Basic Trope: A creature or some other kind of hazard that prevents the player character from leaving a designated game area.
- Straight: In Troperia Island, trying to swim away from the titular island will trigger invincible shark enemies to attack you.
- Exaggerated:
- Even the land isn't safe as sand sharks start spawning if you spend too much time walking over the beach sand.
- You start at the border, where a bunch of sharks with lasers start shooting beams at you until you flee from the sight of the shore or die.
- Downplayed:
- The shark enemies are actually killable (although they're difficult enemies to kill), and doing so actually allows you to swim freely on the ocean for a few minutes until they respawn to attack again.
- The shark enemies are found only in one part of the ocean surrounding Troperia, which is only accessible for a plot-related mission.
- The hazard is very passive like ocean waves that deplete your stamina while pushing you closer to the game area. While you technically can die it requires being suicidally determined by repeatably going into the rough waves.
- Justified:
- The waters are known to be shark-infested. Going too far wouldn't be too smart.
- The island is under quarantine for very good reasons.
- Inverted: The island is filled with territorial wolf enemies that will only stop attacking you if you swim away from land.
- Subverted: The waters surrounding Troperia are filled with sharks, but they're just passive enemies that attack you only if provoked, meaning you can easily swim past them.
- Double Subverted: Swimming further, however, will trigger a robot shark that is programmed solely to attack you. It only goes away if you swim back to the island.
- Parodied:
- Trying to fly away from Troperia through glitches or exploits will cause levitating sharks to attack you.
- The sharks are literal Patrolling Mooks, firearms and uniform included.
- The sharks are there to protect the main character from reaching the Edge of the Map where the world just ends. Actually reaching there leads to a Non-Standard Game Over where the player character Goes Mad from the Revelation.
- Zig Zagged: Of the whole ocean surrounding Troperia, there are actually small parts in it where sharks do not appear, so you can keep swimming forward in peace (until you hit that damn Invisible Wall, of course).
- Averted:
- There are no sharks or other enemies and hazards around Troperia, only Invisible Walls.
- Troperia is a Wide-Open Sandbox, and you can go wherever you want.
- Lampshaded: "What's with all these sharks? Almost like someone doesn't want me to leave the island.."
- Enforced: Developers programmed those invincible shark enemies in the game in order to "protect" the player from the immersion-breaking Invisible Walls.
- Invoked: Emperor Evulz filled the surrounding waters of Troperia with powerful sharks exactly to prevent your escape.
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz chases you into the waters of Troperia, knowing that you'll be devoured by the sharks.
- Defied: Emperor Evulz doesn't want all those dangerous sharks around his island. He claims it's bad for tourism, so he orders his minions to kill all of them.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: A native tells you that you shouldn't leave, for the water is dangerous. When you try to leave, you remind yourself of the native's words.
- Deconstructed: The Border Patrol causes devastation to the region as they are cut off from all forms of trade or traffic. The inhabitants lose hope of ever leaving.
- Reconstructed: The inhabitants eventually find alternative methods, such as planes.
- Played For Laughs: Angels guard the edge of the world to kill all who witness it to prevent mortals from finding out the gods are asshole slackers and haven't even finished creating the whole world.
You can go back to Border Patrol, but the sharks will knock you right back here!
