Some elements of the Combine's appearance, such as that of the Advisor, are inspired by the works of Frank Herbert. The towering Striders seen throughout "Half-Life 2" and its subsequent episodes are based directly on the Martian tripods of the H.G. Wells novel "The War of the Worlds", where said Martians invade Victorian England, using the tripods as their main "weapon". The name "Combine" itself is a tribute to Ken Kesey's novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", which features a collection of authorities which mechanistically manipulate and process individuals.