Amateur Sleuth

Weekend Puzzle #135

2012-01-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hooray for Friday! And so we continue trying to discover the Easter Egg hiding in Alibi in Ashes...here's another hint. Click the image for a larger view:

*Reminder: This puzzle is only for a little weekend fun, you do not need to submit your answer, but if you like, you may discuss it on our message boards here.

Do you have a Facebook account? If you do, we have a Facebook-only "Caption Contest" going on right now! Did you see yesterday's picture of Megan? Head over to our Facebook page and come up with a creative caption: Who is Megan talking to, and what is she saying? Be creative! You could win a couple of Koko Kringle bars!

My schedule for today includes:

Try out the puzzles going into our latest game
Play a game with the team during lunch break
Keep an eye on how the people solve the weekend puzzle
Eat a cookie
Prepare a free wallpaper download for Monday...and preferences?
Attend a meeting
Make magic happen

Do you have any weekend plans? I think I might start playing The Haunting of Castle Malloy again...

~Little Jackalope~

Playing Reporter

2012-01-26T16:28:00.000-08:00

The other day after I took a few snapshots of the awards on our wall, I walked past Megan's office, which was open, and caught her in the act of *gasp* multi-tasking! So I played paparazzi and snapped her photo. Notice the awesome Nancy Drew-style hat on her table. What do you think she's saying into her phone? ;)

~Keeping busy!~

The news for today: We interviewed our Sales Director, Melissa, on our Dare to Play blog. Check it out for a fun read!

Weekend puzzle tomorrow; another hint to the mystifying Easter Egg in Alibi in Ashes...dun-dun-DUN!
~Little Jackalope~

Decorating with Awards

2012-01-25T16:59:00.000-08:00

Today, our IT guru Larry and I got out a pencil, hammer and tools, went into the conference room, and started banging holes into the wall. Many passers-by slowed down to peek through the door to see what violent acts and mischievous work we were up to.

We were hanging up a bunch of our awards! We were running out of space on our wall above the counter, so we decided to use the opposite wall.

Notice how there is plenty of space below for another 2-3 rows. We are planning ahead. ;)
*Twitter quote contest is going on! Head over for a chance to win a digital strategy guide of Secret of the Scarlet Hand.
~Little Jackalope~

Immortalizing the Koko Kringle

2012-01-24T16:37:00.000-08:00

Not really, because all chocolate can be eaten and therefore is not immortal. Today I had a little project: framing the Koko Kringle candy bar in an awesome shadow box, then hanging it up on the wall in the front office for all guests and HI workers to see.

Let's just hope someone, like a Sonny Joon character, does not come in and break it open. That would be sad, but it would be a good mystery to solve.

We have some girls (and guys) coming in for focus group testing this week. This is where a few lucky fans get to come in to our office and try out the mini-puzzles. Our designer sits in and notes the difficulty of the puzzle or game, observes the player's choices and actions, and inquires which was their favorite. This is important information to take back to the production department. Once any and all problems are identified, steps are taken to ensure an easier and more enjoyable play-through. Sometimes the design needs changed, but most times it's the level of difficulty.

I just might sneak in and try the puzzles myself, but it would be a little hard to report back to you because I am sworn to secrecy. >.< How about if I take pictures...but show them to you later? It will be much later... :(
~Little Jackalope~

Back and Ready to Rock

2012-01-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

Now that the dangerous ice and snow has melted, every one's back in the office! Whoo-hoo! Now where were we?

Ah yes, congrats to our Nancy Drew TXT Challenge #2 winner: Dana from Madison, WI! She was randomly selected out of everyone who was entered into the grand prize drawing. Here was one of her prizes (*Note: This is my personal wallet, we did not give her my personal wallet, just the extra, unopened one that we had in the office):

Kind of makes you want one, right? I love using this; when I make a purchase the cashier notices and comments about Nancy Drew. I love when I get to talk about our games. :)

On to the weekend puzzle! Looks like many of you solved it, congrats! Here are the answers:
Down:
1) In Alibi in Ashes, Nancy is accused of [Arson].
3) Nancy Drew lives in [River Heights].
4) The cover of Danger by Design features a white [mask].
6) When you get into trouble, fail, or get hurt, you receive a [Second Chance].
7) The name of the Ice Cream Parlor in Alibi in Ashes. [Scoop]
10) You can order Pinky and [Perky] in Curse of Blackmoor Manor.
13) Warnings at [Waverly] Academy.
14) You can play [Land Rush] in Trail of the Twister and on your cell phone in later games.

Across:
2) Ned's last name. [Nickerson]
5) In Secret of the Scarlet Hand, [Mayan] artifacts are on display at the museum.
6) Nancy Drew [solves] mysteries.
8) After getting arrested in Alibi in Ashes, Nancy calls her friends for [help].
9) [Treasure] in the Royal Tower.
10) Find and earn Pa [Pennies] in Trail of the Twister.
11) The Final Scene takes place in a [theater].
12) On the cover of The Captive Curse, the hand is holding a [necklace].

