Dare to Play!

Walking the Plank

2009-07-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ransom of the Seven Ships is now shipping! If you preordered the game, it is on its way to you in the mail. It is also now available for purchase on our online store. Look for it in stores and as a download on 7/14.

As we've mentioned before, this game is a little different. After 20 games, we try to create new twists for each game. You might have noticed that there aren't as many suspects in the game. We did this on purpose - to give the island a very desolate feeling, so that you as the player would feel just as helpless and lonely if you were stranded on an island. In the end, we wanted our fans to feel more like they were on a quest to find the treasure and save Bess. It's less about who-done-it and more about saving your best friend. Afterall, saving Bess is what this mystery is all about. Are you ready to dive into danger to save your BFF? Get ready, because Ransom of the Seven Ships has already set sail and you don't want to miss the boat!

What do you think of the game so far?

Land Ho! - Ransom of the Seven Ships

2009-06-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

In preparation for Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships, we've created a few fun things for you to give a taste of the game in the meantime.

If you're feeling really adventurous, download the demo (250MB) and immerse yourself in the game. It's not the actual game, but it's very close. We had to make a few tweaks to make it more linear and limit the number of places you can access. You'll be able to explore all the landmarks on Dread Isle in the real game though.

If you just want a quick fix, try playing color squares against the monkeys to earn some fun digital downloads. Try to control the most spaces on the board isn't quite as easy as it seems, especially when Patty's so smart!

There is also a wealth of information about the games overall that have been in our newsletters. Check them out to read more about the wildlife, hot destinations, and Nancy's friends.

And just to keep the suspense palpable, here's a new screenshot from the game.

The June newsletter with details about preorders will be sent today, so get ready to mark your calendars! Plus on Monday, we'll post pictures of the characters from the game.

Ransom of the Seven Ships Coming Soon!

2009-06-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

We're getting pretty close to the launch of Ransom of the Seven Ships. We know it's a long wait for our fans between our last game (Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses) and our latest summer title, so we always wonder what else you play to fill in the time between the games.

Do you play the old games over?
Do you find some other games to play?
Do you write Alternate Endings and fan fictions to post on the message board?
Do you create videos from screenshots of the game and post them?
Do you solve your own personal mysteries?

We're just curious because our fans are so creative!

Oh, and this came cross my desk today:

Looks like we're almost ready to start preorders. Look for the dates in the upcoming June newsletter...

Inspired by Nancy Drew

2009-06-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

Growing up I spent an entire summer devouring the Nancy Drew books. I'd always try to see if I could figure out the mystery before Nancy did AND get it right. Well, I was only right about half of the time, and Nancy was right all of the time. But that's why she's Nancy Drew, heroine extra-ordinaire and #17 coolest hero of all time.

Still I learned a lot from Nancy Drew. She taught me a few things: 1) follow your instincts; 2) the clues are always in the details; 3) be prepared for anything; 4) being polite and cheerful will persuade people to give you answers and lastly 5) mind wins over matter. Those are lessons that continue to help me in my life today.

Apparently, I was not the only one who read Nancy Drew books and knew that I would someday be destined to take on her plight (I'm working for the company that creates her games after all and tracking down disappearing pens...). Supreme Court Justice Nominee Sonia Sotomayer, Sandra Day O'Conner, and Ruth Ginsburg were all fans of Nancy Drew as well.

So how did Nancy Drew inspire you? What lessons did you learn from reading the books and solving the mysteries?

Touring the Zaandam

2009-05-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Steve from Holland America Line, organzied a tour of the Zaandam for a few us to research information about cruise ships. We wanted to know all about their inner workings, secret hiding places, jobs, and processes. Interestingly enough, most travel agents that tour the ships want to know about the sevices and amenities while we were more interested in how things worked.

We started off meeting the hotel manager and he welcomed us aboard the Zaandam. The ship holds 1,432 passanger, 607 crew members, and weighs 61,396 gross tons (one registered ton equals 100 cubic feet). Here's the picture of the Zaandam right before we boarded the ship - she's beautiful and has the elegance of a classic oceanliner.

