Half-Life was released by Valve in 1998 and follows Gordon Freeman through the Black Mesa research facility after an experiment goes wrong. The scientists scattered through the facility are helpless non-player characters who panic, flee and scream when attacked by aliens or soldiers, and their original voice lines became instantly recognisable to PC players. As GoldSrc modding, Counter-Strike and later Garry's Mod kept the engine alive, those screams were ripped and reused in machinima, YouTube edits and soundboards, where this dying cry remains a shorthand for an over-the-top game death.