Astro Bot Rescue Mission Dev Breaks Down Its Level Design

Set to release on October 2, 2018, Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a PlayStation VR-exclusive platformer developed by Japan Studio. Creative director Nicolas Doucet, Art Director Sebastian Brueckner, and Lead Designer Gento Morita sat down to explain what makes the game special and how each one worked transfer the core appeal of platformers to the VR space.

Here’s the Astro Bot Rescue Mission “Evolving Gameplay” trailer.

Like any other game of its genre, being able to accurately judge the distance between platforms is key. Because Astro Bot Rescue Mission is in 3D with a 360 degree perspective, the player is free to move the camera. They (essentially) are the camera.

With VR still being so young, Gento Morita acknowledged the challenges the team faced, as he said, “You can’t use the knowledge of classic game[s] so we have to find [VR’s own] origin in the level design.” In Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Morita revealed that “the player [actually] goes in a straight line.” It’s the camera angles and level design that creates the feeling of peaks, valleys, and turns. The result is a smooth VR experience that still feels dynamic throughout all 26 levels, boss fights, and challenge stages.

Nicolas Ducet spoke to the core goal of Astro Bot Rescue Mission when he said, “The player can just forget about the technology and focus on the magic.” This is what all VR games aim to accomplish—for the technology to become a means to experience something so wonderful that the headset and controls are the last thing on your mind.

We’ll find out if Japan Studio succeeded when the game launches October 2, 2018 on PlayStation VR.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]