Astro Bot fans might be familiar with the iconic sponge power-up, but did you know that Team Asobi, the game's developers, explored even more outlandish ideas during the development process? At GDC 2025, IGN had the opportunity to attend a talk by Team Asobi's studio director, Nicolas Doucet, titled "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". During his presentation, Doucet delved into the intricate process of crafting the PlayStation mascot platformer, revealing early prototype images and cut content that never made it to the final game.
Doucet kicked off his talk by discussing the initial pitch for Astro Bot, which was drafted in May 2021, shortly after Team Asobi started prototyping. The pitch went through an impressive 23 revisions before being presented to top management. It was creatively conveyed through an adorable comic strip that highlighted the game's main pillars and activities, which ultimately proved to be a successful approach.
A slide from Nicholas Doucet's GDC talk, The Making of 'ASTRO BOT', showing a comic book explanation of the game's pitch.Doucet then explained the team's ideation process, which involved extensive brainstorming sessions. Team Asobi formed small, interdisciplinary groups of 5-6 members who would write or draw their ideas on sticky notes. This method led to a vibrant brainstorming board, showcasing a wide range of creative concepts.
Another slide from the talk, showing sticky note brainstorms from Team Asobi.Not all ideas progressed to the prototyping phase, with only about 10% of the brainstorms being developed further. Doucet emphasized the importance of prototyping, encouraging everyone on the team, including those outside of game design, to experiment with their ideas. For instance, audio designers created a theater within Astro Bot to test haptic controller vibrations corresponding to various sound effects, like the opening and closing of doors.
Another slide from the talk, showing a sponge prototype alongside concept art of Astro Bot becoming a sponge.The significance of prototyping was further highlighted when Doucet revealed that a few programmers were dedicated to exploring non-platforming ideas. This experimentation led to the creation of Astro Bot's sponge mechanic, where players could squeeze the sponge using the adaptive trigger, adding a fun and engaging element to the game.
Another slide from the talk showing various prototype activities that were made for Astro Bot.Doucet shared an image showcasing several prototypes, including the balloon and sponge, which made it into the final game, as well as others like a tennis game, a wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, and a coffee grinder, which did not.
As the talk progressed, Doucet discussed how levels were chosen and designed around specific mechanics. The goal was to ensure that each level offered unique gameplay, avoiding repetition. While some power-ups could be reused, their implementation had to be distinct enough to maintain the level's uniqueness. For example, Doucet presented images of a cut level themed around bird flights, which was ultimately removed due to its similarities with existing levels like Go-Go Archipelago and a level in Astro's Playroom that used the monkey power-up in a similar way.
"In the end, it was decided that the overlap was not healthy enough to create variety, and we just cut this level entirely," he explained. "We'll never know if that level would have been popular. But in hindsight, I think it's a good thing that we got to spend that time elsewhere."
Another slide, showing a cut level from Astro Bot alongside two other implemented levels.Doucet concluded his talk by discussing the game's final scene, which contains spoilers for those who haven't finished Astro Bot yet. Proceed with caution.
In the game's closing moments, players reassemble a broken Astro Bot with the help of other bots. Initially, the scene was much more graphic, with players receiving a completely dismembered Astro Bot, consisting only of a torso. However, this approach upset some players, leading to the more intact version seen in the final game.
A clip from Doucet's presentation showing the original ending of Astro Bot.Throughout his talk, Doucet shared numerous fascinating insights into the development of Astro Bot, a game that IGN rated 9/10 in its review, describing it as "A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation."
