Line #72 Main/ContainerMaze


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7	[[quoteright:320:[[VideoGame/{{Doom}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/container-maze_doom_5069.png]]]]
8	[[caption-width-right:320:You'll never guess what the stage's\
9	[[Website/OldManMurray Start-to-Crate Rating]] was.]]
10
11	->'''Callie:''' So many containers... I wonder what's inside them!\
12	'''Marie:''' Wouldn't it be rad if it was all Squid Sisters merch?!
13	-->-- ''VideoGame/Splatoon1''
14
15	Our heroes find themselves at the docks. The baddie or monster is lurking somewhere nearby; unfortunately, there's a whole mess of shipping containers piled up everywhere, forming an environment like a maze. The containers all look similar, so searching for the target is confusing for both the heroes and the audience. There could be anything lurking around any corner, or in any of the containers...
16
17	Any environment with a large quantity of similar-looking stackable items is a great candidate for one of these, e.g. packing {{crate\|Expectations}}s in a warehouse, or cardboard boxes in a storeroom.
18
19	For an added bonus, it can sometimes be set in a rail yard, where the maze may start shifting at any time and quite possibly crush either the pursuer or the pursued.
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21	Not to be confused with a maze that's meant to contain something (Labyrinth of Crete). This is more a Labyrinth of Crate.
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Advertising]]
28	* One of the BMW Films The Hire short films features a brief car chase in one of these. The hero tries first to hide in between the containers by turning off his engine and lights (presumably to demonstrate how easy it is to [[MerchandiseDriven turn on and off the headlights]]), only for the bad guys to spot them and a chase to re-ensue.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
32	* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'', during his battle against Yuya Fungami's Highway Star, Josuke is escaping from it while aboard a motorcycle and ends up reaching the Morioh port, performing a sharp turn to lose it amidst some containers.
33	* Occurs in the ''Anime/SailorMoon'' episode where Sailor Venus is unveiled. The Sailor Warriors and Tuxedo Mask have to navigate the stacks of massive crates and shipping containers at Tokyo Harbor to reach the location of the tied-up fake Sailor Moon (who is really Zoisite in disguise, but the heroes don't know that and think that they are rescuing an innocent civilian). After Zoisite has revealed himself, he chases an injured Tuxedo Mask through the stacks of crates inside a warehouse.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
37	* ''Film/FutureWar'' features this with cardboard boxes. Subverted when [[spoiler:one character just smashes through the wall of empty boxes]].
38	%% Needs context * ''Film/BatmanBegins'', when Batman is hunting mobsters by the docks.
39	%% Needs context * Area 51 in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' has a looser version of this.
40	%% Needs context * ''Film/{{Hanna}}'' has a chase scene in this kind of setting.
41	* ''Film/SpecialFemaleForce'' has the titular team's final exam, where they venture through a maze made of crates and shipping containers while shooting away at paper targets. It all goes well until they run into a trio of ''real'' criminals inexplicably hiding inside said maze.
42	* ''Film/TheATeam'': The climax occurs a dock loaded with containers, as part of an elaborate ShellGame.
43	%% ZCE * ''Film/ThisIslandEarth'' isn't an example, but the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' crew treat it like it is:
44	%%-->'''Tom Servo:''' Joe, I'm in one of these boxes. Find me!
45	* ''Film/WelcomeToThePunch'' (2013). A clue written on the hand of a murdered witness is Punch 119, [[spoiler:the number of a shipping container in a massive container yard where the final denouement/shootout takes place.]]
46	* In the Brazilian film ''Film/TheEliteSquad'', a container maze is used to train candidates for operations in the narrow streets of Rio's slums.
47	* ''Film/DaveMadeAMaze'' centers around one of these, that being what the "Dave" of the title made. Specifically, he made a cardboard box in his apartment, but inexplicably got "lost" in one. When his friends come to get him out, it turns out it had in fact become [[BiggerOnTheInside a sprawling cardboard labyrinth]] (complete with death traps and its own minotaur) [[MagicalRealism for seemingly no reason]].
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Literature]]
51	* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': The setting for the Undersiders fight with Über and Leet is a huge abandoned shipping site filled with old shipping containers. The duo ambushes the Undersiders to take the team's loot acquired from an earlier bank heist. The setting is apropos given that they're a duo of video game-themed villains.
52	* In ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure: The Quillan Games'', Bobby is attacked by quigs and chased by Dados through one of these.
53	* Done intentionally in ''Literature/TheZombieSurvivalGuide''. A zombie attack takes place on a crowded dock. The workers make a maze of packing containers to stop (or squash) the zombies.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
57	* ''Series/TheCrystalMaze'': One game in series 6 was a maze of stacked barrels, through which the contestant had to carry a small barrel on a long chain, which would only fit through the right gaps in the stacked barrels.
