The game was created by Ron Gilbert, building on an idea that he has had for nearly twenty years about a cave that lures people into it to explore their darker personality traits. The game borrows concepts from his earlier 1987 game, Maniac Mansion, in which the player initially selects three different characters from a cast of seven to explore the Cave. Many of the game's puzzles require the three characters to work in coordination to complete, while some puzzles are specific to the unique abilities of a character; in this manner the Cave can only be fully explored through multiple play-throughs.