Half-Life was released by Valve in 1998 and follows scientist Gordon Freeman after an experiment at Black Mesa goes disastrously wrong. Freeman is rarely pictured without his red crowbar, which became the series mascot and the player's first weapon. Because the game defined the modern story-driven shooter, its weapon sounds spread far beyond the original release into mods, machinima, and later meme edits. The crowbar, called pied de biche in French, remains a shorthand online for a blunt, improvised solution to any problem.