GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Rapid and Creative Gameplay Prototyping in 'ASTRO BOT'
Masayuki Yamada (Principal Gameplay Programming Lead, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Location: Room 2005, West Hall
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Design, Programming
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
Team ASOBI released ASTRO BOT in September 2024, which became a highly acclaimed 3D platformer. In this session, the team's lead gameplay programmer introduces prototyping techniques used during the development of ASTRO BOT. The game features a wide variety of power-ups, gimmicks, enemies, and interactions, each enhanced by unique animations, effects, sounds, and haptics that elevate the interactive experiences. Given the large number of unique elements and the constraints of time and resources, a strong emphasis is placed on prototyping to manage these challenges effectively. The speaker explains the specific methods and processes used to create these prototypes, and how collaboration with game designers and artists helped refine them into production-quality features, showcasing actual examples from the development process.
Takeaway
Viewers will leave with an understanding of the detailed prototyping approaches used in ASTRO BOT and how various development methods and tools have supported these processes.
Intended Audience
This talk is targeted at developers, such as gameplay programmers and game designers, who are interested in exploring a wide range of unique interactions, particularly from the perspectives of programming, level design, and rapid prototyping.