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* Lampshaded in the [[ShiftingSandsLand Dry Dry Ruins]] in the first VideoGame/PaperMario:
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* Lampshaded in the [[ShiftingSandsLand [[TempleOfDoom Dry Dry Ruins]] in the first VideoGame/PaperMario:
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* Both subverted and played straight in the WarioLand series. Played straight with the Golden Pyramid in the fourth game (complete with portals, music room/karaoke and shop), and Rollanratl in Shake Dimension (despite being a few thousand year old robot guardian of an ancient civilization, it can still hold up the roof, fire missiles and shoot laser beams at intruders an infinite amount of times. Subverted with a certain treasure in Wario: Master of Disguise (named the Vengeful Robot Controller):
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* Both subverted and played straight in the WarioLand ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series. Played straight with the Golden Pyramid in the fourth game (complete with portals, music room/karaoke and shop), and Rollanratl in Shake Dimension ''Shake Dimension'' (despite being a few thousand year old robot guardian of an ancient civilization, it can still hold up the roof, fire missiles and shoot laser beams at intruders an infinite amount of times. Subverted with a certain treasure in Wario: ''Wario: Master of Disguise Disguise'' (named the Vengeful Robot Controller):
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* Lampshaded in Andy [=McDermott's=] ''Hunt for Atlantis,'' where a lead character notes that the deathtraps in an Amazon-concealed temple ''couldn't'' still be working -- until someone else notes that the local Indian tribe has had plenty of time, motivation and ability to reset the devices. Averted in the sequel, ''The Tomb of Hercules'' where at least half the deathtraps representing the Labors of Hercules have already been set off by earlier explorers and are now harmless.
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* Lampshaded in Andy [=McDermott's=] ''Hunt for Atlantis,'' where a lead character notes that the deathtraps in an Amazon-concealed temple ''couldn't'' still be working -- until someone else notes that the local Indian tribe has had plenty of time, motivation and ability to reset the devices. Averted in the sequel, ''The Tomb of Hercules'' Hercules,'' where at least half the deathtraps representing the Labors of Hercules have already been set off by earlier explorers and are now harmless.
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* Lampshaded in Andy McDermott's ''Hunt for Atlantis,'' where a lead character notes that the deathtraps in an Amazon-concealed temple ''couldn't'' still be working -- until someone else notes that the local Indian tribe has had plenty of time, motivation and ability to reset the devices. Averted in the sequel, ''The Tomb of Hercules'' where at least half the deathtraps representing the Labors of Hercules have already been set off by earlier explorers and are now harmless.
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* Lampshaded in Andy McDermott's [=McDermott's=] ''Hunt for Atlantis,'' where a lead character notes that the deathtraps in an Amazon-concealed temple ''couldn't'' still be working -- until someone else notes that the local Indian tribe has had plenty of time, motivation and ability to reset the devices. Averted in the sequel, ''The Tomb of Hercules'' where at least half the deathtraps representing the Labors of Hercules have already been set off by earlier explorers and are now harmless.
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* Lampshaded in Andy McDermott's ''Hunt for Atlantis,'' where a lead character notes that the deathtraps in an Amazon-concealed temple ''couldn't'' still be working -- until someone else notes that the local Indian tribe has had plenty of time, motivation and ability to reset the devices. Averted in the sequel, ''The Tomb of Hercules'' where at least half the deathtraps representing the Labors of Hercules have already been set off by earlier explorers and are now harmless.
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* Lampshaded in the [[ShiftingSandsLand Dry Dry Ruins]] in the first PaperMario:
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* Lampshaded in the [[ShiftingSandsLand Dry Dry Ruins]] in the first PaperMario:VideoGame/PaperMario:
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*** Technically, Elsa made the job much more difficult for future explorers when she triggered the collapse of the temple.
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* Both lampshaded and subverted in an issue of ''{{Catwoman}}''. She notes that the deadly traps still functional after centuries would be normal in a movie, but in real life would need maintenance. She soon discovers the owner of the deathtraps is still alive.
