Astro Bot's Cut Content: Bird Flight Level and Headless Astro Revealed

Fans of Astro Bot are well aware of the iconic sponge power-up, but did you know that developer Team Asobi also explored even more unconventional ideas during the game's development? From a coffee grinder to a roulette wheel, these intriguing concepts were among the many prototypes discussed by Team Asobi studio director Nicolas Doucet at GDC 2025 during his presentation titled "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". Doucet delved into the creative process behind the PlayStation mascot platformer, sharing early prototype images and content that didn't make the final cut.

Doucet kicked off his talk by discussing the initial pitch for Astro Bot, crafted in May 2021, shortly after Team Asobi started prototyping the game. The pitch underwent 23 revisions before being presented to top management in the form of an adorable comic strip that outlined the game's main pillars and activities. This approach clearly resonated, marking the beginning of Astro Bot's journey.

A slide from Nicholas Doucet's GDC talk, The Making of 'ASTRO BOT', showing a comic book explanation of the game's pitch.

When it came to generating ideas, Doucet explained that Team Asobi embraced extensive brainstorming sessions. They formed small, interdisciplinary groups of 5-6 people who would jot down or sketch their ideas on sticky notes, resulting in a vibrant brainstorming board:

Another slide from the talk, showing sticky note brainstorms from Team Asobi.

However, not all ideas progressed to prototyping. Doucet revealed that only about 10% of their brainstormed ideas were developed into prototypes. Yet, this still amounted to a significant number of prototypes. He emphasized the importance of prototyping across various departments, even citing an example where audio designers created a theater within Astro Bot to test haptic controller vibrations synchronized with different sound effects, such as the varying sounds of a door opening and closing.

Another slide from the talk, showing a sponge prototype alongside concept art of Astro Bot becoming a sponge.

The commitment to prototyping extended beyond game design, with dedicated programmers focusing on non-platforming elements. This approach led to the development of Astro Bot's sponge mechanic, which utilized the adaptive trigger for a unique squeezing effect. This playful feature ultimately made it into the final game.

Another slide from the talk showing various prototype activities that were made for Astro Bot.

Doucet showcased an array of prototypes, including those that didn't make it into the game, such as a tennis game, a walking wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, and a coffee grinder. This provided a glimpse into the creative experimentation that fueled Astro Bot's development.

In discussing level design, Doucet highlighted the team's goal of ensuring each level offered unique gameplay. Even if the same power-up was used across multiple levels, its application had to be distinct enough to maintain variety. For example, a level themed around bird flights was cut because it reused Astro Bot's monkey power-up in a way that felt too similar to other levels.

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 includes **spoilers** for those who haven't completed Astro Bot. Initially, players were to reassemble a completely dismembered Astro Bot, but this concept was revised due to negative feedback, resulting in the more intact version seen in the game.

A clip from Doucet's presentation showing the original ending of Astro Bot.

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