Next we met the no one less than the cheif engineer in the engine control room where all of the ship's ballisting systems, eletronics, engine controls, and more are kept. Interestingly enough, all of these systems can also be controled from the bridge, but the engineers have control in the port while the bridge officers have control on the sea. The engineers also maintain all of the engine part themselves and bring them into the workshop for cleaning and repair. Additionally, all of the engineers double as firefighters on the cruise ship. We were allowed into the engine of the ship where we could hear the engines churnning and even saw the sewage treatment center. The floor panels are all removable so the engineers can work beneath the floors and there are storage closets in most of the walls.

This is a picture of the control room:

This is the inside of the engine room:

Then we went back upstairs to see the crew quarters. The crew spends 3 months on the ships and 3 months off the ship. Continuing our journey toward the top of the ship, we stopped in a few different staterooms to get a feel of where our characters might spend their time in the ship. There's also a grand stage where performers put on Broadway style musicals every night and dazzle the passengers. If you're not interested in the show, there's always the culinary classes, shops, and the casino on board. Here's a a few us entralled with the luxuriousness of a suite:

And finally our last stop, was the bridge. The officers explained the controls and told us about emergency training practices. With so many buttons on the bridge, it was so hard not to press them and ask what each one does!

Of course, a cruise or a tour of the ship is never complete without a stop at the buffet! We joined the passengers on the pool deck for a little bit of sun and delicious food! We learned so much about cruise ships and were impressed the crew's generosity and helpfulness. Now, we can't wait to incorporate all of this information into one of our games. The team wants to go on a cruise on the Zaandam for vacation to celebrate the GM when it's complete.

Again, thanks to all of the wonderful crew and staff on the Zaandam!

Ransom of the Seven Ships BOX(es)!

2009-05-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

So everyone has been patiently waiting for this and we've finally finished it - the Ransom of the Seven Ships box! I know a lot of people have seen early versions of the box that were just a comp, so we're posting it's evolution with pictures.

This was our very first concept for the box. We had 3 concepts, and we felt that this one did a good job of showing what the player would do in a game.

Here we used a different ship - one that was actually taken from real game art.

This is the final box - I know it's kind of small. Notice the new illustrated ship and details that we added.

And finally, here's a bonus image. The originaly illustration for the box BEFORE we made any changes to it. Notice that we took out the clown fish (there aren't any in the Bahamas) and added a little more contrast to the ship to make it stand out more.

Creating the Dossier Series Packaging

2009-05-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

When we created the boxed packaging for Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses we needed to make it different from the Adventure series. Although it might be in a different section in stores than the Adventure series, we didn't want to confuse any fans about what they were buying. After all, if you bought a game and expected to see animiated characters and vague mind-bending puzzles, you would probably be sorely disappointed in the Dossier series. It's a great game - just not THAT type of game. At it's core, Lights, Camera, Curses is a hidden object mystery game with some great mini-games so the player does things that a real detective might do besides seaching for clues.

So to echo the Adventure series and give it a new twist we mad these changes:
- made the box like a Dossier folder - this is meant to be a real life dossier from the Nancy Drew Dossier logo
- chose a color for the folder - in this case, it's brown to match the Egyptian theme
- added a tab in the black PC bar that's meant to reflect a folder tab
- used Poloriod photos instead of straight screenshots to give the illusion of of the inside of the folder
- the title of the game will be in a different font and treatment every time

However, we did keep a focal object in the center of the box (the pharaoh). Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! can now be purchased at Walmart near you or on our online store.

What do you think? Does it look different enough from our Adventure series games?

Discovering the Beacon Street Girls

2009-05-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, I loved to read the Babysitters' Club and Sweet Valley Twins because they were what I believed I had to look forward to in high school (note: I read Nancy Drew too, but I never thought my life would be like hers). Of course, life in high school wasn't nearly as exciting as the books, but I loved the books for sparking my imagination. These days, these two series have fallen by the wayside, and now there's a new series that I think is perfect for teens called Beacon Street Girls.

Beacon Street Girls centers around five best friends, each with their own unique personality, who came together after a rather catastrophic cafeteria incident. The girls are:
Charlotte - smart, writer, world traveler
Avery - energetic sports nut with a passion for student government
Mauve - actress, drama queen, and a bit boy crazy
Isabel - artist, new kid on the block
Katani - fashion and organizational maven, Principal's grand-daughter

Reading the very first book, I instantly identified with Charlotte: rational, writer, book smart, klutzy, although I would have liked to travel the world as much as she has... Each chapter of the book is written from a different girl's perspective, so you can see the story through the character you relate to best. Which character do you think you're like?