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* Both lampshaded and subverted in an issue of ''{{Catwoman}}''.''Comicbook/{{Catwoman}}''. She notes that the deadly traps still functional after centuries would be normal in a movie, but in real life would need maintenance. She soon discovers the owner of the deathtraps is still alive.
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* Lampshaded in the [[ShiftingSandsLand Dry Dry Ruins]] in the first PaperMario:
---> '''Goombario''': It's amazing that these ruins still have moving parts. Haven't they been buried here for ages and ages? And yet, when we push switches, stuff moves... Amazing craftsmanship. You've gotta applaud the designers.
---> '''Goombario''': It's amazing that these ruins still have moving parts. Haven't they been buried here for ages and ages? And yet, when we push switches, stuff moves... Amazing craftsmanship. You've gotta applaud the designers.
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* The {{Uncharted}} series plays with this - while the adventuring segments rarely actively try to kill the player, any slippery handhold or misjudged jump can spell a quick, flat death. The puzzles often involve navigating rooms with huge clockwork systems and complex hydraulics which are always visibly decayed but, as a rule, will never be quite so decayed that Drake can't get past them. There are countless occasions where the loss of one more tiny architectural detail would render the game unwinnable, and just as many occasions where that same brick or pole will fall off the wall as soon as Drake is done with it - meaning if anyone had tried before him, or if it had rained particularly hard the day before, Drake would have had to turn around and go home.
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** Justified, because the traps are definitely magical in nature.
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* {{Diablo}} doesn't have many traps of the classic variety, but a common baffling feature of dungeons is skeletons inside barrels. Who put the skeleton in there? Why hasn't the skeleton broken out? If the skeleton put himself in there so he could ambush you, why does he always wait to show himself until you've broken open the barrel and the skeleton is directly in the path of your weapon?
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* ''RelicHunter'' was basically ''TombRaider'' except with the protagonist split into a sexy heroine and a British sidekick that together recovered artifacts from various [[{{RuinsForRuinsSake}} ruins]]. Said ruins were of course chock-full of these.
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* ''[=~Assassin's Creed~=]'' plays it straight with the Assassin Tombs and Templar Lairs in the second game and ''Brotherhood''. The Auditore Family Crypt from ''AC2'', which is around two hundred years old and yet still has an elaborate network of lever-activated, timed gateways; some of the Assassin Tombs are even older and have even more elaborate technology. ''Brotherhood'' subverts the trope a bit with the introductory segment where the modern protagonists go through the Auditore Crypt, and in the intervening 500 years the mechanisms have all decayed (though functional pulley-operated bridges still exist).
** The Assassin Tombs may at least be somewhat justified, depending on [[spoiler:whether or not the Assassins used reverse-engineered [[{{Precursors}} Those Who Came Before]] technology.]]
** The Assassin Tombs may at least be somewhat justified, depending on [[spoiler:whether or not the Assassins used reverse-engineered [[{{Precursors}} Those Who Came Before]] technology.]]
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** As one example, there is a switch in ''{{Wild Arms 2}}'' that's at just the right height that the only way to hit it is by knocking down a series of crumbling pillars like dominoes. The trap ''relied on the dungeon being an ancient ruin'' to be bypassed. InvertedTrope?
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If we consider how this would work in the real world, it is obvious that if a facility is in actual use, it is [[MalevolentArchitecture grossly impractical]] to install traps that must be disabled or circumvented every time. It is much easier and more efficient to post [[{{Mooks}} guards]] as needed. If it had to be abandoned for some reason, traps might be left behind, but it would probably be easier to remove the important stuff and/or [[CollapsingLair collapse the roof]]. In any case, traps would decay and cease to function if no one maintained them. But in these kinds of stories, the most complex things are the ones that are least susceptible to decay. If a character ever points this out you can be certain that the ancient civilization is still around.
