History Main / MobileMaze

* ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'': The LostWoods concealing the location of Ta Lo is one of these, consisting of moving bamboo. Pockets of safe space rapidly open and close throughout the forest, with the forest killing anyone who leaves them. You also need to know exactly when and where to turn if you want to actually reach Ta Lo, outside of one time a year when a direct path opens.

* Creator/DavidEddings' novel ''Literature/TheSapphireRose'' includes a maze which changes so no one can ever leave. The heroes defeat it by [[spoiler:[[CuttingTheKnot smashing a hole in the ceiling and climbing onto the top]], saying "if you don't like the game, don't play it."]]
* One of the protections on the Blue Temple treasury in Fred Saberhagen's ''[[Literature/BookOfSwords Second Book of Swords]]''.
* The hedge maze at Drood Hall works this way in the ''Literature/SecretHistories'' novels. [[spoiler: And a good thing too, else Moxton's Mistake would've found its way out decades ago.]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novels seem to use this trope a lot. Examples include:
** In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''First & Only'', Mkoll is certain that their map does not match their path through an ancient structure, and that their path had changed from five minutes ago. (His coming from [[TheLostWoods Tanith]], [[WhenTreesAttack where the trees can move]], gives him acute sensitivity to such changes.)
** In Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/BrothersOfTheSnake'', the Royal Mound appears to be this, although that may be psychic effects.
** In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Legion'' (are we sensing a theme here?), Grammaticus, in the city of Mon Lo, finds himself unable to orient himself. At one point he concludes he just went one street too far, and doubles back, and what he expected was not there. (He can determine that there are strong psychic influences, but not stop his bewilderment.)
** In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's Literature/{{Ultramarines}} novel ''Dead Sky Black Sun'', the city in [[{{Mordor}} the Eye of Chaos]] (possibly with some AlienGeometries help).

* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', the realm of the Snakes and Foxes is one giant mobile maze that bends to their very whims. Brigitte tells Mat that she wandered around in there with Gaidal Cain for ''weeks'' without crossing the same room twice. Fortunately, Mat gets out because he's BornLucky.

* In an episode of ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'', "The House That Jack Built", Mrs. Emma Peel gets trapped inside one of these created by a long time colleague.

* The Labyrinth built by Daedalus (yes, ''that'' Daedalus) in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' is said to grow and change over time. It is now under the entire United States, and possibly the entire world. It's tied to Daedalus's life force, so [[NoOntologicalInertia if he dies, it will collapse]].

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* The Maze card can do this in ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'', also creating Escher-like AlienGeometries.

* Played to hilarious effect in the General White arc of ''Manga/{{Dragonball}}''. Goku and Android 8 ("Ha-chan") must get through a maze to reach the Red Ribbon officer. The maze is completely normal, except for a single wall which can be toggled to block one of the two passages out. After running back and forth between the apparent dead-ends for a while, Goku and Android 8 finally decide to just split up and take both passages at once. [[SarcasmMode Top-notch security system there, General.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Szayel Aporro Granz can control the passages of his lair with his mind. Any path someone tries to take will lead back to him. On a wider scale, this is also true for the whole of Las Noches. Gin manipulates the corridors to ensure Rukia meets Aaroniero.
* Parts of the dungeon in ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'' behave this way, especially in the lower, more dangerous levels. The changes are dramatic enough that it's not uncommon for adventurers to struggle with exhaustion, exposure or starvation just because they got lost following maps that are no longer accurate.

* ''Film/InTheTallGrass'': The grass maze is constantly changing itself to frustrate travelers. [[spoiler:Not just through space, but through time as well.]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novels seem to use this trope a lot. Examples include:
** In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''First & Only'', Mkoll is certain that their map does not match their path through an ancient structure, and that their path had changed from five minutes ago. (His coming from [[TheLostWoods Tanith]], [[WhenTreesAttack where the trees can move]], gives him acute sensitivity to such changes.)
** In Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/BrothersOfTheSnake'', the Royal Mound appears to be this, although that may be psychic effects.
** In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Legion'' (are we sensing a theme here?), Grammaticus, in the city of Mon Lo, finds himself unable to orient himself. At one point he concludes he just went one street too far, and doubles back, and what he expected was not there. (He can determine that there are strong psychic influences, but not stop his bewilderment.)
** In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's Literature/{{Ultramarines}} novel ''Dead Sky Black Sun'', the city in [[{{Mordor}} the Eye of Chaos]] (possibly with some AlienGeometries help).
--->''There was no rhyme or reason to the layout of the fortress, if even such a thing truly existed. Travelling down the same street was no guarantee of arriving at the same place, and doubling back did not return to them to whence they had begun.''
* ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'' combines this with DarknessEqualsDeath.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter''
** The Shrub Maze in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'' did this ([[EverythingTryingToKillYou with tons of traps and hazards]]).
** Not to mention the film version, in which the maze is truly ''alive''.
** So did Hogwarts Castle.
** The Department of Mysteries in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' combines the movement of doors and other architectural features with {{Bizarrchitecture}} for security and due to the nature of the magics studied there.

