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4[[quoteright:160:[[VideoGame/CommanderKeen https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/temporary-platform_commander-keen2_8489.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:160:Dum-de-dum, de-dum, de- [[AtomicFBomb FUUUUUUUUU]]...]]
6
7-> ''"Jump on, jump off. Don't dilly-dally."''
8-->-- The manual for ''VideoGame/{{Scaler}}''
9
10A temporary platform is an infamous variation of the FloatingPlatforms that exist primarily in 2D platform games, which can only be used for limited durations at a time. These come in a few distinct varieties:
11
12* '''Crumbling platforms''' appear solid at first, but disappear entirely a few seconds after they player stands on them -- the player must locate the next safe footing, and ''fast''. These usually have some kind of visual cue (cracks, etc.) to warn the player of their unstable nature. Sometimes, the platform will inexplicably reform on its own, whether some time later, or when it goes offscreen (especially if it's necessary to prevent an {{Unwinnable}} situation where permanent disappearance of platforms would prevent you from reaching your goals.) They might only disappear ''after'' the player leaps off of them, or allow multiple uses before disappearing.
13* '''Timed platforms''' appear and disappear at specific intervals regardless of the player's movement or action; the player must synchronize their maneuvers to land on one when it appears, then jump off before it vanishes again. Usually, there will be safe footing nearby allowing the player to study these platforms at a distance before attempting to challenge them directly.
14
15Sometimes you'll encounter these platforms one at a time, but in most cases they will be arranged in groups, forming some sequence or pattern which the player must navigate across (IndyEscape style) as the platforms disappear (and/or appear) around them; sequences like these can become ''very'' NintendoHard when they are stationed above BottomlessPits or SpikesOfDoom.
16
17See also GoombaSpringboard, for when a section of a game requires you to platform on enemies that die once you bounce off of them. An enemy turned into a FrozenFoePlatform may also become this if it thaws out after a while.
18----
19!!Examples:
20
21[[foldercontrol]]
22
23[[folder:Action Game]]
24* Getting across water in ''VideoGame/ArcDoors'' typically requires leaping across a row of lily pads, which keep sinking and resurfacing. There are also bubbles which, once stepped on, vanish after a moment.
25* ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'':
26** The original game has groups of turtles that periodically dive underwater, drowning you if you are still riding on their backs at the time.
27** One level in a [[EternalEngine lava-filled factory]] in ''He's Back!'' has numerous platforms that open up about four seconds after Frogger hopped on them, and sometimes faster. The level is appropriately titled ''Platform Madness''.
28** From ''The Rescue'' onward, every level features cracked platforms that break away after a few seconds. Good thing these come back, since in ''Ancient Shadow'', the game will occasionally force you to use the same platform twice due to a FetchQuest restricting the controls.
29* The mansion level of ''VideoGame/NinjaShadowOfDarkness'' has ''teleporting'' platforms, which can disappear and reappear at will, necessitating the player to quickly move from one platform to another.
30* ''VideoGame/YokaiHunterShintaro'' have teleporting platforms as well, showing up late into the game with fatal falls underneath.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Action-Adventure]]
34* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': At The Consortium's [[ElaborateUndergroundBase underground lab]], Ann comes by a gravity manipulation room containing floating cubes that dissipate and reappear, along with one of the card keys she needs to open the lock.
35* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'': Variants of teleporting platforms occurs in the series such as in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon''. ''Videogame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'' has the crumbling platform variety. Some of the games, such as ''Videogame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'', have trapdoor platforms.
36* ''VideoGame/DistortedTravesty 3'' has everything from Mario-style donut blocks, to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O4MXosUxlM crumbling Castlevania-stlye architecture]]
37* There are a few of these in the ''VideoGame/HarryPotter'' games- Ones that disappear after you step on them (although if you have autojump on and keep your finger pressed on the forward key, you can get past them) and ones that fold in and out of the wall at intervals.
38* ''VideoGame/LaMulana'': Many floating platforms start to crumble when you step on them.
39* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroTheEternalNight'':
40** Several areas require Spyro to platform off of roots and branches that cannot support his weight, and which will bend down when he lands on them. Navigating these areas requires some careful pre-planning of one's route, as Spyro must leap off immediately after landing and the player can't stand around to survey the path ahead. Some of these sequences are fairly short and take place within otherwise normal areas, usually as side routes to reach a collectible. Others are much longer and required, and often above BottomlessPits.
41** In other areas, Spyro must climb over platforms being swept down waterfalls.
42** In the dream sequences, the path between each testing area takes the form of a series of small floating platforms. Some are stable, while others flip over periodically or rotate continuously, alternating between a flat, safe surface and a spiky, harmful one. The slower ones can be navigated with precise timing, but on the whole they're meant to train the player to use Spyro's new time-slowing powers.
43** Spyro can create platforms over bodies of water by shooting icy blasts at them. These platforms are strictly temporary, however, and will melt and crumble after a few seconds.
44* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
45** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'': Some corridors have fragile stone bridges that gradually disintegrate as Link walks onto them, and beneath them is usually deep water or lava, both of which mean instant death upon fall.
46** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'': There are disappearing platforms that appear in an early dungeon, where you must use the Roc's Feather to jump through them.
47* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
48** The 2D entries in the series tend to have two types of these. There are floor tiles that will collapse, but take a half-second to do so. And then there are near-{{Fake Platform}}s that collapse almost instantly. The "near" part is important, as there is just enough time to be able to jump off of them if you're ''really'' fast. The latter are usually used to create corridors that required a Speed Booster dash to traverse, but they also make for convenient one-way passages.
49** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'': There also grapple points that disappear a few seconds after latching onto them with the Grapple Beam.
50** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'': Temporary platforms appear precisely once: in Phendrana Canyon, where the Scan visor clearly warns that they are unstable.
51** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'': The Ice Missiles can be used to create temporary frozen platforms of Fuel Gel, a liquid found virtually everywhere on the planet Bryyo. This applies to pools of the gel (a small circular platform appears and then melts shortly after), and gel-falls (the entire flow freezes).
52* ''VideoGame/MissionImpossibleKonami'':
53** You fight the third level boss on a floor made entirely of crumbling blocks. You can try to either damage him, or cause a large section of the floor to break away and fall, sending him plummeting with it. Though since he can teleport around, this is easier said than done. You have to navigate another room with a narrow path made of the same crumbling blocks in the final stage.
54** One auto-scrolling section in the final stage has your agent keeping ahead of the slowly collapsing floor, which gets closer and closer, leaving you with less space to react to the large groups of enemies that can spawn in. Fortunately, falling in the hole is one of the few points in the game where the pit isn't [[BottomlessPits bottomless,]] and only drops you to the previous floor.
55* ''VideoGame/NarutoTheBrokenBond'': These can be both in water (annoying as if you sink, you go back to the last part of land you were on) and in the air (again annoying, as usually spikes fill the area underneath).
56* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has a part in the Misty Woods where you have to cross SpikesOfDoom with platforms that either change position when you jump, with one corridor combining them with [[DeathRay laser traps]], or only appear for a second or two. Another sequence in Mount Horu has a set of destroyable platforms.
57* The ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' series:
58** ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'': The first platforms are seen in Scuttle Town's Main Street, wooden planks on posts that fall down if stood on for too long, and fade back into existence on the posts after they drop.
59** ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'': Some areas have a long platform made of crumbly rock platforms that slowly crumble as Shantae stands on them. They crumble faster than she can walk, however, so she needs Risky's Boots to actually cross without falling.
60* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' has a room you have to cross to get to the door. The middle of the room is tiled. Before you activate the switch, the tiles stay put, but the door is closed. You have to throw the switch to open it, but this also makes the tiles temporary; you can stay on them a couple of seconds before it starts to drop. Making matters worse, three gates come up. These drop and rise in a pattern. You can stand in the safe area before the tiles while waiting for the first to drop, but waiting for the second and third involves moving from tile to tile, hoping the gate would drop before you did.
61* ''Franchise/TombRaider'': Collapsing floor tiles are easily recognizable from a distance, but usually have [[BottomlessPits fatal falls]] or [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]] below them.
62[[/folder]]
63
64[[folder:Action RPG]]
65* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesEchoesOfTime'': Some platforms start falling a second or two after you step on them.
66[[/folder]]
67
68[[folder:Beat 'Em Up]]
69* ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'':
70** In Tundraful, there are a few platforms that descend when you land on them; staying will eventually see you lowered to the surface of the water, where you die (despite you being completely ''underwater'' later in the chapter).
71** Some parts of the 2D platforming sections in The Mysterious East have statue platforms that descend onto spikes if you stay on them too long.
72** In Card Bridge, a purely platforming segment of the game, some card platforms only stay in place for as long as a pressure switch is held down. Some others only appear just as you're about to land on them - then zip away and return, which can lead to attempts to correct your course with another jump, which rarely ends well. Despite only taking a split second to vanish and reappear, the cards are very good at messing up a jump.
73* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'':
74** In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'', if you return to the bridge you crossed to claim the Pride of Lion at the start of Mission 3, it's risen from the ocean (having collapsed as you crossed it), but in pieces. These pieces fall as you jump on them, and don't respawn unless you fall into the ocean (which makes you repeat the fight from Mission 2, then boots you back to the start of the bridge). You can either jump across both ways without retracing steps, or cross once, claim the [[HeartContainer Blue Orb Fragment]], and leap into the sea for a quick way back.
75** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' has several vanishing platforms in the Mitis Forest. Instead of using the "disappear a while after being touched" scheme, however, these have a defined schedule of their own.
76** In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', some sections of the Qliphoth feature platforms that fold back into the walls at regular intervals.