I loved the books! Each girl had something that I admired and didn't quite fit the sterotype you would expect. The books are fun and ultimately remind you that your best friends will get you through anything. Plus, the mystery wrapped in the first book is an extra bonus.

If you're interested in finding out more about the Beacon Street Girls, head over to their website for lots of exciting things to check out and fun clubs (remember: do not to reveal any personal information unless you have permission from your parents).

Lights, Camera, Curses! Releasing at Retail

2009-04-21T15:47:00.001-07:00

There's been a petition on the Message Boards that has over 244 names on it asking us to release Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! in stores. We want you know that we've heard you loud and clear, so we're making it happen!!!

Not only will you be able to find the game in your local store, you'll also be able to buy it in a box from our online store. For those of you who love to display your collection of Nancy Drew games, this will be a great addition. Especially if you already have 19 games on your shelf, another slightly different one that's the beginning of a NEW series is perfect. We intend to create more games for the Dossier series, you'll want to make sure those are in your collection as well.

However, finding Lights, Camera, Curses! at the store may take a little sleuthing. It won't be next to where the Adventure series games are, so see if you can find it...

Here's what you should be looking for. Look for it in early May and on our website.

Next time, how we created the box for the new series!

Ransom of the Seven Ships Trailer

2009-04-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

We ususally post 3 trailers for each game we release. Each one is used for a different purpose.

1) Teaser Trailer
This is always the first trailer about the game that we release publiclly. If you using your sleuthing skills, you may notice that the narration for this trailer is the same as what you heard from the last game we released, except with different scenes. We use this trailer when we first start to promote the game.

2) 2 minute trailer
The 2 minute trailer is used exclusively for digital download partners. Since our games are so large and digital portals won't let users download such a large file for free to try for an hour, the second best way to get a feel for a game is to watch a video showing all of the cool things you'll get to do. We take a lot of time to make sure this trailer gives the viewer a good representation of gameplay.

3) 30 second trailer
And lastly, we have a short 30 second trailer that we use as advertising. Banner ads are usually limited to 30 seconds, so we try to tell as much of the story as possible to get the viewer as interested in the game as possible. There's a lot of BOOM and FLASH in this trailer because it is so short to catch a viewer's attention.

Earlier this week we released a trailer for Ransom of the Seven Ships. Does anyone know which trailer this is supposed to be?

PS. Yes, this means we'll have 2 more trailers for RAN coming in the next few months!

Scouting It Out

2009-04-08T15:11:00.001-07:00

The other day, we posted a new survey about activies that our fans participate in during their free time. We had a lot of fans write back and wonder, why are we asking about Girl Scouts?

Well not only do we have an ad that's currently in Girl Scout Leader magazine (has anyone seen it), but we have a lot of employees here at Her Interactive at were Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts at one time. Joining the Scouts has definitely made a difference in their lives if not some great memories at least! From selling cookies and camping trips, to the Pinewood derby and earning badges - it was fun to take a peek into the past to what everyone was doing long before they started making games at Her Interactive.

We asked everyone in the office to share some of their favorite memories from the Girl/Boy Scouts - and we received some touching touching stories that I'd like to share.

"I was a Girl Scout for six years in grade school, my mother was the leader.
I was a GS camp counselor for two summers in college, taking 10-12 year olds on two week canoe trips down the Pend Oreille river in north eastern Washington.
My oldest daughter was a Girl Scout for four years and I was the troop leader.

My favorite memories of GS were the incredible camping trips we went on when I was in 4-6 grade in the Bay Area in California. My mom was big into leadership skills, so the girls were responsible for most of the planning and preparation for the week long trips to camp at Yosemite, the Redwood forests or the beach. We planned the menus, activities, camp fires and camp skills training for the younger girls, shopped for the groceries, made chore charts, etc., and felt like we were so responsible and competent that we were practically grownups. Mom liked to say that we were so well trained that she never had to get up in the morning until the coffee was made, and that was true. We got up, started the fire and put the coffee on to perk, got the breakfast patrol to work on cooking, silently prepared our tents for daily inspection so we wouldn’t wake her, and called her when her coffee was ready. Of course, my dad was up and carefully supervising in his quiet, unobtrusive way. He taught us how to make one match fires even in the rain, and make the right kind of fire to slow cook foil dinners, bake cakes in the dutch oven, pizza or biscuits in the reflector oven, and to make a tent out of rope and a tarp that would keep us dry in a downpour. Mom was an opera singer in local opera productions, and dad competed nationally in barbershop quartet competitions, so they trained us girls to sing our campfire songs in three part harmony. We were so proud of how beautiful the music sounded that campfire sing-alongs often went on for an hour or two every night. We learned to do our part to protect and preserve the incredible parks we camped at by contributing at least one day every trip to trail building, campground maintenance projects or garbage pickup and the Hershey bar we got as a reward for all the hard work at the end of the day was the best tasting candy bar ever."
~Anne

"If it counts, I was a Brownie. Once I “crossed the rainbow bridge” to become an official girl scout, I stopped. I wasn’t terribly involved but the favorite memory was making pumpkin cookies for Halloween with the troop."

~Cathy

"I was a Brownie and than a Girl Scout many, many, many years ago. My favorite memory is of a camping trip my troop took , going on “midnight hikes” and cross a river on a rope bridge."

~Maureen

"I was a Boy Scout for 4 years. Didn’t make Eagle though."
~James S.

"I was a Girl Scout up through 8th grade. I got more proficiency badges (24) than anyone else in my troop. I remember selling cookies door to door every winter, when a box cost way less than a buck, and we had to go to each house twice – first to take the order and then to deliver the cookies. All hell broke loose one winter when my best friend’s house caught fire one night and all the cookie records for our troop were destroyed (her mom was the cookie chairwoman). So we had to try to remember which neighbor had ordered what. Not fun. But my friend was okay. Her mom was never cookie chairwoman again, though…"
~Anne L.

"I was a Cub Scout, then a Boy Scout until I was 18. I achieved the second-highest rank of Life Scout (highest being Eagle Scout).

I think my favorite memory from the scouts was a camping trip which started with us all travelling by train from San Diego to New Mexico when I was 14 or 15. The train ride took us a couple of days and was in and of itself a bit of an adventure. Once we arrived in New Mexico, we drove out to a mountain-range ranch (Philmont Scout Ranch), acres and acres large. Each of us was paired up with a horse. From there, we spent a week riding across the heavily forested Rocky Mountains. We stopped and made camp every night in a new place along the range, feeding and grooming our horses. We learned wilderness survival, horse husbandry, and some leatherworking. The view was breathtaking everywhere we went, with the wide open New Mexico skies, being surrounded by trees, and the unique and magical terrain of cliffs and mountain-top plains and groves, and valley-woods with thick branch canopies. Sunsets are altogether different in the middle of wilderness, especially on horseback."
~James C

"I was a Boy Scout for a few years. My favorite memory is camping under the stars in the Colorado mountains and waking up with a rabbit sitting on my chest. "
~Travis

"When I was 13, my girl scout troop visited Sierra studios. They were finishing up King’s Quest VII and we got to meet some of the women who worked on it (I still have the signed poster I got that day). At that visit, we were shown some of the cool, top secret stuff they were working on for their next title. The memory of seeing that kind of interactive innovation happen before my very eyes really stuck – it was amazing. Hm, maybe that helped to encourage me to get into the game industry?"
~Mari

"My favorite memory was Cub scouts=pinewood derby (got a scar on my fingers from a carving accident) and boy scouts (camping, summer camp and not getting my canoeing merit badge—flunked…)"
~Rob K.

"I liked sailing with my troop."
~Cody

"Finding a cool fossil on one of our hikes… Also doing random fun things (like riding bikes and stuff) to earn those “badge” thingies that you get to wear… "
~Melissa

"I was a “pioneer” – communist girl scout =). Now thinking back it was actually fun – we had a special program where we had to help elderly people or WWII veterans; performed for them; camped in the “wilderness”. But we never had to sell anything (no cookies for us!) ;)"
~Alena

"I was a boy scout. My favorite memory was building a small wooden race car with my dad and racing it in our local boy scout’s pinewood derby. I won first place in my division! :)"
~Tim

"I was a Girl Scout, and my favorite memory is of camping trips."
~Amy

"I remember I liked the badges, and I wanted a lot of them… like all of them… I did not succeed…"
~Ian

"My favorite memory was the Pine Car Derby!"
~Rob H.

If you were in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, what were your favorite memories?

More Fan Love

2009-04-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned in a previous post, we get pictures from our fans sometimes and we love to share. So this time, we have letter from Chase, who has a Nancy Drew obsession, and some pictures he/she sent us.

