Her Interactive, the company behind the Nancy Drew and Nancy Drew Dossier series, has brought in Stuart Moulder, a 20 year veteran in the gaming industry, to take the role of CEO at Her Interactive, focusing on corporate strategy and day to day operations in forming a new, dual leadership structure. Completing the duo, Megan Gaiser will retain her role as Chief Strategic Creative Officer, focusing primarily on “creative direction, brand and portfolio expansion, business development and strategic partnerships.”

“I’m eager to join the talented team at Her Interactive,” says Stuart Moulder, CEO, Her Interactive. “The Nancy Drew series has attracted a loyal audience and earned dozens of Parent’s Choice Gold Medal awards by delivering fun and inspirational entertainment to millions. The opportunities for Her Interactive to reach an even broader audience are tremendous.”

“As we have grown Her Interactive from a dedicated PC game developer to additional platforms, we recognized the need to expand our leadership structure to better leverage Her Interactive’s native capabilities while successfully navigating the complexity of new initiatives,” says Megan Gaiser, CSCO, Her Interactive. “I’m very excited to welcome Stuart Moulder to the Her Interactive team. Together, we will build on our strong series foundation and outstanding creative work we have done to date, and continue to bring Nancy Drew to audiences around the world via a variety of games, platforms and applications.”

This announcement comes as the company revs up preparations for the launch of its newest title on PC and Mac, Nancy Drew®: The Captive Curse on June 28, 2011. Stay tuned for more details! I have a feeling we will be seeing big things coming from Her Interactive in the near future…

RENT/TRY

It’s a good things that the Nancy Drew games from Her Interactive don’t actually require you to play them in order. I was last solving mysteries in #21 – Warnings at Waverly Academy and going into Shadow at the Water’s Edge, I had no idea what had happened in-between. What you learn prior to setting off on the newest adventure is that Nancy has been invited to teach English in Japan and will be staying at the Ryokan Hiei, a small traditional hotel known to be haunted.

Before I tell you how the game progresses, let me tell you now that if you’re the type of person that is very bad at number puzzles, or quickly loses patience with numbers or the type of puzzles you might find in the newspaper, this is not the game for you. Shadow at the Water’s Edge throws a lot of Japanese culture at Nancy, not the least of which is the puzzles.

I knew I was in for something different with this game just after opening the packaging, it’s the first of the Nancy games I’ve seen on two discs, which told me I was in for a game with a little more oomph to it than before. I’m not new to the Nancy games, I’ve played about six of them now and I find that I enjoy the puzzler/mystery feel of the games and having been a fan of mystery stories (Nancy Drew Mysteries specifically) for years, I’ve got a pretty good mind when it comes to figuring out what to do next in these games. They traditionally haven’t been terribly difficult or time consuming, finding the right mix of puzzle and mystery with story and repetition.

Having arrived in the ryokan, I met Miwako, the young lady at the front desk and Suki, her robotic cat. I’m later introduced to her grandmother, Takae and her boyfriend (slash hotel Handyman) Rentaro. Rentaro specifically is important in the beginning of the game, as it’s he that introduces Nancy to three puzzle types: Renograms, Nonograms, and Sudoku. The latter two puzzle types play pretty huge parts in getting the game to progress, so it’s important to not only do the easy puzzles, but to go back to Rentaro for a few more, just so you can get the practice.

Soon after arriving at the ryokan, Nancy happens to be in the lobby as a furious hotel guest is checking out early. They’ve been frightened away by the haunted hotel and it’s then that Nancy’s detective senses start tingling. She’s raring to crack the case before it’s even really started and it’s time to start grilling Rentaro, Miwako and Takae about the ryokan’s past. Nancy knows they’ve got a secret, but their traditional family values and concern over the ryokan means they’re not saying a thing.