77* ''VideoGame/{{Guacamelee}}'' has a cave with a bunch of these, over a bottomless chasm. The problem with these is that they are from the "timed" variety, and they don't fade in or out, they simply instantly disappear after a second or so while others appear nearby at the same time, giving you no time to react. Furthermore, except for the very first few ones, there's no real rhyme or reason to their location, so you have to randomly jump on any that appears and pray that you don't get confused about which side to jump to next. You need ridiculously good reflexes to at least lower the frustration a bit. And while the item at the end of the cave isn't necessary to complete the game, it is needed to get the good ending.
78[[/folder]]
79
80[[folder:Fighting Game]]
81* One of the features of the stage builder in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' are these -- and odds are, if you know someone who has built stages there, they've built at least one heavily featuring them. They regenerate as well, which results in problems both ways -- the platform might be missing when you're scrambling to get back up, and you also might have to deal with a platform appearing right where you were trying to go to save yourself.
82[[/folder]]
83
84[[folder:Flash Game]]
85* ''VideoGame/TowerOfGreed'': Grey platforms crumble shortly after you step on them.
86[[/folder]]
87
88[[folder:Maze Game]]
89* The old Namco videogame ''VideoGame/{{Mappy}}'' (originally for arcade) has trampolines that can only be bounced on three times in a row before breaking; if a solid platform or nothing was below, you would lose a life. Later levels have true Temporary Platforms worked inside normal platforms--including one on a platform with only one survivable way off.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:MMORPG]]
93* The ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' universe has a few of these, most often found in proximity to Vex structures. During the raid 'The King's Fall', the tomb ships used to transport the Hive blink in and out with a large area and the guardians have to time when to jump in order to reach the next tomb ship and not fall into the bottomless depths below ... and the ships may not have appeared when you need to jump...
94[[/folder]]
95
96[[folder:Party Game]]
97* ''VideoGame/FallGuys'': Many stages features several layers of platforms over a slime pool, which disappear after a short time once stepped on.
98** ''VideoGame/MarioParty3'': In the minigame Bounce 'n' Trounce, all four players are riding pogos tied to bouncing balls in a large platform in s night sky whose tiles begin to crumble and fall one by one; the players can also perform spin attacks in midair to mess with each other. The last player remaining on top wins, but if either more than one character survives after 30 seconds or the last ones fall down at the same time, the minigame ends in a draw.
99** ''VideoGame/MarioParty6'': The Mic minigame Fruit Talktail has three characters standing on hexagon-shaped platforms that have fruit figures drawn in them. The fourth player is placed in the background, and has the objective of mentioning (with the Mic) fruits to command the lowering of the unmentioned ones' associated platforms (for example, saying "Apple" will make the platforms marked with the other fruits (grapes, strawberries, melons, bananas and oranges) descend. The players who fail to stand on a safe platform when the others begin to lower will fall down into the pit, being eliminated as a result. The solo player wins if all other three players fall down, but the rival trio will win instead if at least one of them survives during 60 seconds (72 in the game's PAL version).
100** ''VideoGame/MarioParty7'':
101*** The minigame The Final Countdown has all four players stand onto a large platform suspended several meters above a river flowing through a ravine. The platform is divided into nine tiles, each of which runs a different countdown that will make its tile open up after reaching zero. The players have to avoid standing on the tiles that hit zero, while also performing melee attacks onto each other for the sake of sabotaging. As the game's normal counter depletes, the tiles' countdowns will also approach zero more quickly, making it more likely for players to fall down. The last player standing is the victor, though more than one can win if they can survive after 30 seconds. If the last players remaining fall down at the same time, one of them is selected randomly as the winner.
102*** The minigame Gimme A Sign has two dueling characters stand each on a row of four platforms with color-coded figures drawn on them. At the center between both is a wooden pier with a Shy Guy holding some flags. When the minigame starts, the Shy Guy will raise a flag with a specific drawing, and the two platforms that match the figure (one per row) will lower onto the river's water level; the players must avoid standing there or else the water will drag them, making them lose. The Shy Guy then raises another flag, making the sunken platform rise again while lowering the one whose figure matches that of the new flag. As time passes, the Shy Guy will raise two flags at the same time, meaning that ''two'' platforms in each row will lower; in addition, the Shy Guy will raise and lower flags more rapidly, requiring better reaction and reflexes for the players to jump onto the safe platforms. The player who falls into the water loses and renders the other the victor; but if both players resist during 30 seconds, or both fall down at the same time, the minigame ends in a tie.
103** ''VideoGame/MarioParty8'': The minigame Sick and Twisted has all characters race through a series of rotating round platforms (and some static square ones) placed a few meters above the grassy ground. They have to move fast because the platforms will begin retracting downward one by one, and failing to outrun them will result in a disqualification (getting hit by incoming Bullet Bills is bad for the same reason). Whoever makes it to the end wins, though more than one player can win if they all make it to the aforementioned goal. Conversely, if all players end up falling down or hit by the Bullet Bills, the minigame ends in a tie.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Platformer]]
107* ''VideoGame/TwentyXX'' and ''VideoGame/ThirtyXX'' feature platforms that crumble when stood on, reforming a few seconds later. They also feature timed platforms that constantly switch on and off.
