Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Never Too Old for Nancy Drew

This past year I have made an interesting observation. Some people who comment, post, email, or respond to us admit they are fans of Nancy Drew games, and are yet a little ashamed or embarrassed to announce that they enjoy playing them. Some fans are male, some fans are in their 30s or even older.

Maybe I could help ease this embarrassment. There is nothing to be ashamed of. :) Speaking both from my Nancy-Drew-fan-mind as well as from my knowledge of the Her Interactive company, here are three things that can make you proud to play these mystery games:

1. Nancy Drew: This fictitious character was created in 1930, so we may have fans over 80 years old who read the original books, or appreciate the values of this old-time character. Nancy was--and still is--a strong female character who is smart and brave and adventurous. Anyone can be proud of taking on her role in these modern-day games!

2. Rated E for Everyone/Ages 10 and Up: While a person can be quick to judge the game rating by what age the game is appropriate for, it takes an observant reader to understand why these games are rated E or E10.  These low ratings simply mean that the games are "clean" and "appropriate" for the general audience. It is a value we have to create games with integrity. We also say "ages 10 and up" because the puzzles may be difficult for a young child to play on their own without help, or that it may be a bit hard to understand the story. The games are made for everyone to enjoy! For more information about ESRB game ratings (particularly the rating for Ghost of Thornton Hall), read this blog post here.

3. Her Interactive: Back in the day when it was nearly unheard of for girls to be playing video games (waaay back in 1997) this company was formed to create games targeted to girls. While we continue to provide a great game for the female audience (whom today are playing a lot more video games -- yay!!), the games are just as fun and appropriate for guys to enjoy. Guys, we aren't leaving you out!
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The Nancy Drew games are not only meant for pre-teens, nor are they meant only for girls. The games are designed to be fun, challenging, interesting, rich in story, puzzles, and fun characters. If you are playing a Nancy Drew game from Her Interactive, then that game we made was meant for you!

Our fans are the best fans ever! They are smart, witty, adventurous and determined to crack any case. The number one reason why we keep making these great games is because you enjoy them. So thank you for helping us to continue sending Nancy Drew to far-off places, for letting her snoop in nooks and crannies; solving mysteries and revealing the truth behind all these culprits!

Are you proud to be a Super Sleuth? Tell your friends that you are the #1 detective in history because you've solved mysteries as Nancy Drew!


~Little Jackalope~

19 comments:

William D said...

Ever since my sister introduced to these games, I have loved them! I'm not embarrassed at ALL!!! They are extremely entertaining and I like the challenge of the puzzles. The plots are amazing, and the characters all have secrets and plots and schemes. But only one is the true culprit! These games have been keeping me busy for.... 6 years!!! I really love them, and I hope they are made until the end of time ^_^

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to get all my friends to be ND fans too! A couple of them have played a game and they like the books!:) One of my sisters thinks ND games are for "babbies" (She has not played any of the games or read the books) *sigh* I'm still working on trying to get her to like them. But as for me, I shall "STAY CALM AND SLEUTH ON"! :)
And I have a questian. What is your favorite ND game Little Jackalope?

~JOY77

Future Animator said...

Love this post!!:D<3
Waaaay back in 1997?! I feel old now...that's the year I was born! Lol ;D
Thank you HI, for everything you've done, for giving us hours of fun memories we will never forget.

ND's #1 fan said...

LJ I love your post! That is so true! :) You can never be too old for Nancy Drew!!!! :D

Anonymous said...

OMG!!!! LJ u r ausome. u don't have to be over 80 to have read the oldest sreies i have and im not even 15. those books rock just like these video games

Katie said...

I'm 33. I have two children. And I love Nancy Drew games by HER! I discovered them only about 4 years ago. Since then, I played all but one of them. I hope to be able to introduce my daughter to them when she is older. I've just recently found your blog, and have been enjoying it. I especially like the video interviews you have done with HER employees. Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

I am sooooo glad that you wrote this. I am in college and sometimes feel a little weird about playing these games. But I love them so much and they are a great way to relax and play on the computer, without getting into games that are just mindlessly shooting people. Thanks for making these games.

