"Mirror's Edge" was developed by the Swedish company DICE as part of an effort to create something fresh and interesting, anticipating a need to diversify away from the successful "Battlefield" franchise the studio was known for. The game was conceived in July 2006, when the studio decided to create a first-person game that would not be like a traditional first-person shooter, a genre that was considered very crowded at the time. Because first-person shooters typically focus on weapons and technology, the studio wanted "Mirror's Edge" to focus on the player character and their physicality. The opening chase scene of "Casino Royale" and the way Jason Bourne fights and runs in the "Bourne" film series were major inspirations for the game. Originally, the development team experimented with the player being able to drive vehicles, but the idea was ultimately dropped because they felt it would break the flow of the game. The game's protagonist emerged from a sketch illustrating an athletic female hacker, who art director Johannes Söderqvist felt suited the game very well. He explained that he was interested in a strong female character that would appeal to both women and men, and who became a hero not because of high-tech weapons, but because of her physical abilities.