To me I don't really give a crap as to what comes next. I know for some "fans" it'll be the waiting that makes it fun when it comes out. Maybe I lack patience, but this sucks, I hated the years of waiting and radio silence before Alyx and I hate now almost 6 years after. I'll know I'm truly an unc when people are suddenly clamoring to return to the days of waiting for HL3, and all the while I'll only be able to think how naïve of an opinion that truly is. The worst part was never that HL was "dead" it's that there was always some rumor about it coming back, and for people like me that was the trap that kept us.
I don't care about whether the gameplay is the best thing ever, it could be base HL2 tier and it'd be lightyears ahead of anything else released in the last like 5 years. I don't care if it's Mike Morasky or Kelly Bailey. I don't even care if the story was released on a TXT file and they called it a day.
I just want my ending, good or bad, so I can move on with my life and stop being a captive to this constant tide.
Im just done of over two decades of constant mean spirited teases, some so on the nose that all that they lacked was a release date. And yes, they are mean spirited because I refuse to believe Valve is just that dettached from any form of humanity and from the gamer experience that they "dont know" what they do, no, they absolutely do and they get a sick kick out of it.
They could, at any point, told us last year before the awards "uh no, guys, sorry, its not happening, we promise its not, no need to get false hype". At least I would have appreciated their honesty but no, they let us do this cycle of excitement fuckery, false hope and devastating disappointment for TWO DECADES. Gabe may play innocent but he could, himself, spell it out that the teases are false but no, he kept silent. So what other conclusion can I take besides that they get sick enjoyment out of our constant disappointment ?
Is that how we are rewarded for all the love and financial investment ? We love Valve because they, especially today, feel the closest thing to a gaming company that still keeps its humble roots, that still "listens" to us down here instead of cargo cultist executives that have all but forgot what is like to be human.
I know I may be sounding a bit dramatic but Im sure Im simply vertalizing what most of us are feeling. And I cant help but feel like a fucking hypocrite here, you know? I mock fans of A Song of Fire and Ice for their constant worship towards the fat guy creator of the franchise that will never be properly finished and I still will but after seeing the situation we are all in with Gabe and Half Life...fuck, am I really allowed to judge that much? Gabe may be more lovable than George in comparison, sure, but he still is in a similar situation and so are we.
So yeah, what else is there to say? Well, a lot but I think I made the point clear enough already.