58	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod Planet of the Ood]]", the Doctor and Donna wind up pursued in a warehouse full of shipping containers. Donna gets caught, but then the Doctor ends up in a chase after the sadistic head of the guards decides he's always wanted to try using the large grappling crane against a person...
59	* ''Series/{{Primeval}}'' episode 4.2, involving an extended face-off with a prehistoric crocodile.
60	* The cargo hold of ''Series/RedDwarf'' is portrayed as such.
61	%% Needs context * ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' once had to find an incapacitated Gwen in one of these.
62	* A common occurrence in ''Series/CriminalMinds''. Typically, they are either looking for a killer or trying to locate a victim: or both. One unsub was actually trying to blow up the docks as a political statement, so the agents had to find and distract him while the bomb squad diffused his explosives. The trope has also been invoked in other places such as a university library (with movable stacks).
63	%% Needs context * Used several times in ''Series/{{Grimm}}''; given that it is set in Portland, this is unsuprising.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Video Games]]
67	* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': The ShipLevel contains a brief segment to traverse through containers behind held outside and dispersed in the ship's interior. Some containers can be opened with [[AKA47 The Tunguska Missile]] launcher to find extra items.
68	* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': A few rooms in the Honey Factory are this, secret exits and hidden areas behind crates included. There are even fully functional cranes that can be operated by the Beemerang.
69	* ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis'': The Underground crane room, which fortunately is uninhabited and just consisting of large containers that have to be rearranged. There is another crane room in the B3 Armory, though this one 'is' inhabited, and a third one can be found in the room on the way to the Heliport.
70	* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'':
71	** The second level of episode two, "Containment Area", has a rather famous crate maze filled with imps.
72	** Map 11 of ''[[VideoGame/FinalDoom TNT: Evilution]]'' is largely one big crate maze.
73	** ''Doom'' does it for performance reasons, and other games probably do too. The main area of Containment Area is one of the biggest in the game, but [[ObscuredSpecialEffects the floor-to-ceiling crates keep the draw distances from getting higher than the engine can handle]], as well as keeping all the enemies from swarming you at once.
74	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': Lots of the levels in ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' (and its expansions) are this trope. Warehouses full of crates, yards full of shipping containers... ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has at least one. ''VideoGame/BlackMesa'' carries on the tradition but fixes some of the more aggravating parts.
75	* At the end of ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', the Origami Killer can chase Madison through one of these.
76	* ''VideoGame/NanoBreaker'' have one early on, where you must use your plasma sword's morphing abilities to drag and move containers so you can create a path for yourself to exit some docks.
77	* The dockyard level in the original ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', which also has some overhead cranes and forklifts to contend with, making it somewhat mobile in spots.
78	* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', the fight versus Raven, you have to hide between the crates that all look alike and take him down by firing at his back.
79	* ''VideoGame/MetalWarriors'': The first two missions have Stone make his way across a space vessel's depository, and to this end he has to shoot the many containers that stand in his way to destroy them and move forward.
80	* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando'': On Smolg, the warehouse area is filled with crates, some of which contain Smolgian Snappers.
81	* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'': In one Miles' intermission, he has to traverse through the container-filled docks while avoiding being discovered by Rhino.
82	* ''[[VideoGame/ThePhantomMenace Star Wars: The Phantom Menace]]'' has one during the Coruscant EscortMission; you enter a container depot and must use the existing containers to create a ''bridge'' for Padme to cross. She even whines that she's "not jumping down a pit" [[SkewedPriorities despite having multiple Trade Federation assassins after her life]].
83	%% Needs context * One of the later levels on ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' is like this.
84	* A number of ship and warehouse maps in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''. Also shows up in Independence Port.
85	* One shows up in the second stage of ''VideoGame/IllWill2023'', after you escaped an abandoned mansion full of monsters into an empty shipyard full of containers. You'll need to navigate through the area while battling all kinds of enemies in the way.
86	* ''VideoGame/InFamous'': The Dust Men have basically constructed a fortress out of shipping containers in the Warren, with the flat sided sides preventing Cole from being able to [[WallCrawl clamber up them as he can with regular buildings]], forcing him to fight his way through the maze until he can reach a ladder up on top of the crates which he then has to navigate without falling.
87	%% ZCE * A big part of ''VideoGame/TotalOverdose''.
88	%% ZCE * The second ''[[Franchise/EvilDead Army of Darkness]]'' tie in games. Those damned mouth-portals...
89	* In one mission of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories'', you have to remove explosive crates from a [[IncendiaryExponent burning]] warehouse maze, with [[MobileMaze paths becoming blocked]] as the fire rages.
