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

Astro Bot fans are familiar with the story behind the creation of the sponge power-up, but did you know that developer Team Asobi also experimented with even more unconventional powers during development? Imagine wielding a coffee grinder or spinning a roulette wheel in the game. These intriguing ideas were revealed during IGN's coverage of GDC 2025, where Team Asobi's studio director, Nicolas Doucet, delivered a talk titled "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". In his presentation, Doucet provided a deep dive into the development process, showcasing early prototype images and discussing content that didn't make the final cut.

Doucet kicked off his talk by revisiting the initial pitch for Astro Bot, crafted in May 2021, shortly after Team Asobi began its prototyping phase. The pitch underwent 23 revisions before being presented to top management, and it was delivered in the form of an adorable comic strip that outlined the game's main pillars and activities. This approach evidently struck a chord, leading to the project's green light.

Doucet then delved into how the team generated ideas, emphasizing the importance of extensive brainstorming. Team Asobi formed small groups of 5-6 people, mixing individuals from different disciplines to foster creativity. Each participant contributed ideas through sticky notes, resulting in a vibrant brainstorming board:

However, not all ideas progressed to prototyping. Doucet noted that only about 10% of their brainstormed concepts were actually prototyped. This prototyping phase was crucial, with every team member encouraged to test their ideas, even those from departments outside of game design. For example, audio designers created a theater within Astro Bot to experiment with haptic controller vibrations tied to different sound effects, such as the various sounds a door can make when opening and closing.

The significance of prototyping was further highlighted by Doucet, who mentioned that some programmers were dedicated to exploring ideas unrelated to platforming. This led to the development of Astro Bot's sponge mechanic, which involved squeezing a sponge using the adaptive trigger. The fun and engaging nature of this prototype secured its place in the final game.

Doucet shared an image showcasing several prototypes that didn't make it into the game, including 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 the process of selecting and designing levels around specific mechanics. The goal was to ensure each level offered unique gameplay and avoided feeling too similar to others. While the same power-up could be used in multiple levels, its expression needed to be distinct enough to maintain the level's uniqueness. For instance, a level themed around bird flights was cut because it reused the monkey power-up in a way that was too similar to the level Go-Go Archipelago and another 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," 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."

**Spoilers for Astro Bot's ending ahead. Proceed with caution if you haven't finished the game yet.**

In the game's final scene, players reassemble a broken Astro Bot with help from other bots. Initially, the plan was to present players with a completely dismembered Astro, featuring only the torso. However, this approach upset some testers, prompting a change to the slightly more intact version seen in the final game.

Doucet's talk was filled with fascinating insights into the development of Astro Bot, a game that IGN awarded a 9/10 in its 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."