Astro Bot's Director Wants To See More Games People Can 'Actually Complete'

Abstract

Not all video games should be prolonged open-world epics to supply a satisfying expertise.
“Astro Bot” director emphasizes the advantages of making smaller video games for increased high quality.
“Astro Bot” was profitable with a shorter improvement time and satisfied Sony to launch extra family-friendly video games.

Whereas most video games today push for an epic journey throughout an unlimited open world, not each recreation must be prefer it. Typically, individuals simply need a recreation they will end over a couple of days. Not each recreation must be a 75-hour action-RPG to supply a deep expertise.

Living proof: Astro Bot. Group Asobi’s platformer won’t be an open-world recreation with numerous capacity bushes and whatnot, however even with out these, it is nonetheless one heck of a great time. The sport’s director, Nicolas Doucet, believes on this and that not each recreation must be the following huge factor.

Associated

10 Wonderful Small Open World Video games

We aren’t simply saying this to guard their emotions. On this case, measurement does not matter!

“It is Okay To Make A Small Sport,” Claims Astro Bot’s Director

Talking at GDC 2025 (through Sport Developer), Nicolas Doucet performed a “The Making Astro Bot” speak, which was filled with attendees. In it, Doucet stated “it is okay to make a small recreation. ” He additionally offered individuals with {a photograph} of Group Asobi’s onboarding handbook, which states, “We goal for high quality, not amount.”

Doucet notes that considering small means gaining extra management over your work and the method behind it. It additionally implies that with the shorter/smaller recreation, the probabilities of gamers truly ending it are increased.

“The prospect of a recreation you possibly can truly full is a extremely, actually optimistic argument [for small games],” Doucet explains. “That meant being okay with the sport being 12 hours, but when it had been eight hours—and the eight hours had been implausible—we might have settled for that to achieve constant high quality.”

In comparison with most big-budget AAA titles, Astro Bot was developed in simply three and a half years, six months greater than the workforce initially deliberate. They did not go over-budget, as Group Asobi maintained it by selecting to regulate the pitch of the studio’s ramp-up curve to accommodate fewer builders over an extended time period.

Astro Bot Spyro Reignited Trilogy Crash Bandicoot 4 A Hat in Time New Super Lucky's Tale

Associated

10 Greatest Video games Like Astro Bot

Video games like Crash Bandicoot 4 and New Tremendous Fortunate’s Story will fill the Astro Bot-shaped gap in your coronary heart.

No matter Group Asobi did, labored. Not solely did the platformer win the distinguished Sport of the Yr award eventually yr’s The Sport Awards, however it even satisfied Sony’s president that they need to launch extra family-friendly video games prefer it.

Even when Astro Bot’s graphics appear simplistic in comparison with God of Warfare, the Horizon franchise, and different AAA first-party titles, one in all Group Asobi’s builders stated the sport was pushing the PS5’s processing energy “to its restrict.”

With right now’s burgeoning recreation improvement prices and the truth that many “previous” individuals who play video games have tasks and may’t commit two weeks of their lives (or extra) to only one recreation, I would say convey on the small video games! Hopefully, many recreation studios will take discover of Astro Bot’s success and use that as motivation that not each recreation must be an open-world action-RPG blockbuster.