As you’ve asked how it works, I’ll answer that first. It takes an object that’s created in Houdini and by exposing certain parameters, it allows for procedural changes. As shown in the video, this could be used to make a table longer or remove / change the position of chairs, among other things. There’s many more uses, of course. Though, this is very game / project specific, for sure.
Is this faster than using another 3D application (Maya, Max, Blender) and Unreal Engine 4’s Blueprint system? It isn’t, for me. But I think that ultimately comes down to what you want to accomplish and how comfortable you are with your given toolset.
To me, there’s no reason to add yet another program to my pipeline. There’s already ways to accomplish this and more. However, if you already use Houdini and this is of interest to you? I can see how it might be more enticing.
Hope that helps a bit, fella.