It wasn't exactly overnight, but through the years, Hofmeier faded into the shadows. He was supposedly working on a handful of projects, including a murder-mystery game about humanity's interaction with food called Blood of the Ortolan. Hofmeier said it would come to PC in the weeks following his big win, but it never materialized.

It's been seven years since the release of Cart Life, and six years since Hofmeier became a household name among indie-game fans. In March, he published a game called Type Dreams on indie-distribution hub Itch, his first major release since Cart Life. It's still in development, but the game is rich, witty and played entirely with the keyboard -- players peck out ridiculous, literary and poignant phrases in a frenetic race against history's fastest typers. The keyboard changes with each historical era, meaning players don't always have a backspace key or the luxury of starting a new line with a simple button press. Plus, there's a collection of smut to unlock.

With the in-development, early-access launch of Type Dreams, Hofmeier is stepping a toe out of the indie shadows. The industry has shifted drastically since Cart Life, but his own approach to development hasn't changed.

Hofmeier is still a perfectionist.

Missoula is burning

I interviewed Hofmeier backstage at the IGF Awards in 2013, minutes after he collected his final trophy. He was smiling yet subdued as PR handlers herded him toward the waiting journalists, simultaneously itching to sit somewhere and wanting to bolt out of the small, black-curtained space. He wore suspenders and a gun harness over his shoulders; he removed both before taking the seat in front of me.

We talked. Hofmeier didn't seem to know what to say, or how to act, but his mouth did the work for him. He was nearly crippled with humility, talking about how great the other nominees were and how out of place he felt in the winner's circle.

"I want it to die, frankly," Hofmeier said backstage. He was talking about Cart Life, his own, award-winning game. "I can't wait for it to die. People keep resuscitating it."

The Hofmeier of today -- 36 years old -- would tell his younger self to take a breath.

"That night was pretty great," he told me over the phone. "I think I was a little distraught when we spoke. It was a -- I don't know. I had a lot of suspicion about that, because it all seemed a little too good to be true, I suppose. I kind of regret, I wish I would have enjoyed it more. But I lightened up afterwards, after the shock dissipated."

When we talked last week, Hofmeier was taking a break from packing up his house in Missoula, Montana, his home town. He was in the process of being evicted; his former roommate had bailed around April Fool's Day and Hofmeier was having trouble keeping up with rent. Type Dreams is on Itch right now only because Hofmeier needed some cash.

"Instead of getting a job at a gas station, or something like that, working as a line cook, I thought well, if this is what I want to do, this is the only time that I don't really feel like I'm working or compromising, or stalling, I might as well give it a chance, at least," Hofmeier said.

Bank, Power Co, Landlord pounding my door and I'm slapping that F1 key like Help Help and hollaring, "Hang on, The Man(s)! I gotta finish these quick revisions before e-uploading this leisure software executable!"



🎶As ashes fall like leaves made of smoke#gamedev — Huh (@RichardHofmeier) March 29, 2019

He chose Type Dreams because, out of all of his on-going projects, it was the closest to being done. With the launch of Type Dreams and sales from a hand-crafted deck of cards, Hofmeier now has enough to make up the missed payments, but the legal eviction process had already started.

It's just as well. In the summers, Hofmeier fights wildfires around Missoula, often sleeping in tents near active zones. He's done this, alongside his brother, for the past three seasons; this year, he expects it to start late and go long. He plans on putting his things in storage and spending the summer sleeping on couches, or in a truck, or maybe in an apartment.

"It's good to get dirty, I suppose," he said. "I don't want to talk about it like it's conscience wandering or something. It's not about guilt. The wildfires in my community, in Missoula and Lolo, Montana, where I grew up, they're a serious issue, and it's a nice perspective on politics and budget, and ecology, as well. ... A lot of people here do it, if you're not yourself a firefighter, then you definitely know at least one."

Hofmeier's story as a game developer is odd. It's surprising to hear the creator of a wildly successful indie game has found himself strapped for cash and thrown out of his home just a few years down the line. However, Hofmeier's approach to commercial development is also uncommon.

Cart Life was available to purchase on Steam for a year before Hofmeier unceremoniously removed it and made the entire entire game open source. He published it, for free, on his website in 2014.

"I was in California for the next year's IGF, and I was looking at forum posts and feedback from players, and obviously, it's still got a ton of bugs, and crashes, and little frames and stuff," he said. "And I was thinking, if I'm spending my time on new projects and different games and stuff, it just didn't feel right to continue charging for it."