According to executive producer Robbie Daymond, choosing the game's environment was a major factor when approaching the game's concept. When it was decided that the player character would be a shut-in who didn't get out much, they incorporated this into both the plot and the game mechanics, as the player is a person who doesn't leave their home by choice. Early on, the game was planned to have escape room elements where the player is held in their house by an unknown force, but this was dropped in favor of a sandbox approach due to the team believing it wasn't much fun and made the game too linear.