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If we consider how this would work in the real world, it is obvious that if a facility is in actual use, it is [[MalevolentArchitecture grossly impractical]] to install traps that must be disabled or circumvented every time. It is much easier and more efficient to post [[{{Mooks}} guards]] as needed. If it had to be abandoned for some reason, traps might be left behind, but it would probably be easier to remove the important stuff and/or [[CollapsingLair collapse the roof]]. In any case, traps would decay and cease to function if no one maintained them. But in these kinds of stories, the most complex things are the ones that are least susceptible to decay. If a character This will only ever points this be pointed out you can be certain that if the ancient civilization is is, in fact, still around.
around and doing regular maintenance.
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See also RagnarokProofing. A subtrope of [=~They Don't Make Them Like They Used To~=]. When the deathtrap is one-time-use-only, this can often be an example of AlreadyUndoneForYou.
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See also RagnarokProofing. A subtrope of [=~They Don't Make Them Like They Used To~=].To~=] and OlderIsBetter. When the deathtrap is one-time-use-only, this can often be an example of AlreadyUndoneForYou.
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* RealLife Aversion: There are a few traps built into the great pyramids to deter robbers, that, thanks to low-tech design, continued to catch stupider people, mostly by trapping them in tight spaces or building huge pits in the middle of the passage. Needless to say, the robbers got around them. But the skeletons of past robbers were still present when modern archeologists found them (this is a problem with durable deathtraps, the dusty skeletons with punji sticks through the eyes tend to be a tip-off).
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* RealLife Aversion: There are a few traps built into the great pyramids to deter robbers, that, thanks to low-tech design, continued to catch stupider people, mostly by trapping them in tight spaces or building huge pits in the middle of the passage. Needless to say, the robbers got around them. But the skeletons of past robbers were still present when modern archeologists found them (this is a problem with durable deathtraps, the dusty skeletons with punji sticks through the eyes tend to be a tip-off).
** The primary purpose of those pits was to catch rainwater to prevent it from ruining the tombs, by the way. Catching graverobbers was just a side benefit.
** The primary purpose of those pits was to catch rainwater to prevent it from ruining the tombs, by the way. Catching graverobbers was just a side benefit.
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** Bear in mind this is a setting where the gods exist and such. It's not all that much of a stretch that a god maintains it in some fashion. There -were- all sorts of Greek gods.
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** Semi-justified though as a lot of the stuff the Ancients and other civilizations built are very durable, functional magic, and made out of Unobtainium.
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*** Actually, the wooden ship in salt water would be in -better- condition. High enough salinity would do well to preserve the wood. Recently, a team found a perfectly preserved ancient era fishing vessel in the Dead Sea.
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* Matthew Reilly's 'Jack West Junior' series frequently utilizes this trope. The most egregious example is a trap in 'Seven Ancient Wonders' that when you trip the sensor will shoot a live alligator out of a wall at you. This is a trap that is at least a couple thousand years old.
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* Matthew Reilly's MatthewReilly's 'Jack West Junior' series frequently utilizes this trope. The most egregious example is a trap in 'Seven Ancient Wonders' that when you trip the sensor will shoot a live alligator out of a wall at you. This is a trap that is at least a couple thousand years old.
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* DonaldDuck, his uncle Scrooge McDuck and their nephews Huey, Luey and Dewet often run into these in CarlBarks' and DonRosa's comics.
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* DonaldDuck, his uncle Scrooge McDuck and their nephews Huey, Luey and Dewet Dewey often run into these in CarlBarks' and DonRosa's comics.
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* The ducks in CarlBarks' and DonRosa's comics often run into these.
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* The ducks DonaldDuck, his uncle Scrooge McDuck and their nephews Huey, Luey and Dewet often run into these in CarlBarks' and DonRosa's comics often run into these.comics.
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** The coloney of natives that they ran into?
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** The coloney colony of natives that they ran into?
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** FridgeBrilliance says that they were built for instant death, but the time that passed have left the traps barely able to do the killing, giving the Goonies time to get out alive. Plus Prof. Copperpot was killed by just ONE boulder from a trap of Rock Falls Everyone Dies and before reaching the trigger mechanism, so maybe the decaying ropes just snaped and killed the Prof. Now for that wooden ship sitting in salt water for the last 300 years....