108%%* ''VideoGame/OneThousandAndOneSpikes'' has multiple breeds of this -- platforms that only stay active for a limited time after hitting a switch, and the classic Franchise/MegaMan variety.%%Don't use other works for context. What does "the classic Mega Man variety" mean?
109* ''VideoGame/TenSecondRun'': Some square platforms crumble as soon as you step on them.
110* ''VideoGame/AdventureStory'': The SolidClouds, first seen in the second level. They have an attached {{achievement|System}}: Clouds Disappear:
111--> Collapse a cloud by standing on it.
112* ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures'' has the appearing and disappearing [[DeadlyWalls Death Blocks]], which kill the player.%%There are also standard ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' style disappearing and breakaway blocks, as well as block snakes similar to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''.%%Don't use other works for context.
113* ''VideoGame/BioMenace'' has these in a couple of levels. At least one set is not required to finish the level in which it appears.
114* ''VideoGame/BionicCommando Rearmed'' has both trapdoor-style and timed retracting platforms. The final stage has you run a long gauntlet of the latter.
115* ''VideoGame/{{Bonk}}'s Adventure'' has platforms that pull themselves apart horizontally when the player land on them.
116* ''VideoGame/ABoyAndHisBlob'' has these. Unlike other versions of the trope, however, they can actually be beneficial: If you ride one while it's falling, [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou you can safely survive falls that would normally prove fatal.]]
117* ''VideoGame/TheBugsBunnyBirthdayBlowout'' has girder-like floating platforms that look as if they could move up or down, but instead disappear and reappear.
118* ''VideoGame/CastleOfPixelSkulls'': Of the appear-and-disappear-regularly variety. How regularly varies from level to level.
119* ''VideoGame/CogenSwordOfRewind'' features platforms that appear only when you use the TimeRewindMechanic. The time they remain corporeal is directly proportional to the amount of time you rewind. Since the required time gauge allows you to avoid death if you're hit, it means that you effectively charge these platorms ''with your hit points''.
120* ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen IV: Secret of the Oracle'' has these in the Miragia level. Accurate to its name, this level has platforms that fade in and out of existence. Solid for about five seconds, intangible for another five, repeat. [[GoodBadBugs Hilariously]], you can cling to the edge of such platforms and remain there while it fades out of existence, so long as you don't attempt to climb up until it is solid again. The game also has "unstable" floating platforms that start falling out of the sky once you stay on them for a second -- but they stay solid and only fall a certain distance (enough to force you to go back and redo a puzzle, but not enough to kill you unless the level designer specifically put a tarpit or flames before the end of their travel).
121* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' has tons of these, including both ones that collapse shortly after Crash lands on them and ones that steadily alternate between being present and being absent (such as by sliding in and out of walls, or phasing in and out of existence on their own). In many games, it's common for sometimes extensive stretches of a level to be made out of collapsing and/or temporary platforms, forcing a rather frantic style of play. These platforms, at least, tend to be fairly visible -- the timed kind visibly pop in and out of existence on a short cycle, while crumbling platforms tend to be tall, thin, and often with very spindly supports, and when Crash lands on them they tend to shake in warning. It's also very common for platforms to be made out of boxes, which break the moment Crash bounces off of them, and Slippery Climb in the original game in particular is [[ThatOneLevel infamous]] for using ''enemies'' as one-shot {{Goomba Springboard}}s.
122%%* ''VideoGame/{{Croc}}'', being based off of ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'', naturally has these.
123* ''VideoGame/TheCrownOfWu'' does this in practically ''all'' areas with platforming elements, where hovering stone platforms and bridges will periodically disappear and reappear while you're on them.
124* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'':
125** In "Treetop Trouble", the last stretch requires the player to travel across a series of leaves held in the air by mosquitoes, which are shot out of the sky by the fire-breathing miniboss as soon as the cups land on them.
126** In "Perilous Piers", one segment involves jumping across a series of wooden platforms held up by octopus tentacles, which begin to sink into the water when the player lands on them.
127* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'':
128** The [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1 first game]] has dropping platforms, and a GimmickLevel ("Tanked-up Trouble") with a moving platform that will fall if you dodn't keep it constantly fueled up. There is another level, "Platform Peril", that consists almost exclusively of various moving platforms that shake and fall after a certain distance.
129** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'':
130*** The game has crocodile heads that dive and resurface, and temporary ropes in the form of ghosts that wail as they disappear/reappear.
131*** The spider sidekick Squitter has the ability to create these as well, in the form of webs. Naturally, there's a [[GimmickLevel level dedicated to this ability]].
132** One GimmickLevel in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble'' has appearing/disappearing cannon barrels, most of them pointing at bees or [[FakeDifficulty in a random direction every time they reappear]].