** The Logrus is an ever-changing labyrinth where you had to rely on your luck and intuition to ever find a way out. Also, you pretty much need to be a Lord of Chaos to survive it. Also, it is suggested that those who survive are those who somehow shapeshift *into* the Logrus itself.
** The Hall of Mirrors is a slight variant. It is not clear whether this maze rearranges itself, but it definitely *moves around*, sometimes vanishing entirely. Also, its mirrors display visions that are different each time it is visited. Also, in this maze, you may meet long-dead people while they are visiting it.

* A slightly more primitive version appears in ''[[VideoGame/{{Myst}} The Book of D'Ni]]''. A "maze game" exists which is composed of rooms that shift around. [[spoiler: It's powered by slave labor, and fatalities are the norm when they turn the rooms.]]
* In the ''Literature/CastlePerilous'' series, the entire castle acts this way. The outer regions are especially chaotic and unstable, the Guest areas are relatively safe with only a few minor gravity and perspective shifts every so often. Since the castle is also a massive PortalNetwork to [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic 144,000]] worlds, a trip to the bathroom can lead to adventure, terror, or the bathroom.
* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars The Gods of Mars]]'', John Carter and Tars Tarkus are trapped in such a maze -- with [[GladiatorGames monsters]] for more fun.
* One of the protections on the Blue Temple treasury in Fred Saberhagen's ''[[Literature/BookOfSwords Second Book of Swords]]''.
* Both the Forest of Wayreth and the Hedge Maze surrounding the Silver Stair in the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' series qualify.
* The maze in M.R. James's "Mr. Humphreys' Inheritance".

* Creator/DavidEddings' novel ''Literature/TheSapphireRose'' includes a maze which changes so no one can ever leave. The heroes defeat it by [[spoiler:[[CuttingTheKnot smashing a hole in the ceiling and climbing onto the top]], saying "if you don't like the game, don't play it."]]
* The Labyrinth built by Daedalus (yes, ''that'' Daedalus) in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' is said to grow and change over time. It is now under the entire United States, and possibly the entire world. It's tied to Daedalus's life force, so [[NoOntologicalInertia if he dies, it will collapse]].
* Felka, of the ''Literature/RevelationSpace'' series, created a miniature version to run mice through. She was studying emergent behavior and wondered if it was possible to produce a mechanical AI in this manner. Note: Felka is effectively ''insane''.
* The eponymous forest of the ''Literature/EnchantedForestChronicles'' by Creator/PatriciaCWrede is a variant of this - its geography is constantly shifting, such that the royal castle can at best be said to be located somewhere near the center of the kingdom. This is because it explicitly obeys fairytale/mythical/plot-determined geography, on top of showing signs of low-level sentience. Directions must be given in classic fairytale style and obeyed precisely if a traveler wants to reach their destination. Even then, the forest can effectively trap or re-route someone who it doesn't want to reach their destination, or make a journey quicker for someone it wants to aid. So heroes can always be sure to arrive just in the nick of time.
* In ''Literature/TheMazeRunner'', all the main characters are trapped in a small, protected area called the Glade, which is inside a giant maze that rearranges itself every night.
* ''The Boy Who Reversed Himself'' had a 4 dimensional version of this, used by the 4-space creatures to try and convince the main characters to show them how to get to 3-space (our plane of existence).

* In one of the many {{Flashback}}s of ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}} Legends #4: Legacy of Evil'', the six Piraka try to murder their boss the Shadowed One, but find that his transforming fortress has been leading them into ''his'' trap.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', the realm of the Snakes and Foxes is one giant mobile maze that bends to their very whims. Brigitte tells Mat that she wandered around in there with Gaidal Cain for ''weeks'' without crossing the same room twice. Fortunately, Mat gets out because he's BornLucky.
* The hedge maze at Drood Hall works this way in the ''Literature/SecretHistories'' novels. [[spoiler: And a good thing too, else Moxton's Mistake would've found its way out decades ago.]]

