The sound comes from Half-Life, Valve's first-person shooter series that began in 1998 and is set largely around the Black Mesa research facility. Short panicked lines from scientists and other characters became some of the most quoted parts of the games, and players began lifting them into mods, machinima and later meme edits. This oh no clip survived that transition to soundboards because it is instantly readable without context, works over almost any game footage, and captures the moment a plan collapses.