Also in Japan, are Bess and George, two of Nancy’s good friends and she’s got them on speed dial so she can keep in close contact with them. George is working a technology expo at the exhibit center in Misako and tries to get Nancy tickets to join her and Bess, but the tickets are sold out. This means that for the entire game, you’ll only ever interact with Bess and George through the phone with calls and the occasional text message. However, Nancy does travel down to the exhibit center many times to meet with Miwako’s sister, Yumi. If you’ve played many of these Nancy Drew games before, you might find it interesting to note that Nancy’s boyfriend Ned, is not available to talk to. Usually Ned is available to call when Nancy needs to rehash the plot a little bit and he’ll give hints. In some games, Bess has been available, or a combination of Bess and/or Ned. Bess and George fill that role in this game, though they’ve conferenced their phones so when you call one of them, you’re really calling both of them. As hints go, Bess and George are fairly useless – though they will try and help you with your puzzles, it’s normally tips/ideas that you already know and just don’t know what to do with it. The best way to know how to keep your game moving forward is to keep an eye on Nancy’s check-list, where you can check tasks off as you complete them. Not being able to check off one of the tasks has more than once made me realize I haven’t completed something or investigated something as thoroughly as the game wanted.

Nancy also has a responsibility to the school where she’s teaching English. She has a few students and each night, and she keeps her students assignments in a box in her hotel room. For several nights, you’ll want to keep up with the assignments to make sure Nancy grades them as new ones come in. I only saw four assignments total, but played through more days/nights than that, so it’s fairly easy. You’ll never have to take Nancy to the school either. In fact, there’s only a few places in all Japan Nancy will be able to visit in the game. There’s the ryokan, there’s a small Pachinko parlor in Kure that Nancy needs to visit several times throughout the game for different reasons. There’s the exhibit hall in Misako where you’ll also find Yumi and her bento stand. And a few times, Nancy will make a trip to Yumi’s apartment.

So, after Nancy’s been good and settled at the Ryokan Hiei, the strange things start to happen. Lights flicker, doors slam, Nancy sees a strange dark haired lady in the bathroom mirror and the mirror cracks, and that’s just the beginning. Nancy finds a book on supernatural hauntings written by an American named Savannah; the book has a whole chapter on the ryokan. Nancy manages to get in touch with Savannah, who happens to be in Japan at the same convention Bess and George are working, and talks to her about the ryokan. Eventually, Nancy’s the only guest left in the ryokan. After some not-so-subtle Nancy Drew styled prodding, she learns that Takae thinks the ryokan is haunted by her daughter’s spirit and that the spirit (also called Yūrei) is angry with her.

The story in Shadow at the Water’s Edge (while I think having little to do with the title – there’s water, and it’s Japan, but it’s kind of eh- not really related) mixes good old traditional detective mystery with a little supernatural fascination and it’s Nancy’s job to figure out what the real mystery is and who (or what) is behind it all. If you’ve played any of the other 22 Nancy Drew games, you’re going to be for the same sort of ride you’ll find in the other games (difficult number puzzles aside). However, you should expect to put in more significant amount of time with this game. I think in the past some of the games can be beat in 4-6 hours if you’re pretty quick on the uptake. Shadow at the Water’s Edge probably took me closer to 10 hours which is a pretty big upswing in time, and probably explains the 2 disc install. I think the game’s had a bit of a graphics adjustment as well, it’s nothing to write home about, but it’s not the typical three-dollar mystery puzzler you’ll find at most online game portals either.

I did have one minor concern about the story in the game. This is one of the first times I’ve played one of the Nancy Drew games and really had an issue with timing on certain things. Events didn’t always trigger when I thought they would, and sometimes I had to revisit things I’d already seen or done, because I didn’t do it after the event that the game had it planned for. For instance, I looked up records on the ryokan’s computer as part of my investigation, but because I didn’t do it after a certain conversation with a character, I had to do it all over again after triggering another conversation. Little things like this might mean retracing Nancy’s steps a few times, but it’s quick to get around, and conversations are linear enough, you can cover everything you need to without too much trouble. It’s not like there’s a time-limit on the game, so, this wasn’t a huge deal, but since Nancy can only go places during certain times (the trains stop running after midnight) it does mean repeatedly returning to Nancy’s room and setting the alarm on her phone for another time. On the good side though, I didn’t run into any major glitches that prevented me from completing the game, like that time I played game #14 and a glitch near the end of the game meant having to start the whole thing over again. (One of the valuable lessons learned about keeping multiple saves happened that day.)

