"Arcanum" was the first game from Troika Games. The initial design of the game was conceived by Cain, Anderson and Boyarsky after leaving Interplay. While reflecting on what game to make next, they decided that they wanted their turn at making an RPG set in a fantasy setting. The post-apocalyptic setting of "Fallout" had been a conscious design-choice to distance themselves from fantasy-titles like the Might and Magic series and other games based on Dungeons and Dragons. However, they did not want to make a ‘typical’ fantasy game set in the 14th century, often the case for games in the genre. "Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura" was thus set in the 18th century, imaging what would happen in a world where magic co-existed with the industrial revolution. Indeed, the desire to mix magic and technology was a given from the start. They drafted ideas for how each race in the world would be affected by technology, with Boyarsky stating that "the orcs would be used as the slaves of all the capitalist machinery". Cain remembers that ideas came swiftly, and they were happy with the outline of the game. Cain, Anderson and Boyarsky worked on the initial design of "Arcanum" by themselves for five months until they landed a contract by with Sierra Entertainment, which let them expand the team to 12 people.