History Main / PressurePlate

** Subverted in one of the ''TabletopGame/GrimtoothsTraps'' books for d20 systems, which features the "Click Plate", a pressure plate that gives an ominous click when you step on it... [[MindScrew And does nothing else]]. No problem... unless you intersperse them in a trapped dungeon with other plates that go click just before the trap goes off...

** The sequel, ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'', has a number of these, although the first couple are of the variety that seem to give you as much time ''after'' the plate is pressed as you remained on the plate. After you get the Clockwork Bomb, most take the form of "Drop a Clockwork Bomb on the plate, then hurry-up-and-do-the-thing-that-that-enables-before-the-bomb-detonates". When they raise switches that you have to platform over to a good spot to then aim for and shoot until they turn green, they can be the most frustrating non-combat parts of the game.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' use them as trap triggers. Like ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', ''Skyrim'' has a perk which prevents the PlayerCharacter from setting off pressure plate traps, but said perk doesn't apply to your ''followers'', meaning that, if you're not careful, you can still die a horrible, spiky death as a result of your follower haplessly stepping on the trap trigger you presumably deftly avoided.
** A cave-dungeon in the ''Skyrim'' ''Dawnguard'' DLC introduces a variant: several pressure plates must be triggered together to open a particular gate, while a bridge and a couple of other gates must be triggered by somehow setting off pressure plates mounted vertically on targets some distance away.
* ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'' has them too.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games use pressure plates as switches to open doors.
** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and the little-known ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch'' game, are exceptions.
** Some Zelda games take this trope further by including some floor switches that cannot be tripped with Link's weight alone. For example, a couple of floor switches in the "Inside Jabu-Jabu" dungeon in [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]] require Link to be carrying Princess Ruto while stepping on the switch. In [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]] some switches can only be tripped by the heavy Goron Link.

* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' also has these, either purchased from the mechanic for 20 silver a pop or found naturally in caves hooked up to a BoobyTrap.
** The trigger conditions also vary depending on the color: Green and Red will trigger when anything steps on it, Gray, Brown, Blue and Lihzahrd will only trigger for players and Yellow will trigger for anything ''but'' the player stepping on it. Teal Pressure Pads are unique in that they only trigger when a pet or projectile touches it. Weighted Pressure Plates send a signal when stepping onto it and again when stepping off.

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' often features these in dungeons as door openers or elevator buttons.
** In the expansion's undead campaign, there's a puzzle where an elevator needs a plate activated to work, but there's only room for one unit. The solution is to leave an item on the switch.

* ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' allows the player to craft two kinds of them: stone plates, which can only be triggered by the player or mobs, wooden ones, which can also be triggered by dropped items, and two kinds of metal ones, which are ''only'' triggered by dropping items on them. Gold pressure plates output a signal strength of 1 per item, and iron ones output a signal strength of 1 per 10 items, rounded up.

* ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' allows the player to craft two kinds of them: stone plates, which can only be triggered by the player or mobs, and wooden ones, which can also be triggered by dropped items.
** There are also two more kinds of pressure plates that are only triggered by dropping items on them. One of the plates will only activate after a certain amount of items are dropped onto it and the other kind sends out varying strengths of a red stone signal based on how many items are on it.

* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame'' parodied this among many other videogame tropes.

* The Wii version of ''VideoGame/ABoyAndHisBlob'' has them all over the place.

-->-- '''[=GLaDOS=]''', ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}''

** Pressure plates also react on the weight of water (or even magma, if made of materials ''that'' heat-resistant) or more recently added minecarts, and currently are the only sensor other than levers that can control mechanisms. Thus these are included in all automation assemblies, whether running functions useful in the game (flood safeguards, defences, drowning-safe timed flush swimming rooms, weight-sensitive automated cattle butchery, etc) or assembled in "dwarfputers" as a SelfImposedChallenge. Plates can control floodgates, hatches and bridges used as valves, which [[http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Fluid_logic opens great possibilities]] for hydraulic automata and other contraptions -- whether [[http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Computing#Creature_logic creature logic]] elements using [[TheAllSeeingAI pathfinding routines]] or mechanic elements activating water pumps or [[http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Minecart_logic minecart-controlling]] components.