This is the folder Chase made for helping the members of the Message Board; all the hints, tips, and spoilers are kept in here.

Chase's Nancy Drew game case with the Her Interactive Message Boards in the background on the computer.

Pretty cool huh? Do anyone else have special things they've made for the games? We'd love to hear from you!

Ada Lovelace Day

2009-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Ada Lovelace Day(3/24) - an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology. Ada Lovelace is recognized as the first programmer, maniupulating symbols according to rules, and has inspired countless other women to join the field of technology. Today, in addition to recognizing Ada's contribution, we are also trying to acknowledge other women who are in technology.

Since we are a gaming company, we thought it might be fitting to blog about another very influential woman in the gaming industry - Sheri Graner Ray. Sheri joined Her Interactive when it was still American Laser Gamers, working as a producer on McKenzi & Co. and Vampire Diaries, before designing the first Nancy Drew games, Secrets Can Kill.

From there she moved on to other ventures such as working as a senior designer at Sony Online Entertainment and starting her own consulting company. But her passion was finding out what girls liked in games and why they liked the things they did. She even wrote a book titled, Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding the Market in 2003 and founded Women in Games International.

As a vetran in the industry, she's has worked tirelessly to get more women into the gaming industry and to help the gaming industry develop more games for women. Afterall, if girls don't play games when they're young, they're less likely to be interested in going into the gaming industry as a career. To get women to play games, Sheri believes that there are things about current games that need to be removed because they're offensive or do not complement the way women want to play games.

"We don't have to make games about fluffy pink kitties for the female market to be more interested in our titles. We just have to do things like not put a female with exaggerated proportions on the box cover. We need to address how we structure our tutorials so that they are more open to female learning styles."

For our Nancy Drew games fans, she wants you to know that you can grow up to make great games as well. Her motto is "never give up, never surrender." So follow your dreams, whether it's making Nancy Drew games, exploring the Mars, or becoming the first female President and don't let anything stand in your way. Now that's an inspiring role model!

Sheri Graner Ray's blog: http://twylite1.livejournal.com/

Who is a woman in technology or gaming that inspires you? Post your comments so we can recognize all the women who have made a difference in this field!

Business Cards

2009-03-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned last time, we are currently redesigning our business cards to match the new burgundy logo. Here's what the new business card looks like - it's pretty cool huh? Now we have both a front and a back.

A few of our fans mentioned that everyone should have personal cards - cards that tell people just a little bit about you so other people can get to know you better. That's a pretty awesome idea! I like the idea of learning something about a person you just met without searching for 5 very awkward minutes for a topic that you both have in common.

Let's say there are exactly 5 facts that you are allowed to put on the card (there's not a lot of space on a business card template). Here's what mine would probably say.

Jessica C.
Fact 1, Job: marketing producer for Nancy Drew games
Fact 2, hobbies: skiing, running, hockey, martial arts, scrapbooking, shopping, piano
Fact 3, loves: family, friends, bunnies, and food
Fact 4, random: I broke my two front teeth playing roller hockey
Fact 5, quote: "If you want to have sweet dreams, you have to live a sweet life"

Callling Card

2009-03-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

When I was young, I would collect business cards from restaurants so I could file them in my Rolodex just like my parents did with theirs. After a few months of collecting business cards, I thought it would be much cooler to make my own business cards so people I could hand them out to other people and feel "grown-up."

They were made out of index cards, cut to the size of business cards and simply said:

Sister's Club
Jessica C.
Super Star
Cindy's Closet - knock for permission to enter
Phone: Leave a note with message at door

When I was in college, I was so excited to get REAL business cards when I worked with the UW's BEDC program. Although I didn't work at a company, the program provided cards had my contact information on them so I could give them to people when I was looking for internships and networking.

Then I started started working at companies and now have a few cards of my own. Here's my current card:

With the redesign of our logo, we've had to redesign a lot of other things, including our teal business cards. Next time, I'll show you what our new business cards look like. It's a long way from my simple hand-cut index cards, although my position isn't nearly as impressive. :)

If you had your own business cards to introduce yourself to others, what would they say?

The Annoucement of Ransom of the Seven Ships

2009-02-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

They say it's not official until there's a press release. Well, we have JUST announced to the press (newspapers and online websites) that our next title is going to be Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships.

