Fans of Astro Bot are well-versed in the story behind the creation of the sponge power-up, but did you know that developer Team Asobi also experimented with even more outlandish powers, such as a coffee grinder and a roulette wheel? This fascinating tidbit was revealed during IGN's attendance at GDC 2025, where Team Asobi studio director Nicolas Doucet delivered a captivating talk titled "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". In his presentation, Doucet delved deep into the development process of the PlayStation mascot platformer, showcasing a variety of early prototype images and discussing content that didn't make the final cut.
Doucet kicked off 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 top management. The pitch was uniquely presented as an adorable comic strip, illustrating the game's main pillars and activities. This innovative approach evidently struck a chord, leading to the project's approval.
Doucet then elaborated on how the team generated ideas, emphasizing the importance of extensive brainstorming. Team Asobi formed small, interdisciplinary groups of 5-6 people, encouraging each member to jot down or sketch their ideas on sticky notes. This method resulted in a visually stunning brainstorming board, which Doucet shared during his talk.
However, not all ideas progressed to the prototyping stage. Doucet noted that only about 10% of their brainstormed concepts were actually prototyped. Yet, the team's commitment to prototyping was unwavering, with every member, including those outside of game design like audio designers, encouraged to test their ideas. An intriguing example was an audio team's creation of a theater within Astro Bot to experiment with haptic controller vibrations corresponding to different sound effects, such as various door opening and closing sounds.
Prototyping was so crucial to the Astro Bot team that a few programmers were dedicated to exploring non-platforming ideas. This approach led to the development of Astro Bot's iconic sponge mechanic, which was prototyped using the adaptive trigger to simulate squeezing the sponge dry—a fun and engaging feature that was ultimately included in the game.
Doucet showcased an image featuring several prototypes that didn't make it into the final game, such as a tennis game, a walking wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, and a coffee grinder, alongside successful mechanics like the balloon and sponge.
Later in his talk, Doucet discussed the selection and design of levels, emphasizing the goal of ensuring unique gameplay in each level. While some power-ups could be reused, their implementation had to differ significantly to maintain variety. He cited a cut level themed around bird flights, which was removed due to its similarities to existing levels using the monkey power-up, such as Go-Go Archipelago and a similar level 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," he said. "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."
Doucet concluded his talk by discussing the game's final scene, which contains **spoilers** for those who haven't finished Astro Bot. In the original version, players were handed a completely dismembered Astro Bot, consisting only of a torso. This approach upset some playtesters, leading to the decision to use the slightly more intact version seen in the final game.
Doucet's talk provided a wealth of insights into the development of Astro Bot, a game that IGN awarded a 9/10 in our review, praising 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."
