can't play, just says "Connecting to Steam..."

[alltom]

I was just gifted this game on Steam. When I launch it, the game shows a splash screen asking for e-mail and password, with only a login button (no 'register' or anything), and in the lower left it says "Connecting to Steam..." It doesn't seem to ever connect to Steam, and I don't know how to sign up. What do I do?

[dislekcia]

Still having this problem? We've been adding ways around this for a while now...

Has your friend been emailing me?

[alltom]

My friend's been e-mailing you. My understanding is that my Steam ID is somehow associated with somebody else's account (based on the e-mail address you guys have), though I'm not sure why that prevents the game from launching.

I tried again today and actually got a popup saying I could create an account, but that, of course, failed because the Steam ID is associated with somebody else's account.