There are two levels to the game; you can play as a Junior or Senior Detective, which changes the difficulty level of the puzzles. As with many of the more recent games, there’s trivia and achievements at the end of the game, based on your game play. They’re minor additions and don’t necessarily add anything to the game, they’re more to reward you for doing the more esoteric things in the game, like playing with the robotic cat, or relaxing in the hot springs. There are however, two different endings to the game, based on a choice Nancy makes when she figures out the culprit. It changes the post game wrap-up a bit, but not so much that it’s worth repeating those last five minutes or so of the game.

For the money, Nancy’s got a pretty big mystery in store for players. It’s not going to keep you busy for long, but if you’re in to it for the mystery, for the Nancy Drew lore, or a chance at different type of puzzler (as long as you like numbers), I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Her Interactive has unleashed the storm for Nancy Drew’s 80th anniversary celebration with Nancy Drew: Trail of the Twister. Combining technology, sabotage, secrecy, mystery, and personality, players go undercover with Nancy as storm chasers in order to discover who is behind the unexpected mishaps within the $100 million tornado touchdown prediction competition.

“It’s been 80 years since Nancy Drew first appeared in print and now she has evolved into one of the most beloved female characters of all time,” says Megan Gaiser, CEO, Her Interactive. “Her winning combination of smarts and spunk is tailor-made for gaming. Girls – and players – of all ages will love the twists and turns we’ve added to our latest adventure game. Nancy may be 80, but she always be our favorite teen ready to tackle any challenge, even tornadoes.”

In addition to the Nancy Drew puzzle adventure, players will dabble in such aspects of meteorology as cloud study, taking and interpreting Doppler readings, and handling all kinds of weather equipment. They must also keep supplies at hand, balance a budget, and earn pennies in the arcade for more “goodies.”
Take risks as a Junior or Senior Detective and download or order Nancy Drew: Trail of the Twister from Her Interactive for PC or Mac.

Platform: PC
ESRB: E 10
Number of Players: 1
Publisher: Her Interactive
Release Date: September 2009
Official Website

When I was offered the chance to review a game set in a luxurious resort, of course I jumped out of my seat to do so. Resorting to danger is the second installment of the Nancy Drew Dossier series (the first being Lights, Camera, Curses), the more casual of the Nancy Drew franchises.

In Resorting to Danger, players play as the quick witted Nancy Drew as she attempts to expose and stop a bomber at a posh resort on the coast, while playing the role of “spa gopher” so as to not alarm the well to do clientele. This setting does prove to be a great way to introduce some very distinct personalities. However, being the gopher is not without its drawbacks, in the process of investigation, she has to perform menial tasks (which do actually contribute to the entertainment value of the game) such as cleaning the hair salon, making tea, and watching after a mischievous fluffy dog.

The mystery itself kept me guessing until the end, though I was sure I knew whom the bomber was on more than one occasion. When do we not in a whodunit like this? With the storyline being the driving force behind the whole game, being unpredictable is a good trait to have. The game itself is a story driven hidden object “plus” – the plus being matching found objects to one another in order to help her complete her tasks and further her investigation. Multiple mini games also appear within the story similarly to Lights, Camera, Curses for the purpose of unlocking doors, disarming the bombs, and such. Lastly, the game is sprinkled with conversation memory quizzes. Not only is remembering the conversations between Nancy and some of the key characters important for getting the most out of the game, but also to gain points by answering questions and choosing which rooms to go to correctly.

The sights and sounds of Resorting to Danger are as appealing as Lights, Camera, Curses but with an appropriate color palette to a high end resort & spa – brighter and more lush with great enhanced lighting and detail (generally speaking – there are some darker and dingier locations, like the basement). The seeking and finding is petty accessible, without being too simple. The music, sound cues, and character voices all serve to enrich the experience.

As a sequel, Resorting to Danger does improve on the original in the way that it seems to take out things that needlessly take time, like walking between locations. Everything seems to flow together a little more smoothly, and I enjoyed meeting these characters quite a bit more; they are quirky and easy to somehow personally relate to, making the game that much more immersive. It also added a couple of elements to challenge the memory, more alternate endings and an “arcade mode” to up the replayability factor.

