"Astro Bot: Cut Content Revealed - Bird Flight Level and Headless Astro"

Astro Bot fans are well-acquainted with the story behind the creation of the sponge power-up, but did you know that Team Asobi, the developers, also experimented with even more whimsical powers, such as a coffee grinder and a roulette wheel? This fascinating tidbit was uncovered by IGN at GDC 2025, where Team Asobi's studio director, Nicolas Doucet, delivered a 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 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. Initially, the pitch was conveyed through an adorable comic strip that highlighted the game's main pillars and activities, and it clearly resonated well.

A slide from Nicolas Doucet's GDC talk, "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'", illustrating the game's pitch through a comic book format.

Moving on, Doucet explained the team's approach to generating ideas, which involved extensive brainstorming sessions. Team Asobi formed small groups of 5-6 individuals from various disciplines who brainstormed and documented their ideas on sticky notes, resulting in an impressive brainstorming board.

Another slide from the talk, showcasing the sticky note brainstorming process at Team Asobi.

Not all ideas progressed to the prototyping stage, Doucet noted, with only about 10% of their brainstorms being developed further. However, this still led to a significant amount of prototyping. He emphasized the importance of prototyping across all departments, including an example where audio designers created a theater within Astro Bot to experiment with haptic controller vibrations that matched different sound effects, such as various door opening and closing sounds.

A slide from the talk, displaying a sponge prototype alongside concept art of Astro Bot transforming into a sponge.

Doucet highlighted the critical role of prototyping at Team Asobi, mentioning that certain programmers were dedicated to prototyping non-platforming elements. This approach led to the creation of Astro Bot's sponge mechanic, which involved using the adaptive trigger to squeeze the sponge dry, a feature that proved fun and was subsequently included in the game.

A slide from the talk showing various prototype activities developed for Astro Bot, including those that were not incorporated into the final game.

Doucet also shared insights into how levels were chosen and designed around specific mechanics, aiming for each level to offer unique gameplay and avoid redundancy. While reusing power-ups was not entirely off-limits, the execution had to be distinct enough to make each level feel fresh. He showcased images of a discarded level themed around bird flights, which was cut due to its similarity to other levels featuring Astro Bot's monkey power-up.

"In the end, it was decided that the overlap was not healthy enough to create variety, and we just cut this level entirely," Doucet stated. "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.

Wrapping up his talk, Doucet touched on the game's final scene, offering **Spoilers for those who haven't completed Astro Bot yet. Proceed at your own risk.**

In the concluding scene of Astro Bot, players reassemble a broken Astro Bot with the help of other bots. Initially, Doucet explained, the plan was to present players with a completely dismembered Astro Bot—just a torso without any limbs or head. However, this approach upset some testers, leading to the more intact version seen in the final game.

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

Doucet's talk provided numerous intriguing insights into the development of Astro Bot, a game that IGN previously reviewed, awarding it a 9/10 and 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."