"The LelleBellecrowd breaks up as the raindrops start to fall faster. The rain doesn't faze Hoseok, however. He just keeps dancing."
No, this is not a piece of erotic BTS fanfiction, these are actual lines of your inner monologue from the new BTS Worldgame, which rolled out in 249 countries on Wednesday.
Developed by Netmarble for iOS and Android devices, the official mobile game for the wildly popular K-pop group is structured over several different chapters, the first of which sees you recruiting the extremely popular boy band, and others which see you finding the dudes a dorm, or solving casual mysteries.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
But throughout the whole experience, the tenderly scripted scenarios combined with simulated messages and phone calls from the band members can make BTS Worldfeel like one long steamy piece of hot ARMY fanfiction between you and the guys.
SEE ALSO: How lightsticks became a must-have item for K-pop fansWhen you load the game, the very first thing you’re told is that the events of the game are fictional, with no intended connection to actual individuals, incidents or even ideas. Um, sure.
You’re sent a mysterious message from an unknown sender that frankly looks like spam. It’s a “BTS Concert Contest Invitation” and all you have to do is click the URL to enter. Seems shady. Let’s click it! Landing at a competition page, you’re encouraged to send “words of support” to BTS to enter.
Ticket secured, and we’re off to the arena.
But wait, something’s happening, the delightful and very famous faces of the group are being wiped from billboards, bus shelters, even your ticket, and we’re time-traveling back to 2012 before BTS will make their debut a year later with their album 2 Cool 4 Skool— brush up with this comprehensive BTS history.
The group’s leader, RM, a.k.a. Kim Nam-joon, is performing solo before you shove a Big Hit Entertainment contract under his nose. That’s right, you just woke up in 2012 and now you have a Big Hit employee ID badge. HOT. Time to recruit the rest of the group in stages or "missions."
For the most part, it’s a narrative game with some pretty steamy, very cheesy, and highly flowery writing — for example, “he glistens with sweat … the eyes of the young man up on stage shine from the crowd’s energy."
The whole time, all seven members of BTS are messaging you, calling you, even giving yougifts to help you through the game. It's a supremely clever, very thirsty mechanic from the Netmarble team, engaging with an extremely dedicated fan base, who self-identify as the ARMY.
You’ll chase Suga, a.k.a Min Yunki down to return a bouquet he dropped from his motorcycle earlier (seriously), and later valiantly save him from a falling flower pot, only to have him help you patch up your injuries while your inner monologue says things like, “I can feel the warmth of Yunki’s hand on my wrist.” I mean, you try being a professional band manager with sexy first aid like that!
“I can feel the warmth of Yunki’s hand on my wrist.”
It's like this with all seven members of the group, a frothing inner monologue that reads like a page from a lusty fan diary. “All my uneasiness evaporates and is replaced with happiness and relief when I see Namjun standing in front of me.”
"I lock eyes with Seok Jin. He's smiling. It's not a photo this time."
"I get a feeling in my sinuses like I'm about to cry... but suddenly, I feel something cold." Of course it's raining when you find J-Hope a.k.a. Hoseok at a street dance competition. "I slip an umbrella over Hoseok's head as he organizes his gear."
"As I head toward Seok Jin's university to offer him an audition, my stomach is full of butterflies," you think before you literally chase him off a bus.
The more you converse with the band members, the higher your “affinity level” gets. You can even comment on their fake Instagrams. The screen keeps flashing up words like “This isn’t a dream... right?”, which is something you can ask the band several times rather wistfully.
Once you've successfully recruited the band, there's plenty more to do, but it's that thirsty script that makes BTS Worlda truly clever fan-service game. While the classic 1998 Spice Girls PlayStation game, Spice World, allowed you to prepare the group for live appearances, there wasn't the type of fantasy scene-setting BTS Worldhas in cheesy spades.
And while more recent celebrity mobile games like Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and Britney Spears' American Dreamalso championed the rise to stardom as the game's main objective, neither successfully simulated this level of staged intimacy with the celebrity subject.
Perhaps the key to the game's format is the idea that feelings of lust for members of a pop group are as old as popular music itself, and that a fanfiction vibe could let fans explore and celebrate those feelings in a fun, safe space. It's one of the things fanfiction does best.
But it's maybe not everyone's cup of tea.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
"Jimin's voice grows quieter and quieter. He must be feeling shy," your inner self observes. "Even though he's talking to me, it kind of feels like he's trying to convince himself..."
Go forth and manage, BTS Worldis out now.
Topics Music
Samsung Galaxy S9 could fix the worst thing about the Galaxy S8Walmart will have SNES Classics on sale for the next three daysUber finally shows upfront pricing, following in Lyft's footstepsDonald Trump Jr. tweeted his DMs with WikileaksHere are the most popular Amazon Kindle books of all timeRoy Moore's wife posts fake news on Facebook to discredit his accusers'Justice League' is like a chocolate chip cookie with cockroach chunksHere are the winners of the 2017 National Book AwardsGal Gadot clears up her comments on working with Brett RatnerMakeApp's makeup removing app makes your selfies look worseThis Amazon Echo accessory is unfortunately named DOXCould the mince pie flat white be the British PSL? I bloody hope notNew video shows Scott Kelly's thrilling return to Earth from spaceYour commute just turned into a workout session on this trainDonald Trump Jr. tweeted his DMs with WikileaksRoy Moore's wife posts fake news on Facebook to discredit his accusersPolaroid's new $200 Moto Mod turns your phone into an instant cameraNASA releases wondrous aerial photos of giant new Antarctic icebergLorde's mum embarrasses her by sharing old home singing videosNew Netflix study shares trends among 'public bingers' Burger King tricked a bunch of burger fans into eating a plant Justin and Hailey Bieber 'announce' a pregnancy, but it's a very, very bad prank Intense video shows a vape exploding inside a dude's pocket 'Fox & Friends' aired a graphic suggesting there are three Mexicos White nationalist launches disturbing robocall attack on Trump rival Bros who 'surfed' on a turtle for a photo could be in very big trouble Goodbye 'Broad City.' Your queerness was a gift. Duolingo's April Fools' Day prank is way too real A Sega Genesis Mini will hit stores this fall How Zuckerberg thinks Facebook should be regulated: A brief guide Watch Beyoncé and Jay A Valve VR headset will finally be real What is going on with Lindsay Lohan's bizarre accent? New Delhi continues to choke with polluted air after Diwali The world's first zero Discovery Channel and BBC Studios announce new streaming service A casting announcement led to upset over TV's lack of diverse romance Someone finally figured out why Garfield phones have been washing up on a beach for over 30 years Fashion ecommerce star pranks Facebook in the name of tech education Asteroid Gault is breaking apart as it zooms through the solar system