SIENA GLEASON
The Love and Deepspace app on the Apple App Store. The mobile game is hosting a campus tour at Boston University.
Five life-sized cut outs of anime characters stood propped up along the sidewalk, the 2D versions of them plastered across a large bus parked on Harry Agganis Way. Students and passersby gawking at the sight had one question on their minds: Why were they here?
“Love and Deepspace,” a mobile 3D dating simulation and combat game, came to Boston University Oct. 2-3 in their first — and seemingly only — stop on their American campus tour.
Set in a sci-fi universe, the game enables players to fight aliens and navigate five love interests.
The app’s Instagram page posted their official tour announcement Sept. 23, inviting students to find five cut-out “kitties” hidden around BU’s campus, visit a themed bus tour and participate in a merchandise giveaway by posting with the hashtag “#ladscampustour.”
Vice President of BU Gaming Club Kelly Wang, who helped organize the event in tandem with “Love and Deepspace,” said she was pleasantly surprised by the event’s turnout. People from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Iowa and Michigan attended — some driving 20 hours to attend, Wang said.
BU senior Rosemary Huang, who participates in a variety of mobile and PC games, said she was initially surprised by the game’s choice to host the event at BU. She finds the “Love and Deepspace” community to be “kind and generous.”
“I really like the game, not just for its looks but also for its community,” she said. “I think this is one of the most inclusive communities that I’ve ever been a part of.”
When she went to the campus tour, attendees exchanged or gave out fanmade merchandise.
“It reminded me a lot of my experience when I was in China, where a lot of ‘girlies’ would give out freebies to other ‘girlies’ as well, which was very nice,” Huang said.
Boston resident Betty Qi, who attended the event, said she enjoyed connecting with new people despite differing personalities.
“[I would walk] up to other fans of this game, and we just basically say ‘hello’ to each other, and we immediately have this shared passion to talk about,” Qi said.
She recalled meeting a Korean girl who preferred different characters than her, but they still bonded over their shared passion for the game itself.
“It’s so interesting that you find two girls from two [entirely] different countries, [who both speak] a second language and share the same type of love,” Qi said.
Qi finds it difficult to authentically connect in a city as busy as Boston, but in Love and Deepspace, she feels that connection with the characters on the screen.
“I love it because it provides emotional companionship in my daily life,” she said. “This [game] is a unique place where people like me or anyone else can experience compelling stories and feel a sense of wonder and connection.”
Regardless of relationship status, Huang said “Love and Deepspace” is a game for the entire community.
“This is not just a game for just girls who are single to experience [dating], and if they feel lonely, it’s for everybody, even ‘girlies’ who are dating, who are married, who have cosplayer husbands or wives,” she said. “It’s genuinely a game for everybody.”