Striders first appeared in Half-Life 2, Valve's 2004 first-person shooter, as giant Combine tripods patrolling City 17, and their eerie alert call became one of the game's most recognisable enemy sounds. Clips of the call circulated among players and video editors, who lifted it from gameplay for memes and montages where a sudden threat needed an instantly recognisable warning. It remains popular because the sound is short, distinctive, and carries the menace of the original encounter without needing any visual context.