Playing with others in Demon's Soul (I like it if it's only 2 people instead of 3) is really great =D Sometimes I die on purpose just to play MP.

Black Phantoms are great.

Bad Company 1's SP was absolute crap, even with their attempt to put in a decent story.

I'm not sure about Bad Company 2's, but when I get the game, the first thing I'm gonna pop in is the MP, and then maybe play the SP a bit in between as breaks.

TBH though, since the first game's was such crap, I'm actually anxious to see how much they improved for the second one XD

It'll be a huge thing for Total War if they have a campaign MP (I heard something about it for Empire. Too bad my PC sucks).

You just know the kids from the OP will be those racist, homophobic type kids you hear in online MP games. It's why I avoid them like the plague.

Everybody has a 'if this happens I'll stop gaming' thing, mine is if MP takes over.

this isnt anything new.

Alot of pc gmaes I use to play in the 90s like tribes and unreal tournament where all about MP.

Uhm many people bought the Steam version of Garry's Mod and 75% or more of the team behind Desert Combat was hired by DICE. They helped creating Battlefield 2 and were eventually hired by THQ and now make games under the name Kaos Studios.

The other two mods aren't even half a year old...

@bolded part:

That's the problem. For MP games you only need programming skills. The creativity factor almost equals zero which definitely doesn't apply to books.

For books and SP games you need both.

If I were you and if you like STALKER

I would look at this ... http://www.moddb.com/mods/lost-alpha

Its expected from a FPS game hence why MAG is a FPS dedicated for MP. Other genre is usually about the SP.

aw man the only mp I like is TF2 (I play medic and heavy mostly) counter-strike (LAN) and warcraft 3 custom maps. I just suck at games to much to have much fun in MP. and MMORPGs are just watered down RPGs + a load of d***s. Single player has always been ware I spend most of my time at least then I can do it at my own pace and don't have to worry to much about letting the team down or having no fun because I get owned every 5 seconds by some ass that is playing in noob games for kicks. But thats just sucky don't have that much time to spend on getting good.

Okay. I haven't really followed mods since Source, so I'll concede that point.

As for the MP games only requiring programming skills, I still don't agree. All the best selling multiplayer games weren't done by simple programmers - mods like Counter-Strike are an exception, and it takes creativity for the execution. Things like map creation or new gameplay concepts have nothing to do with programming.

The best example is probably Blizzard. All their games are designed around multiplayer, yet they always put a ton of effort into music, presentation, art, sound, etc. They're one of the most consistent and respected devs in the industry, they didn't make it through with just "programming skills."

I think the problem is you only believe the art, music, story and such is what requires creativity, whereas things like gameplay mechanics can be done by programming monkeys. However, all of the innovation in the industry comes from the gameplay side, see games like Sim (anything), Civilization, Wii (anything), Zelda, and pretty much any huge arcade hit like Pac Man or Street Fighter. It takes creativity to come up with new and interesting gameplay mechanics that work.

It's essentially what makes games fun - I'd call that an art.

@ OP
well MAG is going to be good to your mates brother friends (i think i got it right... or not)... although i been a gamer for more than 15 years i also like MP but not over SP... i bought counter strike source and team fortress 2, sure, being those only MP games, but my thing will always be SP over MP... yeah i guess this is are different generations of gamers but i believe we will always have our SP games with good stories and compelling characters that makes us finish those games...

They have that creativity in SP modes as well though. You have a lot more to think about when designing and creating a single-player experience because as well as trying to be creative in terms of gameplay mechanics, you also have to think about the story, level design, more complicated AI routines.

Take Half-Life 2 for example, which was made as a predominantly SP game where they introduced the gravity gun (innovation), yet they had to program detailed animations to convey character emotions (Mainly Alyx- not really needed in as much detail in MP, after all, you're just gonna shoot them), AI for the soldiers, AI for the allies, the squad control system and puzzles. If they concentrated on only multiplayer they wouldn't have to think about that stuff.

In MP you have the opportunity to innovate without having to think about the above, or if you do, in less detail. As mentioned before, the main issue is with balance in MP only.