The development of Astro Bot’s wonderful figure style

It was obvious that Astro Bot was going to win hearts all over the cosmos from the moment he emerged from our transformed DualShock DualShock 4 mobile devices in Playroom VR. This wonderful character is now incredibly ready to take the lead with his infamous PS5 adventure – Astro Bot. Eight years later, this amazing character is really ready to step into the spotlight. So we caught up with Team Asobi’s workshop director Nicolas Doucet to learn about the story behind this recognizable PlayStation mascot-in-the-making and how it came to be. Presenting roll 1 of 5
The Playhouse
Team Asobi created a demo tentatively titled Little AR ( Augmented Reality ) Men out of a desire to experiment with the DualShock 4 controller connection with the PS4 camera. Initial introductions to the main figures were little computers that could be interacting with on the floor of your home.
” That was really the beginning place”, says Doucet. ” At the time we did n’t have any art, so we made prototypes out of primitive shapes. The figures were merely cylinder-like computers with small eye. They finally received the name” Mr Bots.”
We collaborated with artists to provide these characters to life, but we only had five months to put the video into The Playroom. So we gave them a Sony automation fashion to create them sci-fi looking in such a short amount of time. But it was also crucial that they were endearing, so we gave them large, sweet eyes and made them squat like toddlers, causing them to “become kind of baby robots.”
The VR version of The Playhouse
As the Mr algorithms evolved into The Playroom VR and became the Playroom VR platformer design, Astro Bot developed the need for a more in-depth control of the game.
” We privately called him Captain Astro, “explains Doucet”. We made him able to linger and use his hands to get objects by adding a PlayStation violet livery and more parts to make him stand out from the crowd.
Astro Bot Rescue Mission
He even needed to feel real for VR. We perceived him as if he were a real-life robotics solution; it’s a character you can tear apart and know how his joints connect.
It was n’t until 2018’s solo PS VR platformer, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, that Astro officially claimed his name – and with it came with the help of animation and art talent from other development teams, including Gravity Rush and The Last Guardian.
Making certain Astro was ready for his entire single adventure in Astro Bot Rescue Mission required changes to his style, both visually and gameplay-wise. Astro now has a lower center of gravity and a small frame, which is a classic platformer design feature, but also benefits from a number of tiny details, some of which are made even more distinctive in Astro Bot:
EyesAstro’s blue Lead eyes are essential to his visual expressions, changing shape to express a variety of emotions– but they’re even important to the VIP Bots in the game. More on that point, after …
Jetpack” In the classic style whenever Astro hovered, two little arms came out of his back for him to glide”, says Doucet. ” You do n’t really notice them, but we wanted to create a rationale behind the function”.
Chrome domeAstroBot’s sun shines in more ways than one, with the tray on his nose delicately highlighting PS5’s amazing power. All of the game’s settings, including oceans and jungles, are now perfectly reflected on Astro’s gold head plating while he travels.
Robo voiceWe does think Astro’s sweet, high-pitched speech was a natural selection, but lots of believe went into what he can say, to the point that he’s secretly a bit of a linguist. ” Astro fundamentally does not speak but his looks do mixture English and Japanese, but also common words and onomatopoeia, masked into mechanical sound”, says Doucet. ” He’s being played by children all over the world, so we also had to think about melody, sound and syllables that work for as many cultures as possible”.
Items like Astro’s reflective nose plate, which has just been unlocked for PS5, symbolize his evolution over the years. With a suitable 4K TV or screen, Astro and his companions have become more detailed and fidelity-oriented across the board, which makes their presence felt even more so in the game’s flora and fauna.
” There’s a lot of wildlife – about 70 new species in this game”, says Doucet. ” From amphibians and small insects, to polar bears and animals, and they all follow the pattern language of the machines with LED eye. The same characteristics can be found in power-ups like Barkster the bulldog booster. So we’ve developed a trademark around the concept of “blue LEDs for friends” and “red LEDs for enemies.”
The in-game VIP and Cameo Bots, which are essentially the popular PlayStation-related characters, were so popular that players were enthralled by their reveal. The franchise is n’t a stranger to cameos, but Astro Bot takes it even further, with a staggering amount of consideration given to integrating its robotic tributes to Kratos, Aloy, Nathan Drake, and many others.
We occasionally thought we might be going against the character’s original intent because they had to be a cool sci-fi design but also have things like fabrics or furry boots, explains Doucet. ” So we substituted more organic materials, like hair, with materials such as vinyl.
” But with all of these characters, the eyes are paramount. LED eyes occasionally just did n’t work on certain characters because the original design relies so much on the pupils being a certain size or color, for instance. The Bots are wearing a mask to bridge that gap for more cartoony VIPs like Crash Bandicoot and Ape Escape, so watch out for the masks!
Excited for Astro’s first PS5 adventure? You’ve not got long to wait – space, speeders, and surprises will be yours to enjoy as Astro Bot gears up for its September 6 launch.