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

Fans of Astro Bot are familiar with the story behind the creation of the sponge power-up, but the game's developers, Team Asobi, also experimented with other unique abilities, such as a coffee grinder and a roulette wheel. This intriguing tidbit came to light during IGN's attendance at GDC 2025, where Team Asobi's studio director, Nicolas Doucet, delivered a comprehensive talk titled "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". In his presentation, Doucet delved into the intricate process of crafting 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 conceived in May 2021, shortly after Team Asobi started prototyping the game. The pitch underwent 23 revisions before being presented to the top management. It was creatively presented as an adorable comic strip that highlighted the game's main pillars and activities, which undoubtedly contributed to its successful reception.

Doucet then explained the team's approach to generating ideas, which involved extensive brainstorming sessions. Team Asobi organized small groups of 5-6 members from various disciplines, encouraging them to contribute ideas via sticky notes. This collaborative method led to an impressive brainstorming board, as showcased in one of the slides from the talk.

However, not all ideas progressed to the prototyping stage, with only about 10% of the brainstormed concepts being developed further. Doucet emphasized the significance of prototyping across all departments, including an example where audio designers created a theater within Astro Bot to experiment with haptic controller vibrations tied to various sound effects, like the different ways a door can open and close.

The importance of prototyping was further highlighted by Doucet, noting that a few programmers were specifically tasked with creating prototypes unrelated to platforming mechanics. This approach led to the development of the sponge mechanic, which utilized the adaptive trigger for squeezing the sponge, ultimately becoming a beloved feature of the game.

Doucet shared an image that illustrated several prototypes that didn't make it into the final game, alongside those that did, such as the balloon and sponge. Other prototypes included a tennis game, a walking wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, a coffee grinder, and more.

Later in the talk, Doucet discussed how levels were chosen and designed around specific mechanics. The goal was to ensure each level offered unique gameplay experiences, avoiding repetition. Although the same power-up could appear in multiple levels, its implementation had to vary significantly to maintain the level's distinctiveness. For example, a cut level themed around bird flights was dropped because it reused Astro Bot's monkey power-up in a way too similar to the level Go-Go Archipelago and another level in Astro's Playroom.

In concluding the talk, Doucet touched on the game's final scene, which contains spoilers. In the ending, players reassemble a broken Astro Bot with help from other bots. Initially, the player was presented with a completely dismembered Astro Bot, which was too distressing for some, leading to a less fragmented version in the final game.

Doucet's talk was filled with fascinating insights into the development of Astro Bot, a game that received a 9/10 in IGN's review, praised as "A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation."