Papers, Please is a 2013 indie game by Lucas Pope in which the player works as an immigration inspector at the fictional border of Arstotzka, checking documents and stamping passports to allow or deny entry. The stamp and paper sounds became closely tied to that routine, and clips from the game spread online as shorthand for bureaucracy, inspection and gatekeeping. Creators still use the sound because it instantly sets up a checkpoint scene without dialogue, making it useful for skits, reaction videos and memes about rules, forms and waiting in line.