133** The majority of the levels in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'' contain these in some form. If you aren't [[IndyEscape running from]] boulders, spiders, or other stuff, whatever is under your feet is often either crumbling, sinking, or a {{minecart|Madness}}. A notable example is the aptly-named "Platform Panic", where the level terrain appears only at close range, then shakes and starts falling when the player touches it. This also holds true for ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'', which in addition has a level where many platforms fall down while having a vertical position through magnetic rails but switch to horizontal position when they go through the lit segments of the rails; the huge difficulty of this level due to the requirement of quick reflexes is why it happens to be one of the game's {{Brutal Bonus Level}}s.
134* ''VideoGame/DontLookBack'' includes the collapsing variant in the lava cave section.
135* ''VideoGame/DoodleJump'': Has both the "Crumbling" type (platforms that disappear just after you bounce on them) and the "Timed" type (platforms that disappear after an undisclosed time interval).
136* ''VideoGame/EverybodyEdits'' has timed doors that switch on and off every five seconds. There are also key gates, which stay solid for five seconds after touching a key.
137* ''VideoGame/FancyPantsAdventures'' has sand platforms in World 3, usually used to reach high places or to complete a timed challenge.
138* ''VideoGame/Flea2020'': There are cracked blocks in the game that disappear the instant [[PlayerCharacter Henry]] touches them.
139* ''VideoGame/FlippinKaktus'': There are various surfaces in the game that will collapse under [[PlayerCharacter the kaktus]]' feet.
140* ''VideoGame/{{Hoa}}'': Ladybirds in the forest level serves this purpose (you play as a flea-sized pixie-like critter), where they're nested on trees until you jump on their backs, causing them to fly off in two seconds and requiring you to jump on another nearby platform, which is very likely a second or third ladybug. However they return to the spot they flew off after a short while.
141* ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch'': The ''Turtle Bridge'' turtles dive if a fish swims under them, resulting in you falling in the water if you remain standing on or jump where they once were.
142* ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'':
143** The game has no end of {{Temporary Platform}}s, usually situated near SpikesOfDoom. Since it's a PlatformHell pastiche of NES games, it takes the disappearing blocks from Heat Man's stage in ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'' to new heights of frustration, as the player must use JumpPhysics to stay on a single block that teleports around over a spiked floor.
144** And in a spiked room just below the start of the game, once you've memorized the platform's pattern, the pattern ''changes'' as you start jumping across, with you falling into the spikes below when the next platform doesn't appear where you expected it to.
145** In the Mega Man level, there's a few unlabeled blocks that drop the moment you step on them, and then one inexplicable block which shoots upwards as soon as you touch it, hurtling you into a spiked ceiling.
146* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' is littered with these, namely in more "ruined" areas. Came to an interesting point in ''VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander'' when (during a tutorial stage) you have to slow down time just to be able to cross the platform.
147* ''VideoGame/{{Jumper}}'' series feature two types of temporary platforms. One, coloured blue, falls shortly after Ogmo stands on it, but can still be used once it lands. The second one, red, crumbles instead of falling. It appears in ''Jumper Two [[LevelEditor Editor]]'' and ''Jumper Three''.
148* ''VideoGame/KaoTheKangaroo'': All games have those. In the second and third game, you can find clouds that vanish after jumping off them 3 times, and wooden platforms that retract after standing on them. The first game has a secret area where you have to quickly jump on rapidly vanishing platforms in order to reach the prize at the top.
149* Most ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' games noticeably lack these -- the ability of unaided flight'll do that. However, ''Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards'' gave Kirby a limit on his flying ability, and so threw in a few temporary platforms here and there to allow you to recharge. Some games in the series also have platforms held up by ropes; the ropes can be cut using certain abilities, causing the platforms to fall. Sometimes these platforms block off access to certain paths or items, or have hazards on top of them, requiring players to cut the rope in order to access the blocked areas and/or stay safe; however, such platforms can also cause trouble for reckless players who use the wrong ability in the wrong place and find that the platform they were standing on is now falling into oblivion, [[OhCrap with them still standing on it]].
150* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryAxe II'', some of the skull platforms in Stage 4 and normal blocks in Stage 6 crumble when stepped on.
151* The main feature of area 2-D in ''VideoGame/LegendOfGreyMoon''. Here, cracked grey platforms form parts of "jump mazes" where the player must make a series of precise jumps in quick succession.
152%%* ''VideoGame/ManicMiner'' has a lot of these.
153* ''VideoGame/Me2017'': "Hope" platforms fall as soon as "Me" touches them.
154* There are blocks which disappear after touched in ''VideoGame/MeatBoy''. ''Super Meat Boy'' also adds blocks which appear and disappear on fixed intervals.
155* ''Franchise/MegaMan'': This is a staple of the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' series. Almost every game includes a few screens where blocks appear and disappear in a set pattern. The fandom tends to refer to them as [[GratuitousJapanese "yoku blocks."]] Another series staple are the Count Bombs -- platforms with timers displaying how much time you have to use them before they explode.
