We were talking about ways of using the medium to feel things that you wouldn't usually feel in a video game, like being grossed out and awkward and embarrassed. It's a really teenage experience. The first kiss, and it goes for too long, and it's just foul.
It's now an online sci-fi extraction shooter in which players beam down to the planet Tau Ceti IV to scavenge for loot, carry out missions and potentially blast each other in the process. Its closest rival is Arc Raiders, which makes a similar use of stylised retro-futurism.
After releasing A Short Hike and working on the subsequent updates and ports...I didn't really want to go back to this game? The development for the RPG had become difficult, which was why I took a break from it in the first place. I might return to this project someday, but I've been working on other things and don't see myself making time for this RPG in near future.