Metal Gear began as a stealth action series from Konami, created by Hideo Kojima, with the first game released in 1987. Metal Gear Solid, released for PlayStation in 1998, made the alert system famous worldwide, pairing the red exclamation mark with a short, tense sound whenever Snake was discovered. Clips of that moment spread through gameplay videos, memes and remixes, and the sound remains shorthand online for being caught, watched or suddenly exposed.