The team spent much of the design phase talking to humanitarian aid workers with experience in Darfur and brainstorming how to make a game that was both interesting to play and was an advocacy tool. Ruiz has stated that the game design was influenced by that of Food Force, a 2005 game published by the United Nations World Food Programme. The Ruiz team's beta version was put up for review by the public, along with the other finalists, and was chosen as the winner.