~ Samantha

Melody said...

Great post. There were a lot of girls playing video games in the 80's. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was THE game console to have. Girls at my school had their own. In the early 90's girls had Super Nintendo and Sega.

The problem was that the industry decided to market to the guys more. Unrealistic images of females popped on video games shelves. I sometimes think of what a wasted chance the video game industry had but blow it big time.

Anonymous said...

And to think I felt bad about playing ND games at 18! :)

Anonymous said...

This is a great post. I am very open about my love for Nancy Drew. If someone tells me she is dumb, I have to not listen and walk away. Because, I know that she is great.

-Lee

ComicalCrafty said...

I think this is a great post that explains the obviously great intentions of the company. Back in '97, you guys at HeR probably felt that video games were a little exclusive in a way, appealing more to boys than girls. So you decided to remedy this by making games that would appeal to girls as well. But they aren't supposed to appeal exclusively to girls - everyone's welcome, and that's what's awesome about HeR Interactive's games.

Anonymous said...

I must agree with these points... My family still loves to play these games, and that includes 2 boys and 2 20yrs. These games are awesome!

Shainnen Somerville said...

You know, growing up was a little hard for me to come out and admit that I was a fan of the Nancy Drew games. But the more as I got older I realized something; I would always go to my neighboorhood supermarket that would be selling those games (and by the way, the market was about 2 blocks away from my high school) and I would always see the Nancy Drew games go out of stock. So it was always occur to me that I wasn't the only one wanting to buy them. As time passed on, I don't care anymore what people think, because I'm an adult now, and I love the one childhood computer game series that brought me here who I am today. And I can never thank you guys enough for always keeping us completly happy by what you bring. 12 years and still counting, I will always be faithful to you HeR.
P.s. LJ, at the time, me being 8 years old, Message in a Haunted Mansion was easy for me to play(; so theres some smart cookies out there!

Heights9Fan said...

You should definitely make more inspirational posts like this especially on the topic of guys playing Nancy Drew Games. I'm a Filipino guy who doesn't find anything wrong in playing these games. In fact, ND made a significant contribution into shaping the spunky character I am now.

Anonymous said...

Me and my best friend who love Nancy Drew, got one of our classmates hooked on the games! HE loves them! Nancy is for all people, regardless of age and gender.

Anonymous said...

I started playing the games when I was about 10. I'm almost 21 now and I actually stopped playing the games between the ages of 15 and 18 because I was worried people would find out and think I was weird or something. It didn't help that was also around the same time I started dating and wanted boys to think I was cool and mature. lol. But I never stopped visiting the HER site to see what new games were coming out and I always wanted to play them so bad. So I finally was like. "Whatever, I'm gonna play em!" I am all caught up now and own all the games. Also, I confessed to my current boyfriend of a year and a half and he thinks it is adorable and he has watched me play the games and thinks they are pretty cool too!!


Thank you for posting this Little J, because it is something I have been insecure about for a few years now. Now I can feel proud that I have an interest in the games. :D

Jennifer said...

My husband and two sons and I have been playing Nancy Drew games for years now! We have played them all. I'm 47 and my sons are 19 and 24 and we all really enjoy them! It's a great way to spend time together and there's nothing in the games to embarrass any of us in front of the others - unlike a lot of other games and tv or movies!

Drift said...

I just bought the collection on steam and the new one, i am a big fan of horror/adventure games, Myst was my start. So i decided to give these a go. There is such a lack of great titles in the gaming market now and there are always new games in the series, so i guess this was a great time to jump in. I am still waiting for The Lost Crown 2 and The Last Crown by JB, so these will keep me occupied again.

People need to remember a game is a game, it doesn't really matter who its intended for. If you enjoy it, then you enjoy it. I'm a 26 year old guy but i will play almost any horror game (unless its zombie themed as that is seriously overdone.).

Unknown said...

Im a 32 year old male, and I love these game's; I hope they make lots more.