90	%% Needs context * Parts of the Factory and Control Center in ''VideoGame/WinBack'', also occasionally using MobileMaze elements.
91	%%* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' contains a BossBattle in a location like this. (ZCE: Against which boss? And where is this container maze located?)
92	* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'': Two secret levels involve helping a Gearmo burn crates in order to obtain a Power Star.
93	* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' features a locking dock chock full of shipping containers. Oh, and a dozen or so raptor-like necromorphs.
94	* ''VideoGame/DeathlessHyperion'' has a ''crate'' maze in the Station Storage area, with monsters randomly appearing from bends and turns.
95	* ''VideoGame/DUSK12'' have one such area outside a factory, near the loading docks. And it's infested with mutants that attacks you on sight.
96	* ''Franchise/JamesBond'':
97	** ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'': Several levels have this feel, including the Depot consists almost exclusively of containers.
98	** The second stage of ''VideoGame/TomorrowNeverDies'' begins with Bond landing in a terrorist arms bazaar inside a container maze. And from within, locate the hidden missiles, mortars, and helicopter - the last one being a trick because it's actually hidden behind a wall of containers Bond must blow up.
99	* ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'': One of the levels in SS Anubis, the aptly-named Depository, consists of a large, intrincate labyrinth made of large metallic containers. The abundance of enemies requires the player's character to keep an eye on the corners to avoid being ambushed by them.
100	%% Needs context * ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' has "Area 51: Rescue" as well as a multiplayer level based on the same ("Warehouse").
101	* Driftveil City's Cold Storage in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. Made extremely frustrating by all the FrictionlessIce you have to navigate to get through it. And on top of that, you have to navigate it twice. Once during the game, and again post game because one of the Seven Sages is hiding there.
102	%% Needs context * The ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune'' series has these in New York (first game), Prague, and Hong Kong (both second game).
103	* ''VideoGame/Splatoon1'': There's a level in which Agent 3 has to navigate through a pathway filled with containers. Lampshaded by the {{Mission Control}}s.
104	* ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame'' sees Gerry having to run around and jump across the top of one of these in order to dodge a ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex''.
105	%%* The ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' GameMod ''VideoGame/BuildCraft''. You can't walk through pipes, and they ''will'' get in your way.
106	* In the ''VideoGame/{{Bonkers\|Sega}}'' video game for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, [[MisterBig Mr. Big's]] stage takes place in a warehouse filled with crates, which are scattered out like a maze. Mr. Big has hidden [[TimedMission a bomb set to explode in the warehouse]], and in order to defuse it, Bonkers must find the pieces of Fall-Apart Rabbit in various crates and put them together so Fall-Apart can defuse the bomb. As the levels progress, Mr. Big's mouse henchmen will navigate the warehouse to try to get Bonkers, so Bonkers must take them out by pushing crates at them.
107	* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' has a small one on the Elizabeth Dane GhostShip. It's a StealthBasedMission: the challenge is to investigate a suspicious shipment without being spotted by police officers, which would threaten the {{Masquerade}}. [[spoiler:You can easily bypass the whole thing by sneaking to the ship's bridge and looking through the CCTV instead.]]
108	* ''VideoGame/WorldsEndClub'': A ShipLevel involves Reycho and Pai moving towards the front deck while avoiding containers being swept around with Pai using her {{barrier\|warrior}} powers to deflect them.
109	* The docks in ''VideoGame/ZombieInfection'' is one filled with zombified dockers and workers, and you'll need to navigate your way through while fighting the undead. Occasionally some containers will pop open and dispense extra zombies.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Web Comics]]
113	* ''Webcomic/PlushAndBlood'' has the two protagonists brought in a box before the EvilOverlord. They manage to escape into the warehouse beginning on page 26, and proceed to play hide-and-seek with thirty or so {{mooks}} among the rows and rows of crates. Fox and Grey later open one particular crate to discover Katt inside it. She's rather persnickety at first, but otherwise fine.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Western Animation]]
117	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' has one and a half in "You Scratch My Back" where Nightwing and Catwoman deduce that Enrique's latest shipment of smuggled goods is coming in via cargo ship, and end up in one of these as they try to find the evidence.
118	%% Needs context * ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' had one where The Penguin takes control of Manbat.
119	%% Needs context * ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'' in Rex's fight against Hunter Cain.
120	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': In "Loose Cannons", Dreadwing sets up his third confrontation with Wheeljack in one of these by attaching bombs to the shipping yard containers.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Real Life]]
124	* One theory has the original Labyrinth in Minoan Crete started out as this. Originally a basement for storing Amphoras of wine it kept on being expanded farther and farther until it became a horribly complicated mess.
125	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ContainerMaze