No creatives have any artistic obligation to anyone other than themselves.
I don't completely agree with this. Artists have an obligation to the audience, to satisfy there audience and to justify whatever the audience paid on entry which all ties into the higher obligation of the creatives to create something that is good. Now, a painter, indie film maker or poet perhaps only need to impress a friend, a small room of critics, a loved one or, as you rightly said, maybe even just themselves (that's always my goal for the things I make), because that is the audience. However, the audience for a Half-Life game is much larger and so Valve has a much larger obligation.
I don't give Valve a pass on the Half Life games. As a fan, it is infuriating to see them not even address it. People forget that back when they were marketing Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two, they were selling it as a trilogy of episodes. They promised a third game and they have failed to deliver. I would like to use the argument that you wouldn't buy a book that was only two thirds finished or a movie that finished on an unsatisfying cliffhanger and then a sequel was never made, however I recognize that video games are more than just story, and much enjoyment was still gained from Episode One and Two without the third part being delivered, but then I just think that makes the sting hurt even more. We got a good thing, we were told we were going to get more of a good thing and that promise has not been delivered upon.
I think as fans, as an audience, we can ask for this particular thing without feeling like we are demanding. It's not like it's only been a few weeks or months. It hasn't even been a couple of years. It's been nearly 7 years and all we have to show for it are some bits of concept art and now an impossible level of expectation. For me personally, I don't even want the game, I just want some acknowledgement on Valves part that someone in the Valve office is working on this game, instead of all this "we aren't talking about that right now". I think that might be a problem with the video games industry in general, whether it be from PR heavy marketing campaigns that hold back info on a game just so they can justify another trailer 1 month away from launch or just the general "we aren't talking about that right now we might make a promise and break it". I get that developers don't want to disappoint there audiences with promises of glory but Valve just seem to have shot themselves in the foot by keeping quiet for so long, because now, as a Half-Life fan, I feel disappointed.
So to answer the original question: I think Valve get a pass because they seem to be a good company, providing one of the better services to buy games and have provided more than enough games in the past for people to enjoy. Should they get a pass? No. Finish your damn game, Valve. And for gods sake don't put it up as early access.
Video Games: Because we aren't talking about that yet.
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