Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence: Difference between revisions

{{quote|'''Soldier:''' It's a chest-high wall, Mr. Smarty Pants. Got any more dumb ideas? Maybe we can ''crowbar'' it away? Or ''kick'' under it? Or ''gravity gun'' through it?

'''Frohman:''' Or climb over it?

 

The phenomenon, found in countless video games, in which a seemingly trivial obstacle—such as a [[Locked Door]]—cannot be circumvented or removed with brute force, [[Statistically Speaking|no matter how powerful the player character(s) is/are]]. This is more jarring when the obstacle in question does not mark the edge of the gameworld, but rather serves to force the player into [[Follow the Plotted Line|taking a particular path]].

 

=== Video Games ===

* ''[[Star Trek Online]]'' has one prominent example. On the Starfleet Academy map you are not able to access the waterfront which is only seperated by literal waist-height fence. Under normal circumstances your character would even be able to jump over it. However, when the area was first released there was a bug that transported you on the other side of the fence and let you explore the area beyond it - including the Golden Gate Bridge and the normally inaccessible shuttlebay atop one of the Academy's buildings.

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Guybrush in ''[[Escape from Monkey Island]]''. On Lucre Island, there's a nice little field which is closed off by nothing more than a very low, wooden fence. Guybrush refuses to cross it, saying, "I could go over there, but... I... really don't WANT to. Yeah..."

** ''Eternal Wings'' makes a flimsy justification, then ''Origins'' explains it better; the wings used to be powerful enough to fly around all the time, but they have atrophied greatly over the years. Trying to use them for anything more than a few seconds results in the wings giving out. There's a reason these people use flying boats to get around. Granted, this still doesn't excuse Kalas turning around in Moonguile Forest because a log is blocking his path.

* Partially justified in the game ''[[Oddworld]]: Munch's Oddysee''. Munch is a Gabbit, a one-legged amphibian, and though he can jump more than six feet out of the water, any attempt to jump on land just makes him fall flat on his face. Abe, on the other hand, is a ground-dwelling Mudokon, and can jump really high on the ground (though he has [[Super Drowning Skills]], and can only touch water for a few seconds before dying). However, other Mudokons are too stupid and lazy to jump over a waist high fence, they have to be picked up one by one (by the ''ass'') and thrown over fences. Munch can also clear small fences by jumping over them in his wheelchair, or getting a boost from Abe.

** Which will be a relief, as the original ''[[Fable]]'' was absolutely full of insurmountable fences, rivers, edges, invisible walls, weeds, etc.

** The fence problem may be largely gone but I've run into quite a few Gentle Slopes of Impassability.

** Also, in the dessert planet Rosa, you have to get to some ancient ruins that are visible from the city's gates. And you are forced by [[Invisible Wall|invisible walls]] and unclimbable mounds of sand to take a complicated coiling road plagued with monsters instead of just ''freakin' running in a straight line towards the ruins.''

* ''[[Syphon Filter]]'': Grate blocking subway ramp? You can't use grenades on it, only C4 will take it down, from the other side. Hedge maze in Washington Park? No, you can't climb over the hedges. Cars blocking the road? Forget about climbing over them. And outside of cutscenes, falling more than about 10 feet kills you instantly (no falling damage in between).

* In the first ''The Lord of the Rings'' jump-and-run for the [[PlayStation 2]]-era consoles, insurmountable waist height fences would team up with invisible walls and insurmountable shrubbery and fallen trees to form a path as linear as the early Crash Bandicoot games.

* ''[[Jagged Alliance]] 2'' lets you vault over fences and climb any house that has a flat roof. But you can't climb over crates, tables and pretty much everything else that isn't either a fence or a flat topped building.

* The western half of Peasantry in [[Homestar Runner|''Peasant's Quest'']].

* Literally within seconds of ''[[Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (video game)|Rainbow Six Vegas 2]]'''s tutorial teaching you about how your character can leap over obstacles you are blocked off from a potential alternate path by a sign on a flimsy chain saying keep out.

 

=== [[Real Life]] ===

 

=== Video Games ===

* Lampshaded in the [[Everything's Deader with Zombies|Vietnam With Zombies]] ''[[Half Life]]'' mod Heart of Evil: our hero [[Running Gag|"sadly lacks the intelligence to operate" any vehicle he comes across,]] and Barney needs to be escorted to the vehicle to operate it. At one point, our hero tries to unlock a door, but it refuses to budge. Our hero "lacks the strength to open the door." Barney pounds it once with his fist, and it swings open.

* ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' has a commentary node (on tc_hydro) about how its conspicuous waist-high fences are a major theme of the game.

* Parodied in ''[[Stinkoman 20 X 6]]'', where the titular hero spends an entire level jumping over a small wall.

 

 

=== Webcomics ===

* Episode [http://www.hlcomic.com/index.php?date=2006-07-17 #172] of the webcomic ''[[Concerned]]'' made fun of this trope as it applies to the game ''[[Half Life]] 2''.

* Parodied in [[Gold Coin Comics]], when [http://www.goldcoincomics.com/?id=56 Lance encounters a log in the road].

** The Japanese words at the start say say "Door won't open! Smash it down!!!" At the end, it says "if it doesn't work when you push it, try pulling it". Wise words, indeed.

* ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'': the one thing the [[Physical God]] Cole McGrath from ''Infamous'' can never defeat? ''[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/5/27/ A chainlink fence]''.

* Referenced in [[The Best Page in The Universe|Maddox's]] [http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=signs review of] ''[[Signs]]'':

{{quote|''"I have hind legs powerful enough to jump up 10 feet onto roof tops, the technology to conquer the non-trivial challenge of intergalactic space travel, but I'll be DAMNED if I can kick down this wooden door."''}}

 

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