertainment: powering Camila Cabello’s xR TikTok concert

TikTok users got more than just a live concert in Camila Cabello’s Familia: Welcome to the Family show. They saw an entire XR world, made with Unreal Engine. Learn how XR Studios and Silent Partners were able to create such adventurous environments and on-screen content for a 9x16 production.

Alex Wills
Chief Experience Officer, disguise

J.T. Rooney
President, XR Studios

Creating Storyboards in Unreal Engine

In film and TV, Unreal Engine and virtual production go hand in hand. But did you know you can use it during the concept stage—even for quick sketches? Learn how to create stunning 2D/3D storyboards in-engine with the free ILIAD and EPOS plugins and start connecting artists up and down the chain.

From VAD to Volume: the End-to-End ICVFX Pipeline

Learn how Dimension collaborates with global production, animation, and visual effects teams to deliver groundbreaking content for ICVFX / virtual production projects. We'll also explore how you can use Unreal Engine as a hub for everything from films and episodic to broadcasts and digital twins.

Jim Geduldick
Director, Virtual Production & SVP, Dimension Studios

Mark Holland
Head of Content Management, Dimension and DNEG Virtual Production

Ed Thomas
Head of Real-Time and Virtual Production, Dimension Studios

Integrating USD into Unreal Engine

USD is being used throughout the production world, but how do you integrate it into Unreal Engine? This session will explore three specific aspects of this workflow, including how you get data in, how you get it out, and how to use the USD stage window directly in UE.

Bridging the Gap: Modernizing VFX Workflows With Unreal Engine

Learn how Unreal Engine was used on Apple’s For All Mankind and Netflix’s Sweet Tooth, via a guided tour with Zoic Studios Co-Founder and Real-Time Group Head, Andrew Orloff. Move from initial visualization to final pixel on major VFX productions, gaining a few tips on implementation and collaboration along the way.

Creating Character Animation with UE5 and Maya

Join us for a workflow demo that showcases the creation of a stylized character animation using a combination of Autodesk Maya and UE5. We will cover the whole process from start to finish, and show you how to work quickly and efficiently in a mixed pipeline using ShotGrid to manage production and reviews.

Scanning the Strange New Worlds of Star Trek

Go behind the scenes of Pixomondo’s recent Star Trek virtual production projects with PXO’s in-house scanning division. Get unique insights into how the team uses LIDAR and photogrammetry techniques to blend VFX and practical elements into the seamless images you see on the show.

Winrik Haentjens
CG Supervisor, PIXOMONDO

Matej Kosovsky
Head of Capture, PIXOMONDO

Asad Manzoor
Head of VP Content, PIXOMONDO

Stylized Materials for Linear Content

This session will cover the basis on how to create stylized renders by using various material creation techniques and some of the more advanced nodes available in the material editor. We will explore the results of using custom nodes to inject HLSL into materials and the implications of creating custom shading models.

Michael Neely
Technical Account Manager, Epic Games

Martin Walker
CTO, Digital Dimension Entertainment Group

The Film Engine: What UE5 Does for Hollywood

Real-time production isn’t theoretical anymore; it’s changing how films are produced. Learn what Unreal Engine 5 adds to the equation, as we explore new workflows, the open lane guiding cross-platform IP, and why Blueprint scripting is a great way to keep directors smiling.

Emilio Ferrari
CEO and Mocap Supervisor, Raised By Monsters

Mikel Hernando
CTO and CG Supervisor, Raised By Monsters

Adrian Nuñez
COO and Unreal Supervisor, Raised By Monsters

Location-Based Mixed Reality: Blurring the Lines Between the Real and Virtual

Join the Moment Factory team as they explore augmenting public spaces for live entertainment and broadcast, including the AT&T Discovery District, a “living” multimedia destination. Attendees will also learn about previs for live events, DMX/UE workflows, and audio-reactive digital lighting extensions.

Céline Mornet
Innovation Producer, Moment Factory

Zane Kozak
CG Supervisor, Moment Factory

Building Better Worlds with Houdini and Unreal Engine 5

Worldbuilding is an elaborate pursuit, full of many considerations. In this talk, we'll show you how to get there faster. First, by exploring how to create artist-friendly tools/workflows with Houdini, and then, teaching you to use those same tools to build up dynamic worlds within UE5.

UE Motion Graphics for Films and TV

Multi-Award winning motion graphics artist Jonathan Winbush will demonstrate the workflow he's developed while doing motion graphics for movies and television shows. Using Unreal Engine in conjunction with software like Cinema 4D and AfterEffects, Winbush will show you how to build from start to finish so that you too can see how to utilize Unreal Engine in your mograph pipeline.

Getting Started with Unreal Engine and Remote Control API

Learn the fundamentals of the remote preset and how to leverage the power of the Remote Control API to drive your applications.