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** FridgeBrilliance says that they were built for instant death, but the time that passed have left the traps barely able to do the killing, giving the Goonies time to get out alive. Plus Prof. Copperpot was killed by just ONE boulder from a trap of Rock Falls Everyone Dies and before reaching the trigger mechanism, so maybe the decaying ropes just snaped snapped and killed the Prof. Now for that wooden ship sitting in salt water for the last 300 years....
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* Matthew Reilly's 'Jack West Junior' series frequently utilises this trope. The most egregious example is a trap in 'Seven Ancient Wonders' that when you trip the sensor will shoot a live alligator out of a wall at you. This is a trap that is at least a couple thousand years old.
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* Matthew Reilly's 'Jack West Junior' series frequently utilises utilizes this trope. The most egregious example is a trap in 'Seven Ancient Wonders' that when you trip the sensor will shoot a live alligator out of a wall at you. This is a trap that is at least a couple thousand years old.
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*** Hey, {{Rule Of Cool}}. Granted, the {{Advancing Wall Of Doom}} on a bridge with ledges you have to duck into probably takes the cake for the zaniest trap award.
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*** Hey, {{Rule Of Cool}}. Granted, the {{Advancing Wall Of Doom}} on a bridge [[CorridorCubbyholeRun with ledges you have to duck into into]] probably takes the cake for the zaniest trap award.
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** FridgeBrillance says that they were built for instant death, but the time that passed have left the traps barely able to do the killing, giving the Goonies time to get out alive. Plus Prof. Copperpot was killed by just ONE boulder from a trap of Rock Falls Everyone Dies and before reaching the trigger mechanism, so maybe the decaying ropes just snaped and killed the Prof. Now for that wooden ship sitting in salt water for the last 300 years....
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** FridgeBrillance FridgeBrilliance says that they were built for instant death, but the time that passed have left the traps barely able to do the killing, giving the Goonies time to get out alive. Plus Prof. Copperpot was killed by just ONE boulder from a trap of Rock Falls Everyone Dies and before reaching the trigger mechanism, so maybe the decaying ropes just snaped and killed the Prof. Now for that wooden ship sitting in salt water for the last 300 years....
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** FridgeBrillance says that they were built for instant death, but the time that passed have left the traps barely able to do the killing, giving the Goonies time to get out alive. Plus Prof. Copperpot was killed by just ONE boulder from a trap of Rock Falls Everyone Dies and before reaching the trigger mechanism, so maybe the decaying ropes just snaped and killed the Prof. Now for that wooden ship siting in salt water for the last 300 years....
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** FridgeBrillance says that they were built for instant death, but the time that passed have left the traps barely able to do the killing, giving the Goonies time to get out alive. Plus Prof. Copperpot was killed by just ONE boulder from a trap of Rock Falls Everyone Dies and before reaching the trigger mechanism, so maybe the decaying ropes just snaped and killed the Prof. Now for that wooden ship siting sitting in salt water for the last 300 years....
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**Fridge Logic says that they were built for instant death, but the time that passed have left the traps barely able to do the killing, giving the Goonies time to get out alive.Plus Prof.Copperpot was killed by just ONE boulder from a trap of Rock Falls Everyone Dies and before reaching the trigger mechanism, so maybe the decaying ropes just snaped and killed the Prof.Now for that wooden ship siting in salt water for the last 300 years....
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**The situation in Laos deserves a particular mention; it was a real-life AcceptableTarget during the Korean war, where bombers would offload any excess munitions. There are still numerous non-profits dedicated exclusively to combing farms and safely detonating the explosives.
***That is an awfully long way to fly just to dump bombs - surely it must have been {{the Vietnam War}}?
***That is an awfully long way to fly just to dump bombs - surely it must have been {{the Vietnam War}}?
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**The situation in Laos deserves a particular mention; it was a real-life AcceptableTarget during the Korean Vietnam war, where bombers would offload any excess munitions. There are still numerous non-profits dedicated exclusively to combing farms and safely detonating the explosives.
***That is an awfully long way to fly just to dump bombs - surely it must have been {{the Vietnam War}}?explosives.
***That is an awfully long way to fly just to dump bombs - surely it must have been {{the Vietnam War}}?