* ''VideoGame/TheGirlAndTheRobot'': There are a [=LOT=] of puzzles in this game that revolve arouned having either the girl or the robot stand on a pressure pad.

** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and the little-known UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch game, are exceptions.

* ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}'''s many, ''many'' Super Buttons. They usually require you to put a Weighted Storage Cube on them.

* There is a simple BlockPuzzle in the last level of ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' which is needed to reach the final boss.
* ''VideoGame/LaMulana'' features placing bags of sand on pressure plate pedestals as a primary game mechanic. There are also the tiles which you have to [[BlockPuzzle push blocks]] onto, several of which cause other blocks to appear out of thin air. There are also the old standby "step on it and something happens" type, although they're relatively rare.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games use pressure plates as switches to open doors.
** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and the little-known UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch game, are exceptions.
** Some Zelda games take this trope further by including some floor switches that cannot be tripped with Link's weight alone. For example, a couple of floor switches in the "Inside Jabu-Jabu" dungeon in [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]] require Link to be carrying Princess Ruto while stepping on the switch. In [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]] some switches can only be tripped by the heavy Goron Link.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has some switches that requires an object to hold it down and larger switches needs heavier and larger objects to stay active.

* The 2-D ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' games made extensive use of pressure plates to open or close distant doors; they could be held down permanently by killing a {{Mook}} over them or dropping a TemporaryPlatform on them. The ''Sands of Time'' saga has more variations of them; some are placed on walls and must be activated by wall-running, while some require a heavy object to keep them down.
* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame'' parodied this among many other videogame tropes.
* The map [=WAR-TankCrossing=] in ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'' has pressure plates for tanks. They are necessary to take down the Cores.

* ''Bloodwych'', which includes puzzles where you have to either leave a party member behind on a pressure plate, or (if playing multiplayer) have the other player's party stand on the pressure plate.
* ''[[{{VideoGame/Thief}} Thief: The Dark Project]]'' has pressure plates, used both for triggering traps and activating mechanisms such as doors. Weighting them down with junk can be useful for both kinds.
* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', the Ndipaya tribe are apparently very fond of these as even their heavily-guarded ancient ruins feature these.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue First-generation]] ''Pokémon'' games and their remakes featured these in Victory Road, in the form of a BlockPuzzle.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXD'' has pressure plates that you keep activated by pushing boxes of Poke Food onto them. Now if some of them didn't reset every time you left the room....
* In one of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'''s many BlockPuzzle areas, one of them (in an AbsurdlySpaciousSewer) had a PressurePlate you had to slide a block onto. There were other instances similar to this, but only the sewer one was a blatant PressurePlate.
* ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKain Soul Reaver]]'' beat the Christ out of this trope as part of its beating-the-Christ-out-of the Block Puzzle.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has them as trap triggers.
* These show up in the EdutainmentGame ''Math Blaster 2: Secret of the Lost City''.
* ''Golden Eye'' uses a puzzle like this in the Aztec level, [[GuideDangIt based on]] ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''.
* ''VideoGame/TheSims3: World Adventures'': There are two types of these in the tombs you traverse on your adventures: the kind you just need to step on once to (unlock a door/disable a trap), and the kind that requires constant weight (like say, from a moveable statue in the room).
* A staple of ''Franchise/TombRaider'' games. Many of them require a block to keep the plate pressed down so a door or other mechanism stays active.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTriad'' uses "touchplates" a lot; on the easy difficulty, the game tells you when you have triggered them and what they just did.
* ''{{VideoGame/Jumper}}'' and ''Jumper Two'' feature several such puzzles.
* The Wii version of ''VideoGame/ABoyAndHisBlob'' has them all over the place.
* ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' allows the player to craft two kinds of them: stone plates, which can only be triggered by the player or mobs, and wooden ones, which can also be triggered by dropped items.
** There are also two more kinds of pressure plates that are only triggered by dropping items on them. One of the plates will only activate after a certain amount of items are dropped onto it and the other kind sends out varying strengths of a red stone signal based on how many items are on it.
* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' also has these, either purchased from the mechanic for 20 silver a pop or found naturally in caves hooked up to a BoobyTrap.
** The trigger conditions also vary depending on the color: Green and Red will trigger when anything steps on it, Gray, Brown, Blue and Lihzahrd will only trigger for players and Yellow will trigger for anything ''but'' the player stepping on it. Teal Pressure Pads are unique in that they only trigger when a pet or projectile touches it. Weighted Pressure Plates send a signal when stepping onto it and again when stepping off.
* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' features these as trap buttons to ensnare the unwary during the endgame.
* ''VideoGame/{{Patapon}} 3'' has pressure plates in some of the dungeon levels to open gates and stuff.
* ''Videogame/StealthBastard'' has pressure plates as common puzzle elements which can be pushed down by platforms, player, blocks and robots.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' use them as trap triggers. Like ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', ''Skyrim'' has a perk which prevents the PlayerCharacter from setting off pressure plate traps, but said perk doesn't apply to your ''followers'', meaning that, if you're not careful, you can still die a horrible, spiky death as a result of your follower haplessly stepping on the trap trigger you presumably deftly avoided.
* In ''[[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon The Legend of the Mystical Ninja]]'', one hallway in Zone IV includes hidden pressure plates that activate slot machine-like spinners. The result determines what falls from the ceiling: prizes or enemies or bombs.