156** ''VideoGame/MegaMan1'': Guts Man's stage involves a sequence of moving platforms affixed to rails that, despite clearly advertising when they are or aren't solid, sending so many players to their deaths ''from the very outset of the level'' that they almost single-handedly earned the game its NintendoHard reputation. In ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp'' you can at least play as Guts Man and give ''him'' a taste of his own terrible platforms. It does not help that when these unstable platforms tip over, they dump Rock off at a vastly-accelerated falling speed, so it appears that when they pass over the unstable section of their railing and tip, Rock seems to just go poof with little-to-no warning.
157** ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'': The longest such sequence is in Heat Man's stage, which spans several screens (above a lethal LavaPit and then a {{Bottomless Pit|s}}). Most people don't even bother with the platforms, instead flying across with the Item-2, an early version of the Rush Jet.
158** ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'':
159*** In Magnet Man's stage, one sequence includes a magnet on the opposite side threatening to pull you off into the {{Bottomless Pit|s}} below.
160*** The [[LiftOfDoom Lifts of Doom]] in Spark Man's stage with BottomlessPits below and SpikesOfDoom above.
161*** Trapdoor platforms in Shadow Man's stage and parts of Wily's Castle.
162** ''VideoGame/MegaMan5'': Gyro Man's stage features a bridge composed entirely of platforms that fall after a second of walking across them.
163** ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'': Plug Man's stage, where the patterns are different if you're playing on the harder ("Hero" or "Superhero") difficulty levels.
164** ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'':
165*** Sheep Man's stage includes the staple timed platforms (with different patterns for each difficulty level), alongside color-coded blocks that blink and disappear after stepping on them and platforms that have to be energized by running on nearby conveyors.
166*** Chill Man's stage features ice blocks that crack the first time you strike them, then disappear quickly after being struck a second time. You can, however, walk across them fine.
167** ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'': In the final level, a particular set of appearing blocks alternates between two nearly identical patterns. As a rather cruel trick, the sole difference between them is that the second pattern is missing the final block you'd need to use to reach a ladder, meaning a hasty player will plummet into the spikes below if they observed the blocks forming once and then tried to traverse them on the second appearance.
168** ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' often has platforms supported by smoking, malfunctioning jets, letting you know they won't hold your weight for long. Just to make your life a living hell, the fourth Zero stage in ''X5'' has disappearing blocks over a BottomlessPit and is nearly three screens long. No memorizing, just move and hope you're fast enough not to die. If you're playing as X, you can just fly over it. Play as Zero, and better hope your reflexes are good.
169** ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends2'': In the final dungeon, there are red tiles that will crack and break if you stand on them for too long of a period of time. [[MissionControl Roll constantly warns you]] that "the floor's weak."
170** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' picks up the torch, since it's much more NintendoHard than the ''X'' series is. The first game adds them in a section straight after two minibosses -- while not over a bottomless pit, this is sitting is above a platform filled with enemies. The invisible blocks also shoot in inconvenient places. Of note is that the game has a ranking system that penalizes you for taking damage and dying.
171** ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' has one in the BonusDungeon leading to the {{Superboss}}. For [[RuleOfThree bonus]] points, the ceiling and floor of the disappearing platforms hallway are also spiked, and once you beat said superboss, you have to travel the hallway ''in reverse'' to get back to the SavePoint.
172** ''VideoGame/MegaManUnlimited'', a fan game, makes a Robot Master based on those blocks, so of course [[BrutalBonusLevel his stage is packed with them]].
173%%* ''VideoGame/MutantMudds'' for the 3DS has these very frequently.
174* ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'': Cheese blocks, first appearing in [[AncientGrome Ancient Cheese]], will dissolve when walked on top of, before regenerating after a few seconds.
175* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': Paradise Lost has pink platforms that switch between present and not present every second or so.
176* ''VideoGame/{{Prehistorik}}'': ''Prehistorik Man'' has a few platforms that drop after some time. They fall faster than you, so if you're still on the platform when it drops, then it's too late to jump off it.
177* ''VideoGame/PrimalLight'': Some platforms in the game will crumble under [[PlayerChar Krog]]'s feet... and almost immediately blip back in.
178* ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'':
179** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'' has loose floor tiles that dislodge and fall moments after the [[NoNameGiven Prince character]] ran across them. Nearby vibrations (from you jumping up and down, for instance) will cause them to shake a little, allowing the player to identify them from a distance. They are useful on occasion for making running jumps off, and permanently holding down {{Pressure Plate}}s where they landed. They can also be dislodged by jumping from underneath, to access secret parts of levels, though standing below falling ones will hurt you if you don't duck.
180** In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2: The Shadow and the Flame'', they can kill {{Mook}}s and destroy potions.