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' gives us "Neth, the Plane that Lives", a sentient dimension which resembles a ''Womb World'', complete with breathable pink fluid in its passages - and a habit of sealing randomly-selected visitors into bubbles filled with digestive fluid. It later spawns a copy of their head from the wall of its "brain" and talks with their voice along with dozens of previous victims'.
** The maze created by the Maze spell to momentarily trap a character is also described as shifting.
* The realm of Tzeentch in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' and ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' is described as appearing to mortals as a huge crystalline labyrinth that endlessly shifts and changes to trap any would-be intruders. You will be lost on your very first step, every path you took will disappear forever, and the maze itself is filled with colors and objects that don't exist in normal space. At its center sits the Impossible Fortress, a huge structure not bound by the laws of physics, geometry or sanity. Windows and doors constantly appear and disappear on its surface, and interior rooms and passages keep constantly changing. Even gravity changes in strength and direction at random. Oh, and since this labyrinth is in [[{{Hell}} the Warp]], not even death will free you from it.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', up until a revamp in January 2015, the Naughty Sorceress Quest had a hedge maze which you needed to rotate using puzzles of said hedge maze.
* The endless hallway with the GiantEyeOfDoom in ''VideoGame/TheWhiteChamber'' plays this for pure NightmareFuel.

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' has some ''very'' nasty examples, such as the sticky floors of Sector Delphinus or the endless illusions of [[PsychologicalTormentZone Sector Grus]].
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'': The Borley Haunted Mansion has a Mobile Hallway that you must negotiate while running from the [[AdvancingWallOfDoom Advancing Red Fog of Doom]].
** ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' has a rotating room puzzle in [[TheMaze the Labyrinth]].
** In fact, the whole town of ''Franchise/SilentHill'' could be called this, particularly the DarkWorld.

* The Cemetery level in ''VideoGame/{{Left 4 Dead 2}}'s'' The Parish campaign is a more meta example. While the level is static after it's loaded, the path to the exit changes each time you play. This demonstrates the new power of the AI Director.
* Borderline example is Dracula's castle in ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''. It's a "[[ChaosArchitecture creature of chaos]]", so it changes layout between games.
* Shifting mazes are a standard feature of [=MUDs=]. It's common to navigate them by dropping markers in the rooms, though it's still tough to make it through before it shifts again. And if there are mobs that pick up items left lying around, then...
* ''VideoGame/{{Primal}}'' has a MobileMaze that must be shifted by the player. Three switches must be found that change the configuration of the maze. Activating a switch makes it possible to reach the next switch. The final switch opens a straight path through the center of the maze.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': Sky Keep is a perfect example of the player-controlled variation, with consoles that change the rooms like the tiles in a slider puzzle.
* ''VideoGame/{{GRiD}} 2'' is a rare case of this trope applied to a racing game. Its "Liveroutes" events feature an endless route through one of the game's cities, contructed on the fly ahead of the player by placing barriers and signs. The route can cross itself and the grandstands and billboards you just raced past will have moved themselves into a different configuration while you weren't looking. Due to the technical requirements of the mode, your minimap is disabled. The overall effect is a little spooky, especially in multiplayer once you realise that some of your opponents are physically in the same location as you but you can't see them and [[AlienGeometries it looks different to them]].
* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has one of these in the [[TheLostWoods Misty Woods]], changing configuration each time you pick up a Keystone.
* Some of the architecture in ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs'' changes as Mandus moves through the corridors of the machine. He might go into a small side area, only to turn around and have a much longer backtrack through a series of unfamiliar halls, or going into a small cul-de-sac might have a different exit when he turns back around.

* The Oldest House that ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' takes places in occassionally undergoes what the Bureau of Control calls Building Shifts, where some sections and wings of it change their layout. There is a way to stabilize the House through the Control Points, but there are still parts that will change without warning even with the Control Points kept calm. There's also an ashtray, which takes you to a maze resembling a 50's hotel that constantly reconfigures to keep you from getting to the end.

* In ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure,'' [[http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0181.html the second labyrith has a sign warning of this.]]

* ''Literature/TheTaleOfGavenMorren'': The City of Miir becomes this at the behest of The Shadows.

* The Illuminati's main prison in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' was based around one of these: a condemened hotel with constantly shifting booby-trapped rooms.

