Astro Bot fans are familiar with the iconic sponge power-up, but did you know that Team Asobi, the game's developer, also experimented with even more unconventional powers like a coffee grinder and a roulette wheel? This intriguing detail came to light during IGN's coverage of 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 intricacies of developing the PlayStation mascot platformer, revealing early prototypes and cut content that never made it to the final game.

Doucet kicked off his talk by discussing the initial pitch for Astro Bot, which was drafted in May 2021, shortly after Team Asobi started prototyping. He shared that the pitch underwent 23 revisions before being presented to top management. The pitch was uniquely presented as an adorable comic strip that highlighted the game's main pillars and activities. This creative approach evidently struck a chord with the decision-makers.

Doucet then explained the team's idea generation process, which involved extensive brainstorming sessions. Team Asobi formed small, interdisciplinary groups of 5-6 people, who contributed ideas through sticky notes, resulting in a visually impressive brainstorming board.

Not every idea progressed to the prototyping phase, Doucet noted. Only about 10% of the brainstormed concepts were actually prototyped. Yet, this still led to a substantial amount of prototyping. Doucet emphasized the importance of prototyping, encouraging everyone on the team, even those outside game design, to experiment with their ideas. An example he provided was audio designers creating a theater within Astro Bot to test haptic controller vibrations tied to various sound effects, such as different door opening and closing sounds.

Prototyping was a cornerstone of Astro Bot's development, with some programmers dedicated solely to prototyping non-platforming elements. This led to the creation of the sponge mechanic, where the adaptive trigger was used to simulate squeezing the sponge, a feature that was both fun and eventually integrated into the game.

Doucet showcased an array of prototypes, including those that didn't make it into the final game, such as a tennis game, a walking wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, and a coffee grinder. He also discussed how levels were chosen and designed around specific mechanics, aiming for unique gameplay in each level to avoid redundancy. For instance, a level themed around bird flights was cut because it reused the monkey power-up in a way too similar to existing levels.

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

Towards the end of his talk, Doucet touched on the game's final scene, which includes **spoilers for those who haven't completed Astro Bot**. Originally, the player was to reassemble a completely dismembered Astro Bot, but this approach was altered after feedback indicated it upset some players. The revised ending, where Astro Bot is slightly more intact, was ultimately used in the game.

Doucet's presentation was packed with fascinating insights into Astro Bot's development, a game that IGN reviewed highly, 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."