This project is a combination of Houdini and Unreal Engine, created to recreate an effect inspired by the Reparo spell from the Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy game.

I used Houdini for the geometry preparation, fracturing, post-processing, and simulation work. The processed assets were then brought into Unreal Engine, where I used a combination of VAT (Vertex Animation Textures) and rigged FBX assets to make the effect work in real time.

To demonstrate the effect in a character-driven scene, I used a MetaHuman as the main character and added custom clothing and animation.

The character animation was sourced from Mixamo and then integrated into the Unreal Engine setup.

The main focus of this R&D was to explore the workflow between Houdini simulation and Unreal Engine real-time rendering, while recreating a complex destruction and reconstruction-style effect.

To make the effect work properly inside the environment, I also needed to build the required Blueprint logic and communication between different actors.

I used Blueprint Interfaces to connect the effect with multiple assets and allow different environmental objects to respond to the same interaction system. This made the setup more modular and easier to reuse across the scene.

I also used PCG to add environmental detail and improve the overall visual presentation of the scene.

This is not intended to be a fully finished effect. It is primarily a prototype and technical framework focused on the underlying mechanics, gameplay logic, and VFX setup required to build a Reparo-style effect.

The main goal was to create the core structure of the effect—essentially the “skeleton” of the Reparo VFX system—so the destruction, reconstruction, Blueprint communication, asset interaction, and real-time VFX behavior could all be tested and developed together.

At this stage, the visual elements are partly placeholder, while the main focus is on VFX design, technical implementation, and the mechanical setup that supports the final effect.