* The hospital of the ''Film/GraveEncounters'' movies. It's also a GeniusLoci that seeks to actively torment its victims, by doing things such as putting a hallway down an exit door they just came through, a hallway that never ends, and a red door covered in chains and padlocks. It takes one trapped protagonist about nine years before he opens it, to find... [[YankTheDogsChain just another empty hallway]].
* The Labyrinth in ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' often reconfigures itself, sometimes silently off-screen to the surprise of Sarah and sometimes with moving mechanisms or creatures. At one point Hoggle even evokes it to help Sarah escape the Oubliette by propping a door against a wall and opening it to reveal there is now an exit behind it... but not before first putting it up backwards and [[MundaneUtility revealing a broom closet instead]].
* The Virtual Room in ''Film/SpyKids1''.

* The ''Film/Thir13enGhosts'' glass house. The reason the house keeps changing is because it's actually [[spoiler:a giant machine designed to open a gateway to hell, and it's been moving into its final configuration.]]

** Near the end of the first movie the characters discover to their horror that all the rumbling machinery they've been hearing are rooms shifting around and they've jumping from location the whole time. The Cube is only escapable when a specific room reaches the outer edge before the entire things locks and the room makes its next days-long journey through the maze. [[spoiler:It's in fact the very room they started out in.]]

* The labyrinth in ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' actually ''helps'' Ophelia at one point, opening a direct path for her before closing back up to keep Vidal away a little longer.

* The world of the Cenobites in ''Film/HellboundHellraiserII'' is presented as an infinite, every changing dark labyrinth of stone under the control of a floating rotating silver lozenge called Leviathan.
* A less extreme example is the rotating Grand Staircase in ''Film/HarryPotter'''s Hogwarts Castle. Although not truly a maze, it's still easy for students to get lost on their way to class, in the books it's implied it only moves when there is no one on it which makes it slightly easier to navigate.

* In the ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', Walker's prison is shown to be this, with only Walker and his men able to navigate it successfully. Fortunately, Danny and Sam get through it thanks to their special link.

Perhaps this place is a LivingStructureMonster, is [[DemonicPossession possessed by a demon]] or inhabited by a spirit, making it a GeniusLoci, or it was built with tracks, pistons and engines to move according to the beat of an arcane [[ClockPunk clockwork heart]] (or [[SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence high-tech AI]]), but usually, there is no way to stop or even detect the mechanism. You must let it herd you or puzzle it out the trick it wants. AlienGeometries (especially OhLookMoreRooms) may complicate it still further, along with any door being possibly a CoolGate. As can the possibility of being eaten.

* The Oldest House that ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' takes places in occassionally undergoes what the Bureau of Control calls Building Shifts, where some sections and wings of it change their layout. There is a way to stabilize the House through the Control Points, but there are still parts that will change without warning even with the Control Points kept calm.

* In an episode of ''Series/TheAvengers'', "The House That Jack Built", Mrs. Emma Peel gets trapped inside one of these created by a long time colleague.

The characters are wandering through a maze, except that they just turned around, and the door they just came in is now a wall....

* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'': Carthage/Sector Five. Bonus points for not only being deadly in its own right (not true death, just devirtualization in most cases), but also having dangerous creatures inside it.

* The Cave of Two Lovers in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has shifting walls caused by the excavations of mischievous [[MixAndMatchCritters badgermoles]].
-->'''[[NewAgeRetroHippie Chong]]:''' The tunnels… [[Music/BobDylan they are a-changin’]].
* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' in that, instead of a maze, it's a Three-dimensional cube called the Perplexahedron (a security system for a PlotCoupon) full of many death traps, including guards. Bonus points for making the only way to the plot coupon involve setting off all the guards.

[[folder:Other Sites]]
* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-413 SCP-413 ("Endless Garage")]]. SCP-413 [[AlienGeometries changes its internal dimensions]] and uses a [[BrownNote low-frequency sound that makes it hard to navigate]] to trap people inside itself for variable lengths of time, from twenty minutes to more than three months.
[[/folder]]

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3008 SCP-3008]]: After entering, the exit will relocate itself as soon as it leaves your sights. If you're lucky enough to find it again, it could disappear as you approach.

