Here is the first in what I hope will be a regular series of featured interviews with strong, successful, creative, interesting people and companies out there in the casual space today. Her Interactive is one of those companies which I believe has a strong, positive approach to creating games targeted toward females that challenge us to think critically, while still having a good time – without being all pink and frilly. I was able to ask a few questions of Amy McPoland, VP of Marketing at Her Interactive, a company which has always created and supported great games that challenge us and make us think to talk about the face of women in the industry, creating games for women, and what’s in store for Her Interactive.

GA: First, please tell me a little bit about your role in Her Interactive.

Amy: As the VP of Marketing, I’m responsible for the marketing of the Nancy Drew games, which entails reaching the consumer through multiple tactics. Our primary audience is tween/teen girls, so our marketing outreach includes online & print advertising as well as social media activity, HerInteractive.com and other promotional outreach.

As the voice of the consumer, the Marketing team also listens to our consumers. We have a very loyal fan base, and a very active Message Board of 90K users that give us feedback on our games, as well as share hints & tips with each other. Part of my role is to monitor that feedback to ensure we are using their feedback to make our games better.

Since Nancy Drew has been a positive role model for almost 80 years, we also have a very strong secondary audience of adult women, and have found that our games have created a multi-generational phenomenon, often bringing girls, moms and grandmothers together to share the experience. In fact, we get emails from moms and grandmothers all the time thanking us for providing them with a fun, quality and family friendly gaming experience they can share.

GA: What prompted the founding of Her Interactive?

Amy:Her Interactive grew out of a company called American Laser Games in 1997, as the division of that company focused on female play preferences. The first Nancy Drew game was completed in 1998.

At that time, the Publishers told us girls were computer-phobic and would not play the game, so we could not get into retail. So we sold the game exclusively through our own website and Amazon.com. Sales took off, and 20 games later, here we are, proud of being the pioneer of games targeted toward females.

GA:How do you feel the gaming industry as a whole views women now in both the casual and console sectors? Is this changing?

Amy: The gaming industry is changing, and is paying more attention to girls & women than ever before – designing games specifically for those audiences. This is happening in both the console and casual markets. For the console market, I attribute this change to the Wii and the introduction of additional family-friendly games. For the casual market, this change can be at least partially attributed to the growth and evolution of the online, casual gaming industry. Since the demographic of this market is primarily adult women, many ‘casual’ games are being developed to cater to their specific play preferences.

GA: What kind of reactions or support do you get from other industry leaders being a company with one of the few female CEOs? Do you feel that it makes a difference?

Amy: Megan Gaiser, the CEO of Her Interactive, frequently mentions the support and camaraderie she feels in the gaming industry. One point that she has repeatedly made is that it’s great to have other industry CEOs – both women and men – share information and collaborate in order to help guide and lead the industry.

Gaming is an art form. And like other mediums, games should offer as many preferences as there are players – both girls and boys. The only way that we, as an industry, will satisfy the preference of both boys and girls is by fostering environments in game companies where we are sharing different ideas and perspectives. It’s the blending of both women & men in the industry that helps improve all aspects of the industry – including the content.

To paraphrase a recent keynote speech that Megan gave at the Seattle Casual Connect conference in July, diversification is key. The people making these games and playing these games are fortunately no longer just 18-34 white males. So, as leaders in the industry, we need to do our part to round out the talent in companies with people of all ethnicities and genders. I strongly believe there is a link between employee diversification and product diversification. As with other mediums like films, it takes a balance of genders and perspectives to create outstanding works of art that satisfies a variety of preferences. We know that when we genuinely collaborate, we’re open to more creative inspiration and those aha moments.

In terms of whether or not being a woman makes a difference, I think that since women CEOs are a minority in the gaming world, the important thing is that there are forums for women leaders in this industry, such as Women in Gaming International or the International Game Developers Association of which Megan is a member of their Women in Gaming advisory board.

GA: Do you play? How do you feel about games out there that specifically target females?

Amy: I do play games, and particularly to better understand our market and keep up with the competition. In terms of games out there specifically targeting females, we have been doing that with our Nancy Drew games since our first game launched in 1998. And 11 years and 20 Nancy Drew adventure games later, our series has been the best-selling adventure game franchise (in units per NPD) for the last 5 years, so we know that there is certainly a market for these games. Our secret is to create a game that delivers on the Nancy Drew brand and caters to female play preferences such as strong storyline, character development, and games that make you think. Additionally, the player gets to be Nancy Drew in our games, so the games empower players to step into the shoes of the super-sleuth and crack the case!

In terms of other games targeting females, there should be as many types of games for females as any other form of entertainment (e.g. books, movies, etc.), so I think it’s great that the industry is moving in this direction.

GA:Do you see any trends in the industry to making more universally appealing games, either looking at males & females or casual & hardcore gamers?

Amy: Social gaming and the social gaming platforms such as Facebook and iPhone are strong trends that seem to be transcending specific consumer categories to appeal to more universal, mass audiences, and dovetail with the current social media phenomenon. Additionally, micro-transactions and virtual worlds seem to also be part of the overall, universally appealing trend.

GA: I see that Her Interactive is beginning to make games for the Wii and the DS, what can console gamers expect in the future from Her Interactive?

Amy: We are excited about launching The Hardy Boys Nintendo DS game – since it’s both a new brand and new platform for us, and yet still delivers a great mystery adventure experience. As for the future, we hope to continue this line, and will continue to leverage our story-telling and adventure game formula to deliver quality games on platforms that make sense for us.

GA: With the success of the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Nancy Drew Dossier games, what is the thought about Her Interactive branching out into other brands? What does the future have in store for Her Interactive?

Amy: In the long term, we will continue to evaluate different brands as opportunities arise. Our goal is to continue with quality games that are good for you by challenging the player and making them think.

In the short term, we will be launching our next adventure game, ‘Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy’ in October. This game is #21 in the series, and as always, promises a new mystery adventure as Nancy goes undercover at an elite girls Academy.

Stay tuned for the trailer from the newest Nancy Drew game in the series: Warnings at Waverly Academy!

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