While our fans have played The Haunting of Castle Malloy or followed our blogs have known this for since October, the rest of the world finally gets to hear about it. We've included a little more information about the game in our letter to the press including:

- You get to play as George
- Go diving in a coral reef
- Explore a shipwreck

Read the entire press release here.

And of course, to get some more attention, we also released some more screen shots. Take a look!

Ransom of the the Seven Ships - Screenshots

2009-02-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

We already got a sneak peak at the beach Nancy will be staying at with George and Bess, but what's the view look like when we take a few steps back?

Don't forget to wear sun screen or you might get sunburned! After spending some time working on your tan lines, search for some excitement as you go sailing! Watch out for rocks, dophins, and the wind though. You wouldn't want to get shipwrecked...

More to come tomorrow!

Window into RAN

2009-02-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

Like we mentioned in the Jump Start post, we're getting started earlier this year with releasing information about the games. If you've been following our Twitter feed, then you might know that we've been trying to figure out which screenshots to release for Ransom of the Seven Ships.

It was a pretty tough choice, with a variety of contenders such as wildlife, beaches, and inventory items, but we finally settled on a few. We will have these screenshots on WEDNESDAY 2/25. In the meantime, here's a little teaser for our fans. :)

I imagine Nancy would have a great time here - I know I would! Sipping on smoothies, swimming at the beach, and going snorkeling would be at the top of my priorities if I was in the Bahamas. What would you do if you were here?

Fan Love

2009-02-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

We always love hearing from our fans. Their ideas never cease to amaze us! We like to share the cool things they send us, so everyone else can see them as well.

We received an email to webmaster@herinteractive.com the other day from Mary. She baked the cake from Secret of Shadow Ranch and sent us the picture.

It looks so yummy! Has anyone else tried to make one of the recipes from our games? We'd love to hear about it!

Just Make it Pink

2009-02-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

Recently we posted a tweet on our Twitter feed about women preferring 'girly' themes such as spa, fashion, and celebrities more than something traditionally more male oriented (engineering, cars, professional sports). There was a lot of feedback so we decided it would be a good topic to explore more on the blog.

We are a gaming company, and we first started, a lot a retailers refused to sell our games because "girls are computer phobic." Of course, we knew better. The only games girls had in 1995 were Barbie Fashion and 90210 Beverly Hills games. Girls are interested in more than just fashion dress up games we said. They like adventure games too, just not the same bloody ones that boys do. Girls want a good story and a reason for why they're doing something. And so the Nancy Drew games came to be.

As the gaming industry developed, other companies started to realize that girls DO in fact play games. They tried to appeal to girls by making things the color PINK. Perhaps they thought all girls liked Barbies and therefore would like anything pink (interestingly enough, there is a study that says girls are hard wired to like pink). Hence the rise of the pink DS, Twister Pink, pink Guitar Hero guitars, among other things. As we all know, merely having something the color pink isn't enough. There has to be substance behind the pink. But if the substance is there, then will the pink be just enough to make it appeal MORE to girls?

But what if the game the company was trying to sell was really a good game? Take for instance, a Nancy Drew game. It has lots of puzzles, thinking, talking to characters, and a great mystery. If all things stay the same, would girls be more interested in a mystery about a horse show or a model train competition? Both games have the same puzzles and same story elements, but the theme is different. Which one would you choose? Does the theme really help make girls more interested or are game developers just stereotyping girls?

PS. we're not thinking about putting horses or trains in our next title, but we have had both horses (Shadow Ranch) and trains (Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon) in our games.

Jump Start

2009-02-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

For 2009, we resolved to interact more with our fans. Our games are created for YOU, so it makes sense that we would want to hear what you want and what you have to say. It's a two way street though - we also want to share things with you! Fun stuff like concept sketches, behind the scenes information, extra digital content for download, scripts, and character analysises. Now how should we get this trove of content to our fans so they can pass it on to their friends? Our website is an obvious answer, but beyond Her Interactive.com where else should we be so we can communicate with you and your friends?

So this year, we're getting a jump start and releasing a little information about the next game, Ransom of the Seven Ships.

Focus Group Testing at Her Interactive

2009-01-26T15:58:00.000-08:00

Before we release a game, we try to make sure that it's fun to play. Fun is defined by a few things:
1) do you want to keep playing?
2) would you play it again?

