Astro Bot: Unveiled Cut Features - Bird Flight Level and Headless Design

Astro Bot enthusiasts are familiar with the sponge power-up's origin story, but were you aware that Team Asobi also explored quirky concepts like a coffee grinder and a roulette wheel?

These insights emerged at GDC 2025, where IGN attended a presentation by Team Asobi’s studio director, Nicolas Doucet, titled "The Making of Astro Bot." Doucet delved into the creation of the PlayStation mascot platformer, revealing early prototype visuals and discarded content.

Doucet kicked off by discussing the initial Astro Bot pitch, drafted in May 2021, shortly after prototyping began. He noted 23 pitch revisions before presenting to senior management. The pitch, presented as a charming comic strip, outlined the game’s core elements and activities, proving highly effective.

Doucet then shared the team’s ideation process, emphasizing extensive brainstorming. Team Asobi formed diverse groups of 5-6 members from various disciplines, each contributing ideas via sticky notes, resulting in a vibrant brainstorming board.

Not all ideas advanced to prototyping, Doucet explained, with only about 10% making the cut. Still, prototyping was extensive. He stressed its value, noting that all team members, including non-design departments, were encouraged to prototype. For example, audio designers created a theater in Astro Bot to test haptic controller vibrations tied to sound effects, like varying door movements.

Doucet highlighted prototyping’s critical role, revealing that a few programmers focused solely on non-platforming experiments. The sponge mechanic, for instance, emerged from a prototype using the adaptive trigger to simulate squeezing, which was fun and integrated into the game.

Doucet presented an image showcasing prototypes, including the balloon and sponge mechanics that made it into the game, alongside unused concepts like a tennis game, a wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, a coffee grinder, and others.

Later, Doucet discussed level design, emphasizing the goal of unique gameplay for each level to avoid repetition. While power-ups could be reused, their implementation had to feel distinct. He showcased a cut bird flight-themed level, removed for overlapping too closely with the Go-Go Archipelago level and another in Astro’s Playroom using similar monkey power-up mechanics.

"Ultimately, the overlap didn’t support enough variety, so we scrapped the level," Doucet said. "We’ll never know its potential, but redirecting that effort elsewhere was likely the right call."

Doucet concluded by addressing the game’s final scene, noting Spoilers ahead for those who haven’t completed Astro Bot. Proceed cautiously.

In the final scene, players reassemble a damaged Astro Bot with help from other bots. Initially, the design featured a fully dismembered Astro—headless and limbless. Doucet noted this upset some, leading to the less drastic version in the final game.

Doucet’s presentation offered additional fascinating details about Astro Bot’s development. IGN’s prior interviews with him underscored the game’s quality, awarding it a 9/10 and praising it as "a remarkably creative platformer, especially meaningful for PlayStation fans."