Astro Bot fans are well-acquainted with the iconic sponge power-up, but did you know that developer Team Asobi explored even more whimsical abilities during development? At GDC 2025, Team Asobi's studio director, Nicolas Doucet, delved into the creation process of the beloved PlayStation mascot platformer during his talk, "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". He shared fascinating insights and showcased early prototype images, including some intriguing cut content.

Doucet kicked off his presentation by discussing the initial pitch for Astro Bot, which was crafted in May 2021, just months after Team Asobi started prototyping. The pitch evolved through 23 revisions before being presented to top management. The initial pitch was creatively conveyed through an adorable comic strip that highlighted the game's main pillars and activities, demonstrating the team's innovative approach right from the start.

Doucet explained that idea generation was a vital part of the process, involving extensive brainstorming sessions. Team Asobi formed small, interdisciplinary groups of 5-6 people who collaboratively generated ideas using sticky notes, resulting in a visually striking brainstorming board.

However, not all ideas progressed to prototyping, with only about 10% making the cut. Doucet emphasized the importance of prototyping across various departments, including audio designers who created a theater within Astro Bot to experiment with haptic controller vibrations tied to sound effects, such as different ways a door could open and close.

The significance of prototyping was underscored by the fact that a dedicated group of programmers focused on creating prototypes unrelated to platforming. This approach led to the development of Astro Bot's sponge mechanic, which utilized the adaptive trigger for a fun squeezing action that ultimately became a core feature of the game.

Doucet shared an image showcasing various prototypes that didn't make it into the final game, including a tennis game, a walking wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, and a coffee grinder, alongside successful mechanics like the balloon and sponge.

He also discussed how levels were crafted to ensure unique gameplay experiences, avoiding repetition. For example, a level themed around bird flights was cut because it reused the monkey power-up in a way too similar to existing levels like Go-Go Archipelago and another in Astro's Playroom. "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."

In the closing segment of his talk, Doucet touched on the game's final scene, which involves reassembling a broken Astro Bot with assistance from other bots. Initially, players were presented with a completely dismembered Astro, but this approach was too distressing for some, leading to the more intact version seen in the final game.

Doucet's presentation offered a wealth of insights into the development of Astro Bot, a game that we reviewed with a score of 9/10, 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."