Fans of *Astro Bot* are familiar with the intriguing tale behind the creation of the sponge power-up, but did you know that developer Team Asobi also experimented with even more whimsical powers, like a coffee grinder and a roulette wheel? This fascinating tidbit came to light during IGN's coverage of GDC 2025, where Team Asobi's studio director, Nicolas Doucet, delivered a comprehensive talk titled "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". In his presentation, Doucet delved into the development journey of the PlayStation mascot platformer, showcasing a variety of early prototype images and revealing content that didn't make it into the final game.
Doucet opened his talk by discussing the initial pitch for *Astro Bot*, which was crafted in May 2021, shortly after Team Asobi began its prototyping phase. He revealed that the pitch underwent 23 revisions before being presented to senior management. The pitch was uniquely presented as an adorable comic strip that highlighted the game's core pillars and activities, demonstrating its effectiveness in securing approval.
A slide from Nicholas Doucet's GDC talk, "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'", showcasing a comic book-style explanation of the game's pitch.
Doucet then explained the team's ideation process, which involved extensive brainstorming sessions. Team Asobi organized small groups of 5-6 members from various disciplines, who would jot down their ideas on sticky notes. This method led to a visually impressive brainstorming board, as shown in one of the slides from the talk.
Another slide from the talk, illustrating the sticky note brainstorming session at Team Asobi.
Not all ideas progressed to the prototyping phase, according to Doucet. Only about 10% of the brainstormed concepts were actually prototyped, yet this still resulted in a substantial number of prototypes. Doucet emphasized the importance of prototyping across all departments, even those outside traditional game design. For example, audio designers created a theater within *Astro Bot* to experiment with haptic controller vibrations synchronized with different sound effects, such as various ways a door could open and close.
A slide from the talk showing a sponge prototype alongside concept art of Astro Bot transforming into a sponge.
Doucet highlighted that prototyping was crucial to the development of *Astro Bot*, with certain programmers dedicated solely to creating prototypes unrelated to platforming. This approach led to the creation of *Astro Bot*'s unique sponge mechanic, which utilized the adaptive trigger for a fun, interactive experience that was ultimately integrated into the game.
A slide from the talk displaying various prototype activities developed for Astro Bot.
The slide shared by Doucet included several prototypes that didn't make it into the final game, such as a tennis game, a wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, and a coffee grinder, alongside successful mechanics like the balloon and sponge.
Later in the talk, Doucet discussed how levels were chosen and designed around specific mechanics. The goal was to ensure that each level offered unique gameplay and did not feel repetitive. While *Astro Bot* could reuse power-ups across levels, Doucet emphasized that the implementation needed to be distinct enough to maintain level uniqueness. He provided examples of a cut level themed around bird flights, which was removed due to its similarity to the level Go-Go Archipelago and another level in *Astro's Playroom* using a similar power.
"In the end, it was decided that the overlap was not healthy enough to create variety, and we just cut this level entirely," Doucet 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."
A 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 includes **spoilers for those who haven't finished *Astro Bot* yet**. In the final scene, players reassemble a broken Astro Bot with the help of other bots. Initially, the player was presented with a completely dismembered Astro Bot, but this was changed after feedback indicated it was too upsetting for some players.
A clip from Doucet's presentation showing the original ending of Astro Bot.
Doucet's talk was packed with numerous other fascinating insights into the development of *Astro Bot*, a game we praised with a 9/10 in our review, calling it "A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, *Astro Bot* is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation."
