Originally Posted by Niara
Originally Posted by Firesnakearies
Party lock is a terrible idea.

Replay value comes form having a story that people WANT to experience over and over again... it does NOT come from arbitrarily cutting bits out of that story so that players are FORCED to replay it to see all the parts. This is not the same as having meaningful, story-changing decisions... those can be great, if done well. This kind of thing is just an arbitrary arc-lock, and it's a bad idea.

That's not necessarily the case. Games are always offering us alternative ways of doing things. Making different choices leading to different events and dialogue is a staple of RPGs. Mutually exclusive options add excitement for replays. Choosing Mages or Templars in Dragon Age Origin or which path you take to Moonrise Towers in Baldur's Gate. Each will lead to a different quest area. I have very little interest in replaying a game if the entire experience is going to be identical each time.