Add to all this a strong, likeable, witty, intelligent female lead character and this game is great for girls of all ages. It’s worth picking up for a good time that is easy to play for a few minutes or a few hours at a time, challenging, fun, and entertaining.

Thanks for reading!
Dawn

Review copy provided by Her Interactive and did not affect the outcome of this review.

Win yourself a copy of Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger this weekend (April 2, 3, & 4) on GamingAngels.com! Simply leave a comment here telling us what you like most about going to a spa – or what you would like most – or your favorite spa! Winners will be announced Sunday after 7 pm pacific. You’ve got until then to post away!
Good luck!!

In the game (well, also in the books), Nancy is asked to be a bridesmaid in the wedding of a friend who is marrying a reality television star. Naturally, the whole wedding is being filmed. (Is her friend Jessica Simpson? Because I can tell her how this will end.) However, some unknown villain wants to sabotage the whole thing! Oh no! If someone did that during my wedding, I think I’d go off.

Nancy, however, just decides to figure out who’s doing the plotting. I assume that she won’t really kill anyone for it, though.

Nancy Drew: The Model Mysteries (hey, where were the models?) is scheduled to be released in February.

In support of the upcoming release of the newest Nancy Drew installment, Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy, Her Interactive has introduced “Watching Waverly,” an online soap delivered through the Twitter accounts of the Waverly students today through October 16th.

Students Leela Yadav, Megan Vargas, Izzy Romero, Danielle Hayes, and Corine Myers tweet about their daily lives and update fans about the events as they unfold, revealing details about the game, and background of the characters and school itself.

“Many of our fans are already participating in social networks and ‘Watching Waverly’ is a unique way of delivering relevant content to them, as well as expanding the in-game universe to the real world,” said Megan Gaiser, president and CEO of Her Interactive. “It’s a great way to pique fan interest and get them involved in the game just prior to launch.”

See Her Interactive for details and to follow the students of Waverly Academy! Or, if you don’t Tweet, you can read the stories at the Ameteur Sleuth Blog.

In the meantime, Check out the trailer for Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy right here, right now!

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!

Her Interactive, has released the second title in the hit Nancy Drew Dossier series, Resorting to Danger nationwide. Follow Nancy Drew into the luxurious Redondo Spa as she attempts to thwart an all new ingenious criminal mind finding hidden clues and use their observation, deduction, and problem-solving skills to uncover culprits and schemes in an intriguing mystery.

“The response we have received from our fans to our new casual game series has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Megan Gaiser, president and CEO of Her Interactive. “The massive adoption of casual games by the mainstream audience – especially females – has really pushed the category in new directions, and our Nancy Drew Dossier series certainly caters to that audience through its gameplay accessibility, high production values and instant fun.”

In Resorting to Danger, players assume the role of Nancy Drew as she goes undercover as a general assistant to unearth clues, interview suspects and solve daunting puzzles in order to determine who is planting bombs at the spa. With six alternate endings, players can tackle Resorting to Danger again and again from different approaches and scenarios.

Resorting to Danger is available now at retailers nationwide and for download online at HerInteractive.com for a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Go undercover as Nancy Drew once again to save the Redondo Spa in the new Nancy Drew Dossier game Resorting to Danger starting August 25th! Preorders available for the boxed game now, and download preorders start tomorrow!

Nancy Drew Warnings at Waverly Academy

The 21st Nancy Drew PC adventure game is due out this October. Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy puts players in the role of Nancy as she goes undercover at an all-girls boarding school. She’s there to investigate the threatening notes and accidents that valedictorian candidates have been receiving.

“As empowering as our games are for female players, at the end of the day they still must be as challenging and fun as their competitors, and with Warnings at Waverly Academy we have all the compelling ingredients needed for a hit,” said Megan Gaiser, president and CEO of Her Interactive. “Our games are really mystery-adventures wrapped in layers of increasingly complex puzzles that require deductive reasoning to not only get through, but to ultimately determine the culprit, and that sense of accomplishment is what keeps our community so committed to the franchise.”

Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy will be available this October for $19.99.