Realm of the Mad God is a free-to-play cooperative bullet-hell MMO in which players control pixel-art characters, fight through dungeons and level up by gaining experience. The level-up sound became familiar to its community through regular gameplay, streams and edited clips, where the short chime instantly marked a character getting stronger. As players shared their runs and highlights online, the sound travelled beyond the game itself and became a handy shorthand for progress, improvement and a small victory in gaming videos.