[[folder:Comics]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

[[folder:Films]]

** In the classic series episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E5TheHornsOfNimon The Horns of Nimon]]", the alien Nimon demand sacrifices from the Skonnon Empire to provide for them. They use victims from the planet Aneth, who find that the walls seal behind them. (A TwiceToldTale based on the legend of Theseus and the Labyrinth.) It turns out the labyrinth is actually a giant computer and the changing walls are the circuits making connection. The entrance is actually a hologram of a wall.
** Also used in the revival episode, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E11TheGodComplex The God Complex]]", where the Doctor, Rory and Amy are trapped in what appears to be a seventies hotel, with corridors that twist and shift and can end up going on for miles. The above-mentioned Nimon also receives a Shout Out- the Monster of the Week is said to be a distant evolutionary cousin of it.
** Used again in the 2015 episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]", [[spoiler:where the Doctor is trapped inside his own confession dial, creating a prison of his own nightmares, which is represented by a huge, concentric castle, deserted aside from himself and [[EldritchAbomination a shambling, silent, cloaked figure which never stops chasing him, except for a few seconds when the Doctor tells a deep, personal truth.]] Whenever the Doctor tells the truth, the castle's walls move, opening some doors and closing others. Also, whenever a room is left on its own, the contents reset itself to their previous position before the Doctor's visit. Aside from this, nothing else changes, so this is a Downplayed example.]]
* In an episode of ''Series/TheAvengers'', "The House That Jack Built", Mrs. Emma Peel gets trapped inside one of these created by a long time colleague.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** In the episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E4FearItself Fear Itself]]", the Alpha Delta fraternity’s haunted house turns into one of these.
** Sunnydale High's basement in Season 7. Xander notes that blueprints are no good here (and ''he'' built the place!) because the walls seem to move about.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1MHY_AFNAM Trigger Happy TV hedge maze.]]
* This was one of the games on the automotive game show ''Full Metal Challenge''.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

--->"The door we came through -- it never lead here before."

* In ''Webcomic/AmericanBarbarian'', [[http://www.ambarb.com/?p=345 the god appears to do this to the temple.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' features one of these in "Serious Steven." Steven becomes increasingly uncomfortable throughout his time in the maze, and for a while, the Crystal Gems are stumped. Whatever direction they choose, they always are returned to the start after going through three rooms in a straight line. It baffles everyone until [[spoiler: Steven realizes that the reason he isn't feeling well is because he's feeling motion sick. The hallways of the maze are moving so that they always lead to the center room. Garnet then breaks the floor, exposing the mechanism that controls the maze.]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

-->'''[[StonersAreFunny Chong]]:''' The tunnels… [[Music/BobDylan they are a-changin’]].

* The {{Definitely Final Dungeon}}s in ''Film/{{Hellboy}}'' and ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'' (Rasputin's tomb and the Elf Kingdom, respectively).

* Ducklair Tower from ComicVook/PaperinikNewAdventures qualifies as this, as the [=AI=] Uno can control and shift around the entire inside. In one story, he uses this to keep a group of robbers, the police and Angus Fangus from running into each other for four hours.

TheMaze is the parent trope. If paired with a PsychologicalTormentZone, it becomes a deadly ClosedCircle.

** In the episode ''Fear Itself'', the Alpha Delta fraternity’s haunted house turns into one of these.

* The Labyrinth in ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' often reconfigures itself, sometimes silently off-screen to the surprise of Jennifer and sometimes with moving mechanisms or creatures. At one point Hoggle even evokes it to help Jennifer escape the Oubliette by propping a door against a wall and opening it to reveal there is now an exit behind it... but not before first putting it up backwards and [[MundaneUtility revealing a broom closet instead]].

* The realm of Tzeench in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' and ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' is described as appearing to mortals as a huge crystalline labyrinth that endlessly shifts and changes to trap any would-be intruders. At its center sits the Impossible Fortress, a huge structure not bound by the laws of physics, geometry or sanity. Windows and doors constantly appear and disappear on its surface, and interior rooms and passages keep constantly changing. Even gravity changes in strength and direction at random.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse features one of these in "Serious Steven." Steven becomes increasingly uncomfortable throughout his time in the maze, and for a while, the Crystal Gems are stumped. Whatever direction they choose, they always are returned to the start after going through three rooms in a straight line. It baffles everyone until [[spoiler: Steven realizes that the reason he isn't feeling well is because he's feeling motion sick. The hallways of the maze are moving so that they always lead to the center room. Garnet then breaks the floor, exposing the mechanism that controls the maze.]]

* The Virtual Room in ''Film/SpyKids''.