didn't read much of that thread but i can relate somewhat to the original post
2007 valve felt like magic, not only bringing the steam revolution but making so many design advancements with games like l4d and tf2 and portal. the orange box was just mindblowingly good and the stuff with animation and character design as related to general gameplay design really feel like they shaped their areas even today. things like using gradients to highlight the important parts of a model and the obsession with silhuettes and recognizable shapes and colors is so smart.
i guess it has a lot to do with doto and cs go just not being games i can appreciate but that leaves the store part and again it's been so long since the store felt exciting for me
i like this curator thingie and i have my
30 something followers and i was so pleasantly surprised when the streaming thing worked the other day, so there's some good, but you know, sales don't feel as exciting and i miss the crazy achievements and args and shit
but yeah i dunno about "being held hostage" lol