"Policenauts" was developed by Konami and directed by Hideo Kojima. Kojima began to explore concepts for "Policenauts" during the development of "Snatcher" (1988) when memory limitation issues prompted them to take a break. He wanted the game to remain in the adventure genre, feeling it was the best method to express what he wanted with video games. He was also growing frustrated with game development and wanted more creative control. After the release of "" (1990), he developed a scripting engine so he could maintain control over when animations and music played instead of the programmers. Development on "Policenauts" began in earnest in 1990 and lasted four years.