The character of Greendog was created by surfer and former construction worker turned toy designer Ric Green, who designed him as a self-caricature and was named after his nickname in junior high school. The character had previously been featured in a 1988 board game called "Surf Trip", which Green funded by making sponsorship deals with nine surf-wear companies who paid at least $100,000 each to put their logos in the game. The board game's success led to Greendog's own line of merchandising; Green later pitched the character to Sega of America, who conducted focus group tests and determined that Greendog would make for a good video game character, leading to the release of Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude! A wider line of merchandise, including a supposed animated film or cartoon series on ABC, was also planned, but seemingly never came to fruition.