[giantg2]

"That doesn’t fit. You don’t discover you’re terminally ill and then brainstorm a game while you're out trying to find yourself. If you think you're terminally ill then your notebook is likely to be full of meditations on the day's endeavors and thoughts about your legacy, and your mortality, maybe even your family."

That might work for some people, but everyone is different. It's possible he doesn't have a family, which is supported by there not being a missing persons report. If I didn't have a family, I probably wouldn't care about legacy, or musing on philosophical topics. I even told my wife that when o die she should donate my body to science, have them pay for the cremation, then spread my ashes in the garden.

The epilepsy example is quite solid. That would be something that may present in different ways without being apparent in an autopsy. It'd be a little odd that the woman he hiked with for a couple months didn't notice it if it was getting worse.

[mx60s]

I don't think he's sick tbh. He looks like a lot of guys that I know within CS -- interested in video games and smaller, more technical subjects, very skinny because he forgets to eat, the beard/long hair because he doesn't care to shave, and these big solitary adventures. I know like 10 young men who all fit this profile.

[giantg2]

Skinny is one thing, emaciated is something else. I'm not sure what explains how he became emaciated or the unknown cause of death, but being sick could be one explanation.