DIY Mystic Messenger Phone Theme & Wallpaper

This post walks you through how to recreate the Mystic Messenger (see also: game intro and Another Story walkthrough) in-game interface as your phone theme using ADW Launcher. Any Android phone can pull this off — and the icons will actually link to real apps!

As a longtime MM fan, I spent my most obsessed phase writing walkthroughs, but I also made some fun DIY stuff along the way — like turning my phone into the game interface XD
There are three things you can customize on your phone:

1. Ringtone — pretty simple: just set your call ringtone to the game’s theme song
2. Notification sound — I used the ringtones from the RFA VIP package as my notification sounds, including for Line, Gmail, and Hangouts. Jumin’s meowing is genuinely adorable XD
3. Phone theme — that’s what this post is about

The first two are easy enough that I won’t go into detail here. What I really want to share is how to make the actual MM phone theme.

I did make a video tutorial a while back using ADW Launcher 1 — but that was the 2016 background, and ADW Launcher 1 isn’t available anymore. So this guide uses ADW Launcher 2. The concept is basically the same though, so I’d recommend checking out the old video first to get a sense of what the end result looks like.

What You’ll Need

Making a Mystic Messenger-style phone theme is actually not hard at all, as long as you have:

1. An Android phone
2. ADW Launcher 2 from the Google Play Store

Pretty much any Android phone that isn’t super old should work! If you’re ready to go, let’s take it step by step :D

Step-by-Step Guide

Once you’ve downloaded ADW Launcher 2, download two image files: one game background, and one blank transparent PNG.

Game Background

I’ve prepared three versions for you to choose from: Standard, Christmas, April Fools’
I’ve already cleaned up some of the less important details in each one. If you’re handy with image editing, you can even add your own personal touches.
Just pick whichever version you like best!

Blank PNG

Download it here. Don’t worry if it looks solid black or white when you open it — it’s actually fully transparent.

ADW Launcher Settings

With both files downloaded, let’s set up ADW. Here are the essential settings — feel free to experiment with the rest later!
If anything is unclear, you can refer to my older tutorial video — the concept is the same even if it’s a different version. Questions are always welcome in the comments too!

1. Install ADW Launcher 2 and set it as your default launcher
2. Long-press anywhere on a blank part of your home screen, then go to ADW SETTINGS in the bottom right
3. ICON APPEARANCE:
   [ICON] Overall icon size: 80%
   [LABEL] Uncheck “Show labels”
   Tap the checkmark in the top right when done
4. FOLDER APPEARANCE:
   [STYLE] BACKGROUND — uncheck “Draw background”
   [TEXT] Uncheck “Show labels”
   Tap the checkmark in the top right when done
5. DESKTOP CONFIGURATION:
   [GENERAL] Desktop columns: 6; Desktop rows: 8
   [TOP PANEL] Behavior: Disabled
   Tap the checkmark when done
6. Long-press the screen again, select WALLPAPERS, and set the game background you downloaded
7. Now start placing your apps.
   Drag apps to the positions that match the in-game layout — for example: CHATROOM could be your contacts app, CALL could be messaging or email, etc. It’s up to you!
   You can place individual apps or create folders.
8. Here’s the key step — we want to hide all the app icons so only the game background shows through.
   For a single app: long-press the app, tap Edit, tap the icon in the top left, then select the transparent PNG you downloaded.
   For a folder: long-press the folder, tap Edit, tap the icon in the top left, then select the transparent PNG.
9. Double-check that everything is in the right place. Once you’re happy with the layout, long-press the screen, go back into ADW SETTINGS → DESKTOP CONFIGURATION:
   [BOTTOM PANEL] Behavior: Disabled
   Tap the checkmark — and the bottom dock will disappear!

Your phone now looks like the game :D
I personally add a few widgets (like a clock) to make it a bit more functional.

One more thing — ADW Launcher isn’t the only launcher you can use. I actually use NOVA Launcher more often, though mine’s the paid version. If you want to try this with NOVA or any other launcher, the key features you need are:

• Ability to change app and folder icons
• Ability to customize the grid size (columns and rows per page)

Any launcher with those two things should work just as well.
Hope you enjoy it :)

Thanks for reading :D

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