In this 2018 GDC session, Guerrilla Games' Richard Oud discusses what it took for the team to create the mechanical beasts of Horizon Zero Dawn from scratch.

It was a fascinating talk because Oud explained the process from pre-production and prototyping, all the way to the final polish of the characters, reference, motion style, workflow, animation-tech and AI behavior. Along the way, he shared a smorgasbord of practical lessons learned that can be applied to other projects.

The robotic beasts of Horizon Zero Dawn were strikingly lifelike examples of high-quality game animation, so if yo didn't get a chance to see Oud's talk live make sure to catch it now that it's free to watch via the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page.