Barlow's immediate idea was to create a game involving police interviews, but he "didn't know exactly what that meant".[21] He then conceived the idea to involve real video footage, and the ability to access the footage through a database interface; he described the interface as being "part Apple II, part Windows 3.1 and part Windows 98".[21] The interface design was inspired by Barlow's appreciation of the police procedural genre, commenting that "the conceit of making the computer itself a prop in the game was so neat".[2] He also compared the searching mechanic to the Google search engine, and wanted to "run with the idea" that the player is "essentially Googling".[2] The game's concept was inspired by the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999), which Barlow found depicted police interviews being a "gladiatorial arena for detectives".[15] Barlow intentionally made the game's opening screen to be "slightly too long", to immediately notify the player of the slow pacing that would follow.[28]