Astro Bot Director Advocates For Making Small Games, Arguing Quality Over Quantity

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As a gamer, I’d put it like this: “At the heart of our team, Asobi Studio, we prioritize quality over sheer numbers when it comes to creating games. Our studio director, Nicolas Doucet, recently emphasized this point at the Game Developers Conference, stating confidently, ‘It’s perfectly fine to craft a compact game.’

According to GameDeveloper, Doucet revealed that the strategy they used significantly contributed to Team Asobi’s success with Astro Bot, one of TopMob’s 10 best games in 2024. Furthermore, this 3D platformer has garnered numerous nominations and accolades at GDC and the DICE Awards. Doucet stated, “The appeal of a game that can be fully completed is an extremely strong selling point for smaller games. This meant being content with the game lasting 12 hours, but if it had been only eight hours and those eight hours were exceptional, we would have been satisfied to maintain consistent quality.

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By adhering to a “simplicity is strength” philosophy, Team Asobi managed to prevent Astro Bot from becoming excessively complex in various aspects. For example, it’s said that the game’s storyline consists of less than 5,000 words and its cinematics don’t exceed around 12-and-a-half minutes. This implies that players have control over the game for about 98% of the time in Astro Bot.

Creating less complex games might also be beneficial for developers in terms of managing their expenses. For instance, Naughty Dog’s co-founder Andy Gavin revealed earlier this year that modern big-budget games can easily cost between $300 million and $500 million. This high cost has caused industry veterans like former PlayStation head Shawn Layden to question the long-term viability of AAA game development.

Just last month, I was thrilled to learn that my beloved game, Astro Bot, received PS5 Pro support! Over the past few weeks, five fresh levels have been unveiled, one every week, culminating in the release of Armored Hardcore on March 13. If you’d like to know more about this fantastic update, I highly recommend checking out TopMob’s Astro Bot review.

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2025-03-24 23:39