Doki Doki Literature Club! was developed by American programmer Dan Salvato over the course of approximately two years, and is his debut title in the video game industry.[13] Prior to its release, Salvato was known for creating the FrankerFaceZ extension for Twitch,[13] his modding work in the Super Smash Bros scene,[14] and for his custom Super Mario Maker levels.[15][16] Salvato was inspired to create a visual novel by his "love-hate relationship" with anime, and emphasized the abundant use of clichés in the genre and the frequent plots centering around "cute girls doing cute things", which he saw as both an asset and a detriment to the viewer's enjoyment.