Origin of Gemlocks

[Human Waiter]

In videogames and books there is a type of door that unlocks when presented with a specific (or sometimes just a certain type) of gemstone. Does anyone know where this concept originated from?

 

[Anonitolia]

it's called a key retard

 

[Human Waiter]

it's called a key retard

In fiction they work by resonating with the lock, not mechanically turning tumblers. I was hoping to track down a specific mythology or fable it came from.

 

[SNU]

Crash bandicoot 2

 

[Aunt Carol]

That's an interesting question; it's a ubiquitous mechanic now, so much so that it's hard to think about it being "new."

Not helpful, but it makes me think about the end of The Dark Crystal when they inserted the lost shard.

I wonder if there was an association between someone wearing a key on a chain around their neck, to wearing a jewel on a necklace, to the storytelling idea of a jewel magically unlocking a door.

 

[Fathomless Eminence]

Adventure had the colored keys that Doom popularized but that's one of those situations where it's just embedded in the noosphere.