New Interview with Nicolat Doucet: “Astro Bot is 12-15 hours, overhauled game engine, dualsense 2.0 team and more”

Remember_Spinal

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23 Jun 2022
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Interview with Nicolat Doucet about astro bot:

- Since the "creation" of Asobi they went from 25-30 to 65 devs. He said it's a small team compared to other studios with big games but it's the perfect size for them since they still can keep Team Asobi DNA. He added that if they grow even more he wonders if they can keep that DNA, but that for him now it's the perfect size and they have a really good dynamic

- They completely overhauled the engine for Astro Bot (the game will be prettier, have more physics, etc. compared to Playroom)

- Main game is 12h-15h, they never said to themselves that the game needs to be 20-30h. They wanted a game where the tempo is constant for the whole game, where each level has the same quality rather than just stretching out the game

- They would rather reduce the length of the game than give an impression of repetition

- For the open world, they didn't make a prototype, it was just a brainstorm amongst themselves

- He got asked about a PlayStation themed planet, but he didn't want to answer to avoid overhyping things and to keep some suspense

- They have a team named DualSense 2.0 (3-4 people) to create new ideas on how to use dualsense

- There are some walls that Astro can touch with his hand, that are smooth at first then become a little rough and then smooth again, with haptic feedback indicating that there is a secret passage behind the rough section
- Why there is no VR compatibility: Astro Bot is not a game that can be made hybrid, because as a VR game it will be mediocre. To make a good VR game, it should be like Rescue Mission where everything must be thought of for VR
- He was asked if Playstation releases more hardware in the future, will they be added to Astro Bot like the new update Playroom got. He said if new hardware is released, they will be added to Playroom

 

Danja

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Sounds perfect! I find myself wanting more concise compact games so this length is perfect for me. Hope this game is a huge commerical hit for them.

And thank God no VR anything 🫡
 
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peter42O

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Love it when developers say what the average play length will be as I always double it so 12-15 hours is more like 24-30 hours which sounds great to me!!
 
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2spooky5me

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When I found out Nicolas Doucet was being promoted to President of Team Asobi back in the day, I knew he was the right choice.
He has been with Playstation was quite some time, too. Definitely an underrated/not as well known asset to Playstation.

Edit: Just another reminder, there is an Astro Bot Plushie + Game bundle from VideoGamesPlus Canada (they ship internationally).
That's the one I'll buy + the digital edition upgrade via PSN.
 
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Shadow2027

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hyped for this one. Sure it will be amazing like playroom. God i hope it does incredibly well. 12-15 he is a sweet spot and we need less games with so much bloat to them
 

Yurinka

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The length sounds perfect to me, like almost everything they say about this game and team.
 

Infinity

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hyped for this one. Sure it will be amazing like playroom. God i hope it does incredibly well. 12-15 he is a sweet spot and we need less games with so much bloat to them
It's only bloat if the content sucks. I love long games
 

Airbus

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Game of The Year 2024

Ps5 Astro Bot GIF by PlayStation
 
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