* Core part of the puzzle system in ''VideoGame/LifeGoesOn'' is finding a way to get something to weigh down a pressure plate to proceed to the level goal. Said something is normally [[BlackComedy a corpse]].
* ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'' has three varieties of pressure plates. One kind activates objects exactly once, another activates objects every time it gets stepped on, and the final kind activates and deactivates things when it gets stepped on and off. Puzzles can use them in all sorts of ways. The player can activate them directly, or can guide monsters onto them at convenient times. All sorts of objects can hold them down as well.

* ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}'''s many, ''many'' Super Buttons provide both the page image and quote. They usually require you to put a Weighted Storage Cube on them.

* The 2-D ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' games made extensive use of pressure plates to open or close distant doors; they could be held down permanently by killing a {{Mook}} over them or dropping a TemporaryPlatform on them.

* ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}'' has many of these, which usually require you to put a Weighted Storage Cube on them.

* ''{{VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath Deadly Rooms of Death}}'' has three varieties of pressure plates. One kind activates objects exactly once, another activates objects every time it gets stepped on, and the final kind activates and deactivates things when it gets stepped on and off. Puzzles can use them in all sorts of ways. The player can activate them directly, or can guide monsters onto them at convenient times. All sorts of objects can hold them down as well.

* ''{{VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath}}'' has three varieties of pressure plates. One kind activates objects exactly once, another activates objects every time it gets stepped on, and the final kind activates and deactivates things when it gets stepped on and off. Puzzles can use them in all sorts of ways. The player can activate them directly, or can guide monsters onto them at convenient times. All sorts of objects can hold them down as well.

->''"Please place the Weighted Storage Cube on the [[ExpospeakGag 1500-Megawatt Aperture Science Heavy Duty Super-Colliding Super Button]]."''

** Subverted in one of the Grimtooth's trap books for d20 systems, which features the "Click Plate", a pressure plate that gives an ominous click when you step on it... [[MindScrew And does nothing else]]. No problem... unless you intersperse them in a trapped dungeon with other plates that go click just before the trap goes off...

** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and the little-known GameAndWatch game, are exceptions.

* [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue First-generation Pokémon games]] and their remakes featured these in Victory Road, in the form of a BlockPuzzle.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonXD'' has pressure plates that you keep activated by pushing boxes of Poke Food onto them. Now if some of them didn't reset every time you left the room....

* ''VideoGame/TheSims 3: World Adventures'': There are two types of these in the tombs you traverse on your adventures: the kind you just need to step on once to (unlock a door/disable a trap), and the kind that requires constant weight (like say, from a moveable statue in the room).