History Main / FakeTrap

* Marble Garden Zone in ''{{Sonic The Hedgehog 3}}'' has enemies that disguise themselves as spikes. The spikes are made of rubber, so they function like springs. The enemies aren't completely harmless, as they shoot at you, but you have to wonder why Dr. Robotnik decided on rubber spikes during the design phase.

See also LeapOfFaith.

* ''PrinceOfPersia : Sands of Time'' features [[TemporaryPlatform unstable-looking platforms]] that begin trembling the moment the Prince steps on them, and which fall into the abyss the moment he steps off. The trick is that they won't fall ''until'' the Prince steps off them; they exist to make the player feel he's just barely cheated death without actually making the game any more difficult. Crazy.

!Non VideoGame Examples.
* Weaponized in Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy - there's a spell that creates a perfect hologram of the target ''on the opposite side of the victim from the actual target''. Works very well on fleeing suspects.

* Weaponized in TheBartimaeusTrilogy - there's a spell that creates a perfect hologram of the target ''on the opposite side of the victim from the actual target''. Works very well on fleeing suspects.

* In ''CrashBandicoot 2'', you normally want to keep a wide berth of green Nitro crates, as even grazing one will cause it to explode. However, halfway through level 20 ("Bee-having") is a pile of steel crates and Nitro crates arranged like a small staircase. These Nitro crates do not explode, and in fact climbing to the top step will warp you to a secret area with the Purple Gem, a necessary collectible to reach HundredPercentCompletion. The giveaway to this fake trap is that these particular Nitro crates do not wobble and bounce like all the others, implying that their contents are inert.

* Marble Garden Zone in ''SonicTheHedgehog 3'' has enemies that disguise themselves as spikes. The spikes are made of rubber, so they function like springs. The enemies aren't completely harmless, as they shoot at you, but you have to wonder why Dr. Robotnik decided on rubber spikes during the design phase.

[[IThoughtItMeant And no]], [[StarWars it's not]] ''[[UnsettlingGenderReveal that]]'' [[MemeticMutation kind of]] [[SubvertedTrope Fake]] [[WholesomeCrossdresser Trap]].

* ''LaMulana'' has a "spike pit" full of objects that look identical to real spikes but are actually part of the background and have no effect on Lemeza whatsoever.

* Part of the glitchiness of level 8 of ''VideoGame/{{Stinkoman 20X6}}'' is that some of the obstacles (like the lava falls) are totally harmless.

* ''IWannaBeTheGuy'' has a spike that doesn't kill you if you shoot it down and land on the back of it, while every other spike [[EverythingTryingToKillYou kills you instantly]] if you [[OneHitPointWonder so much as brush against it]].

* Weaponized in TheBartimaeusTrilogy - there's a spell that creates a perfect hologram of the target ''on the opposite side of the victim from the actual target''. Works very well on fleeing suspects.

* Part of the glitchiness of level 8 of ''VideoGame/{{Stinkoman 20X6}}'' is that some of the obstacles (like the lava falls) are totally harmless. Interestingly, they're completely harmless to Stinkoman ''normally''. They can hurt 1-Up in the EscortMission level, but that's it. People have discovered, through game hacks, that this is just how the lava falls are. There's no way for a normal player to know that, though.

* Weaponized in the BartimaeusTrilogy - there's a spell that creates a perfect hologram of the target ''on the opposite side of the victim from the actual target''. Works very well on fleeing suspects.

* Part of the glitchiness of level 8 of [[HomestarRunner Stinkoman 20X6]] is that some of the obstacles (like the lava falls) are totally harmless.
** Interestingly, they're completely harmless to Stinkoman ''normally''. They can hurt 1-Up in the EscortMission level, but that's it. People have discovered, through game hacks, that this is just how the lava falls are. There's no way for a normal player to know that, though.

* The voice that guides you in ''{{Depict1}}'' warns you that spikes will kill you instantly. Given that [[MissionControlIsOffItsMeds the voice almost always lies]] . . . [[spoiler:You can pick the spikes up and throw them.]]

[[IThoughtItMeant And no]], [[StarWars it's not]] ''[[UnsettlingGenderReveal that]]'' [[MemeticMutation kind of]] [[SubvertedTrope Fake]] [[WholesomeCrossdresser Trap]][[OverlyLongGag .]]

%% The ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' card Fake Trap is not an example of this. It is actually a decoy that protects the player's real spell and trap cards. If the opponent tries to destroy a spell or trap card belonging to the player, the player can sacrifice this card in its stead.
* ''IWannaBeTheGuy'' has a spike that doesn't kill you if you shoot it down and land on the back of it, while every other spike [[EverythingTryingToKillYou kills you instantly]] if you [[OneHitPointWonder so much as brush against it]]. That sort of counts as a FakeTrap.

* You'll meet ''tons'' of these in {{Karoshi}}. The universe just wants to keep you alive that badly.
* The frightening things that threaten you in {{Shivers}} include pits of bubbling tar, skeletons that fall on you, a hallway with foot-long spikes covering the walls, an electric chair, a guillotine, and a shadow of something just outside your vision. But none of these can hurt you; only the Ixupi can do that.

* In ''CrashBandicoot 2'', you normally want to keep a wide berth of green Nitro crates, as even grazing one will cause it to explode. However, halfway through level 20 ("Bee-having") is a pile of steel crates and Nitro crates arranged like a small staircase. These Nitro crates do not explode, and in fact climbing to the top step will warp you to a secret area with the Purple Gem, a necessary collectible to reach HundredPerCentCompletion. The giveaway to this fake trap is that these particular Nitro crates do not wobble and bounce like all the others, implying that their contents are inert.

* The ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' card Fake Trap, obviously. All it's for is that it gets destroyed instead of the other spell and trap cards on your field.

* In one of the "bee" levels in ''CrashBandicoot 2'' there's a ladder-like structure made of metal boxes and the normally lethal Nitro boxes. However, this time they don't blow up and if you climb them you get into a secret mini level with a gem on it needed for OneHundredPerCentCompletion. Actually, there's a hint to this: the Nitro boxes don't wobble and jump like the normal ones.

[[IThoughtItMeant And no]], [[StarWars it's not]] ''[[DroppedABridgetOnHim that]]'' [[MemeticMutation kind of]] [[SubvertedTrope Fake]] [[WholesomeCrossdresser Trap]][[OverlyLongGag .]]

* Getting one gem in ''{{Game/Jumper}} Two'' requires passing through a fake fireball. ''Jumper Two [[LevelEditor Editor]]'' enables this with a "fake modifier", which can be put on top of any object to make it fake. [[SturgeonsLaw No points in quessing where this is going.]]

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<<|VideoGameTropes|>>

* ''FinalFantasyXII'' has tons of traps all over the game that cause various effects when stepped on. However, sometimes, the same looking traps act as a healer that restores the party's HP.

* The first ''{{Metroid}}'' game had many pools of acid and lava that greatly harmed Samus, but some were actually fake, thus you fell through. Naturally, you had to make that blind LeapOfFaith and hoped that killer pool was a fake in order to proceed.

** Well, he ''is'' the same guy who designed the machine pictured in WarmupBoss, although at least that was a real drill.

* The [[YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh]] card Fake Trap, obviously. All it's for is that it gets destroyed instead of the other spell and trap cards on your field.