I don't think it's exclusively revolving around HL3, although obviously that's the key title. Valve have given some mixed messaging in regards to where they see their development going, and the longer we go without hearing anything about new titles, the more the doubt will grow I think. That's not disregarding their multiplayer software, but there's no doubt that despite some crossover, the core audience of Half-Life or Portal is different than the core audiences for CS/TF/DotA.
I think really it's the sense of unknowing that causes the more vocal complaints. The absurd allusions to HL3 despite their decision not to formally acknowledge it at all. The hints at Source 2, but to what end? Is it positioning to revolutionize the FPS genre as the previous Half-Life entries did? Or is it just going to improve scalability in Dota 2 and renderer in TF2?
I understand the rational behind the secrecy, but I think it's backfired. You can't talk about HL3 via a Ricochet sequel euphemism, then also believe no one can be frustrated by the anticipation for a game since it's not announced.
Secrecy is something this industry holds strangely dear, I'd I've never understood it. Considering they take so much from the Hollywood model, this is something they've taken the opposite stance on, and I think to its detriment. As soon as a producer is attached to a film script, a project is announced, it gets an IMDB page, everything is public. As soon as they're ready to fix a release date, it's public, and it can be years away. Around the launch of The Orange Box, Valve said a HL3 would take eight to ten years. There's nothing wrong with that. This year, Richard Linklater released Boyhood, after more then twelve years in the making, and people swooned all over it. Terry Malick's Tree of Life was in various stages of development for thirty years, and it's a masterpiece. There's nothing wrong with spending a decade on HL3, and more importantly, there's nothing wrong with letting people know that, even if you don't have anything to show when you tell them.
It's the unknowing that creates this doubt and negativity. If Valve just said "We're working on L4D3 and HL3 on Source 2, we'll show them if and when we're ready", obviously you'd still see a bunch of 'showmetherecipts.gif' posts, but at least they wouldn't be actively causing the frustration surrounding the mystery. And more importantly, if they're not, announce it. You have half the fanbase pointing to vague AMA statements and years old podcasts as proof, you have the other half pointing at vague quotes about the death of single player and where staff are most valuable versus potential player hours.
No one really knows what they're doing, and I don't understand how that benefits Valve or their fans.
