Astro Bot director teases ‘playful’ future following BAFTA win

Astro Bot has continued its winning streak, with Team Asobi collecting five wins at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards.

The PlayStation platformer went home with the trophies for Animation, Audio Achievement, Family, Game Design, and the top honour of Best Game.

I can’t say I’m at all surprised.

Last year, I had the opportunity to review Astro Bot, awarding the game with a well-deserved perfect score of 10 out of 10.

I had the opportunity to catch up with several members of the team backstage at the BAFTAs immediately following their ‘Best Game’ win.

Astro Bot is an unmissable game.

In fact, director Nicolas Doucet even asked if I’d hold his BAFTA while he passed the microphone around the group; let me tell you, they really do weigh a ton but I, of course, gladly obliged.

Unexpected arm workout aside, I was keen to ask how the team would go about reflecting on what has been a monumentally successful few months.

“We put this game together to really delight families, and I think there was an effort to also reconnect with the family audience and just really show everything you could do with the [PS5] controller and with the PlayStation,” Nicolas told me.

“We just went about things very naturally and organically, and that's how the fun comes to light. In the end, we never know where we're going to land. We never think we're going to win so many awards and things like that. It's not part of the plan, right?”

“Already, this evening, I've had so many people say how much they enjoyed the game, particularly playing it with their kids,” added composer Kenneth C M Young, who I recently had the chance to speak to in-depth with regards to the game’s soundtrack.

He continued, “The awards are, I guess, kind of an extension of that; that love that people have got for [the game], and it's just really nice to be part of that.”

“The generation bridge you're talking about Kenny, it's really important,” Nicolas continued. “It's amazing to be making a game that you know parents and kids can share, but actually they have distinct memories inside. Some players will have memories from the PlayStation 1 or PlayStation 2 days, and then they pass that to their own kids. I think that's really, really powerful stuff.”

Fair to say, Astro Bot has been brilliantly supported post-launch with Team Asobi bringing us both time trial and regular additional levels.

I enquired as to whether that was always the plan or something instead inspired by the incredible player response.

“We were driven a little bit by the player in the previous game [Astro’s Playroom],” Nicolas began. “That gave us the confidence to make something bigger, but then when it comes to the rest, we just try lots and lots of ideas, and these ideas come from the entire team. And then once we have a certain amount, then we kind of shape it into the game.”

“We don't really have a definite size,” he added. “We're not really driven by quantity or scope. We're driven more by the minute to minute fun of playing the game, right?”

As for whether the team is feeling any extra pressure now that Astro is being more fully adopted by PlayStation as the brand’s icon, Nicolas replied, “It’s something we take seriously, but it's a privilege more than anything. And, you know, I think he will only become that icon after a period of time as we make many, many quality games, then I think at that point he can cement that way, but it's not like we really planned it.”

Is that many, many Astro games I hear?

“But it's true that being in Japan, it's easier for us to identify, for example, with the console and the controller because we work very closely with those teams. I think you can feel that in the game.”

And don’t worry, my friends. There’s plenty of fun to come in Astro’s future.

“The future of Team Asobi is more playful games,” Nicolas replied.

“It’s in the name. Asobi is to play in Japanese, so we picked that name so that we never forget that the gameplay should be at the centre, the heart of everything we make, so that will continue carrying us through the years to come.”

Congratulations again to the entirety of the Astro Bot team.