181** The ''Sands of Time'' trilogy, especially ''Warrior Within'' features a lot of these as crumbling wooden platforms and poles. They visibly shake whenever you walk on them and dust falls off below. What makes it worse is that jumping on top of them, or grabbing down the edges will force them to fall without warning.
182** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'' features two types of temporary platform, firstly the ability to pause water to turn it into something you can grab onto, and then later remaking formerly existing platforms reappear with the power of memory. This can quickly cause DamnYouMuscleMemory rage during sections where you have to use both at once, turning one off to jump through something that would otherwise block your way to a platform you just turned on with the other ability.
183* ''VideoGame/PrisonCity'' features crumbling ice platforms that disappear when stood on long enough. They do reform.
184* ''VideoGame/QuackShot'' has lots of dropping blocks, including bridges made of them.
185* ''VideoGame/{{Qwak}}'' has blocks that dissolve from the bottom up when players stand on them.
186* ''VideoGame/Rayman1'' features many of these, also including one type of ''cloud'' platform. They only disappear temporarily, but while some just disappear for a few moments after you've stepped on them, others will disappear and reappear of their own accord, which can really cause you trouble if you don't notice it vanish and reappear by itself or time your leap correctly before you actually jump on it.
187* ''VideoGame/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2004'', the console version of the video game of TheFilmOfTheBook, has a level that consists almost entirely of these and more open air than you can shake a stick at.
188* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'': Plague Knight's Vat Arcana allows him to create FloatingPlatforms in the form of glass vats filled with volatile liquid. They slowly sink if created in mid-air, and explode if they hit the ground, or after a short time if made on the ground.
189* ''VideoGame/SkeletonBoomerang'': There are FloatingPlatforms in the game that, when [[PlayerCharacter Hunter]] steps on them, will crumble under his feet shortly after.
190* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
191** Most games have them; though the series isn't as fond of them as Mario, there's still a fair amount of variety. They frequently take the form of temporary ledges attached to normal platforms, which collapse moments after you step onto the ledge, but there are also regular platforms which collapse when walked on, and platforms that appear and disappear at set intervals.
192** The games sometimes also throw in platforms which don't ''disappear'' but are similarly unsafe, such as ones which have sharp objects such as spikes or spears emerge from them at set intervals, ones which are sometimes electrified, and ones which burst into flames when touched. Naturally, these sometimes appear alongside the disappearing ones.
193** The early games enjoy some [[NintendoHard Sega Hard]] FakeDifficulty in some places, such as Marble Zone, in which the temporary platform and stable platform use the ''same sprite''.
194** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'': The 16-bit version in particular features a sequence in Wing Fortress Zone where you have to jump across several platforms which appear and disappear at a very unforgiving interval above a bottomless pit.
195** ''VideoGame/SonicColors'': The Wii-exclusive Blue Wisp allows Sonic to temporarily turn blue rings into blocks and vice versa, similar to a P-switch.
196* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' has temporary platforms in its third area. Oddly, while your character can not normally fall more than seven times his height without taking damage, the platform and your character fall at the same rate and you can "ride" it down to lower ground without taking damage.
197* ''VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsSuperSponge'' features the Bubble Wand which is a power-up that lets you blow bubbles and jump on them as platforms for a short amount of time and you have limited bubbles which you can refuel by collecting bubble bottles.
198* ''VideoGame/Stinkoman20X6'' features a platform that flips down after a set amount of time.
199** In [[MinusWorld Level -0]], the physics "glitch" so you fall through while the platform is still up, but land safely while it's down.
200** Level 10 adds platforms made out of crumbling skulls. They break apart after landing on them three times, but regenerate just as quickly.
201%%* ''VideoGame/SuperLuckysTale'': Shows up in later levels. Notable because you can actually burrow through the platforms.
202* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' is replete with all varieties:
203** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' has pairs of platforms, each connected to a cable strung over a pair of pulleys. As the side you stay on descends, the other side rises, but if one side rises too far, both platforms will fall into the bottomless expanse below. If the platforms fall off, you get 1000 points. There are also independently floating versions that rapidly drop so long as you're standing on them.
204** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'': The Donut Blocks fall after a couple of seconds of Mario standing on them. Also in many games since ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' are moving platforms on rails, some of which are on open-ended tracks that allow the platform to fall off at the end. Lastly, most 2D Mario games since the aforementioned 1988 title have coins that turn into temporary platforms (as well as permanent ones that turn into coins) when you step on a P Switch.
205** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' has both temporary platforms with a countdown of four seconds or less as well as Donut Blocks that start to drop as soon as you step on them. [[GameMod Romhackers]] love both types.
206** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': In the special obstacle course of Gelato Beach, there are blocks of sand that erode as soon as Mario steps onto them, so he has to move quickly.
207** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'': Several puzzles feature green checkered platforms that start to shrink and disappear after landing on them. It also features similar tiles found in all three [[BigBad Bowser]] levels that get smashed to pieces upon contact just right before fighting Bowser. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' introduces Beat Blocks, which blink in and out of existence in time with the music. The Prankster Comet challenge for that galaxy quadruples the rate, which increases the difficulty so much that the player is offered a checkpoint and Yoshi's flutter jump to partially ease it. The same type of block (as well as its faster variation) returns in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld''.
208** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' has Donut Blocks, Beat Blocks, and Red-Blue Panels, and adds platforms made of cracked stone that crumble as you step on them and Flip Panels which unfold when you stand on a ! Panel, and then start folding up again behind you. One level is based around wooden platforms that fall away after being cut by circular saws.
209** ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' has blocks with a number printed on them. When you step on a platform of this type, the number is decreased by one, and when it hits zero, the platform explodes. The Donut Blocks also appear in this game.
210* ''VideoGame/SuzyCube'': Dark grey platforms with rock patterns will crumble when Suzy Cube steps on them, then collapse after a brief pause.
211* ''VideoGame/TinyToonAdventuresBustersHiddenTreasure'' has two of these instances. The first is in the [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Ice Mountains]], where they are placed over SpikesOfDoom that [[OneHitKill instantly kill you]] if you fall off them. The second is in Montana Max's [[EternalEngine factory]], wherein there are switches to turn them on so they can lead you to Gogo Dodo.
212* ''VideoGame/TyTheTasmanianTiger'' has temporary platforms in all three games of the series. There are two sorts: ones that operate on a timer, and ones that vanish about a second after you stand on them.
213* ''VideoGame/UltimateChickenHorse'' has a one-time platform and a few sizes of breakable blocks that you can place. The platform breaks once one player jumps on it and reappears for the next round, while the blocks take a few jumps to destroy and keep their damage the entire game, disappearing forever once they're gone. Both are great ways to create sneaky paths that only the fastest player can get on.
214* ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' has platforms that appear and disappear. They visibly fade in and out though, so you can always tell how they are going to act. As a result they aren't really too difficult to cross.
215* ''VideoGame/{{Zool}} 2'' has eggs which disappear as you run over them.
216[[/folder]]
217
218[[folder:Puzzle Game]]
219* ''{{VideoGame/Bombuzal}}'' has cracked tiles, which break apart and disappear after your character steps off of them, making them only usable once.
220* ''Videogame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'' has trapdoors. They only fall after you step off, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. They only reset when you leave the room, so if you're not careful, you can get trapped.
221* In ''VideoGame/{{Gruntz}}'', there are two kinds of bridges that fall into this: ones that will crumble shortly after being stepped on, and ones that appear and disappear in a predetermined pattern.
222* ''VideoGame/RollAway'' contains Timed platforms, marked by their translucency, and Crumbling platforms, which implode as soon as the ball rolls or bounces over them.
223* In ''VideoGame/SpinDoctor'', ring dots vanish forever once you let go of them.
224* ''VideoGame/TwinRobots'': There are platforms in the game that will shake and then fall down when stepped on.
225[[/folder]]
226
227[[folder:Role-Playing Game]]
228* A variant appears in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': A sidequest in the ''Dragonborn'' DLC takes the player into an ancient Nordic tomb where floating magical platforms provide the only way across a deep flooded hallway with nasty undead creatures lurking in its depths. The platforms start to appear when you pull a switch, then form a sort of moving walkway, with new platforms appearing as the old ones vanish. They appear and disappear faster as you get deeper into the tomb, so you have to move faster to avoid being dropped into the pit.
229* ''VideoGame/SakunaOfRiceAndRuin'': Not actually as part of gameplay, but the Bridge to the Lofty Realm, is mentioned:
230--> '''Sakuna:''' Children of men, ahead lies the domain of the gods. Turn back before the bridge vanishes.
231[[/folder]]
232
233[[folder:Sandbox Game]]
234* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has Big Dripleaf plants, large leaves that will tilt down when a player stands on them for a second, becoming non-solid once they fully tilt. The tilting can be nullified if the leaf is powered by redstone, and the leaf will immediately fully tilt regardless of redstone if it's directly hit by a projectile.
235[[/folder]]
236
237[[folder:Non-Video Game Examples]]
238[[AC:Films -- Animated]]
239* A film example: double-striped candy cane branches in the ''Sugar Rush'' game in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph''. Strangely enough, ''Sugar Rush'' is an arcade racer, not a platformer; no human player is ever going to encounter this obstacle, only the game characters themselves when exploring the environments on-foot.
240
241[[AC:Literature]]
242* In ''[[Literature/Magic20 An Unwelcome Quest]]'', a former wizard (actually, one of the hackers who have discovered a way to manipulate reality by editing a file) named Todd traps four other wizards in a game he wrote. Several times, he forces the wizards to rush on these, only for one of them to figure out that in his laziness, only the graphic of the platform (a bridge section the first time and a boulder later) collapses. The actual physical model is still there. Also, the chain of boulders only starts shaking when the wizards jump on it, but will keep on shaking until the last of them jumps off. Only then the boulder falls.
243[[/folder]]
244

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