The answers to these two very important questions would be YES! Sometimes we just a 'yes' or 'not at all,' but it's important to know these things so we can make our game better. This is where focus testers come in. We don't really know if our game is fun for OTHER people... Our designers think it's fun, and in theory, it probably is, but you never know unless you take it out to the real world for people to experience.

In our focus groups, the testers to play a small part of the game and then we ask them questions about what the liked and what they didn't like. It's really important that they give us their honest opinion so we can fix things that aren't working and keep the things that are!

Is there anyone in the Seattle area that's interested in coming to Her Interactive to test the next Dossier game for us? It's a sneak peek at the new game, but you have to keep what you see top secret! If you or someone you know meet these requirements and is available the week of February 9, please email us at webmaster@herinteractive.com with the subject 'focus groups blog'.

- lives in the Seattle area, available to come to Bellevue the week of February 9
- female, 22-55 years old
- play computer games at least twice a month
- played at least one game from these series: Mystery Case Files, Agatha Christie, Hidden Expeditions, Dream Chronicles, Azada, Virtual Villagers, or Sherlock Holmes game
- downloaded and purchased a game online in the past 6 months OR have a paid subscription to a gaming website (Big Fish, Real Arcade, Pogo, WildTangent, Shockwave, etc.)
- has NOT played Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses

NEW Amateur Sleuth Blog and Twitter Feed

2009-01-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

At Her Interactive, we have always try to connect with our fans, so we've had the Message Board, Dare to Play blog, and Newsletter to let you know what's going on in our world. For the 2009, we are pleased to present the Amateur Sleuth Blog and a Twitter Feed

AMATEUR SLEUTH BLOG
This blog is updated by our new production intern, Brandon. He's really excited to meet our fans and post things about Her Interactive, the projects he's working on, and other random thoughts. Check this blog often for updates!
Read the Amatheur Sleuth blog

Her Interactive Twitter Feed
Twitters are 150 character updates and fleeting thoughts. Since these are really short messages, we can send multiple updates daily. Look for 'tweets' about meetings we're attending, new blog posts, sneaking suspicions, and cryptic messages. If you create a Twitter account and follow HerInteractive, you can be emailed every time we make a new post so you'll be the first one to know the latest news.
See our recent Tweets

Check out these new things and let us know what you think!

New Year, New Look

2009-01-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

As you might have noticed, we've undergone our long awaited makeover! Take some time to sleuth around the new site and get aquainted with its features. We think you'll like the new changes we've made to make it easier navigate the site and find information in one convenient place. While we understand that all of our fans will miss the teal color, we think that the new burgundy breathes something vibrant, modern, and mysterious into the site.

Of course, this is still a work in progress, so if you find things that are incorrect or have suggestions, please feel free to contact us at webmaster@herinteractive.com. We update the website often, so check back to see what else is new.

The message board and tech support pages are part of Phase 2 of this project, so we're working on matching those pages to the rest of our site. We'll have more details on the date of the switchover once we get closer. For those who want to get a head start on matching their signatures to the new design: 3C0928 is the new background color.

We look forward to lots of new and exciting things for 2009 and we can't wait to show you what else we have planned for this year! Stay tuned!

Been Gone a While

2008-12-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry we've been gone for so long! We went straight from the Thanksgiving holiday, to the office remodel, and we'll be off again for Christmas soon. So what have we been up to?

Our newly remodeled office looks pretty awesome! We got some new carpet, paint, and a new conference room so we don't have to crowd into the same place. There's also a lot of unpacking going on and who knew we would find so much history in our files!
Remember these goodies from a long time ago?

It's great to see how much we've grown since then. Now we have interactive mini-games, such as the one for Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! The demo is so much fun to play, and the full game is even better. It's something we've worked on for a long time, so I'm glad our fans are finally able to play something we've only dreamed about. The demo gives fans a taste of the new series without purchasing the entire game, but I bet once you play the demo, you'll be hooked!

And while we were gone, we also launched Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek for Wii! We're excited to make our first video game. Everyone has known us to make PC games, and now we're finally moving into the console arena, so you'll be able to play in the living room with your family. The story for the game is still the same, but the newly redesigned mini-games are so cool! Cooking, snowmobiling, and throw snow balls takes on a whole new level when you're actually making those motions with the Wii Remote.

Lastly, we're still working on the website redesign and hope to have it finished soon. Keep checking back for updates!