Now that all the spaces are filled with the words, take a look at
"End:
1D, 2A, 3D1, 4D, 5A, 6A, 7D, 8A1, 14D, 10A2, 11A, 12A, 9A, 3D2, 6D, 10A1"

The numbers refer to [the word, while A = across, and D = Down]. Count this many letters to find the [grey-shaded letter, either the only one, the first one, or second shaded letter in that row or column]. You should get this at the end [Animal plus Action]. And I've noticed many of you contemplating this clue to an Egg in Alibi in Ashes. You all have great theories! Like magnificent souffles!

Ok sleuths, I've been holding out on you. I've known for a while that someone has indeed discovered this "Egg" in the game, yet no one has posted exactly how to earn it. Will you be the first? Take a look at the last few weekend puzzle answers. I will give you another hint this Friday. ;)

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #134

2012-01-20T23:38:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of the snow and ice, today's post is coming in late. Yep, the weather here is still pretty bad, and after being closed again yesterday, the Her Interactive offices only re-opened around lunchtime today. The danger is beginning to melt, so it's likely we will be back and in full action on Monday.

I didn't forget about the weekend puzzle! If you need help, take a look at our games' pages here. Here you go (click on the image to view a larger version):
Down:
1) In Alibi in Ashes, Nancy is accused of _____.
3) Nancy Drew lives in ____ _____.
4) The cover of Danger by Design features a white ____.
6) When you get into trouble, fail, or get hurt, you receive a ____ _____.
7) The name of the Ice Cream Parlor in Alibi in Ashes.
10) You can order Pinky and _____ in Curse of Blackmoor Manor.
13) Warnings at ________ Academy.
14) You can play ___ ___ in Trail of the Twister and on your cell phone in later games.

Across:
2) Ned's last name.
5) In Secret of the Scarlet Hand, ______ artifacts are on display at the museum.
6) Nancy Drew _____ mysteries.
8) After getting arrested in Alibi in Ashes, Nancy calls her friends for _____.
9) _______ in the Royal Tower.
10) Find and earn Pa _______ in Trail of the Twister.
11) The Final Scene takes place in a ________.
12) On the cover of The Captive Curse, the hand is holding a _________.

End:
1D, 2A, 3D1, 4D, 5A, 6A, 7D, 8A1, 14D, 10A2, 11A, 12A, 9A, 3D2, 6D, 10A1

Good luck, sleuths!
~Little Jackalope~

Snow and Celebrity Gamers

2012-01-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

Well, we were warned. The snow reeeally came down on us overnight, so the Her Interactive office is closed today. This means play-time outside during breaks. Short breaks, that is, because it's so cold outside! If only I had a gazillion Toasty Packs I would be able to stay outside for a longer length of time. I'm trying to build a fort wall like Freddie's in The White Wolf of Icicle Creek. Making it look like an actual castle wall would be the final touch.

On our Facebook page last week we posted a fun question on our wall: "If you could play a Nancy Drew Game with any celebrity...who would it be?" Among all the really awesome responses (I would totally agree with Sherlock Holmes and all those other detective movie actors and actresses; having another keen eye would really help out!) I was flattered to see a few people in particular say they would like to play with me. I totally didn't think I would make a few of your celebrity lists, thanks friends! ^.^ Of course, anyone who I would play alongside with would probably get minute-by-minute fun factoids and stories about how we made it...and of course, I would already know the story.

Twitter quote contest is going on! In honor of our getting snowed in today, we thought it would be appropriate to offer Treasure in the Royal Tower digital download as the prize. So what are you waiting for? I believe the quote today is a somewhat easy one to recognize, if you have a Twitter account, head over and participate!

~Little Jackalope~

Snowed In 2012

2012-01-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

So if you haven't noticed the gap in posts this week, here's the explanation for Monday's absence: we had snow!! Yep, over here in Washington state, when it snows, it can be a terrible mess! Since there are a lot of hills, a little ice can mean a lot of danger if we aren't careful. Therefore, we took a snow day.

Our Sales Director snapped a picture of her back deck this morning:

It totally feels like Warnings at Waverly Academy (which I played this last weekend, again). Although, the scene out our office windows switch from WAC's different days. The snow turns on, then off. It melts, then snows again. It looks wet and empty one hour, then the next hour the world turns white. I find it so amazing how silent it is, yet can be so dangerous. If you don't pay attention, the snow is like a culprit who sneaks up on you, or commits a crime right in front of your face without a single sound. It forces a detective to be on her guard at all times.

If you don't hear from us tomorrow, you'll know why: we we victimized by a silent white culprit.
Which snowy game is your favorite? WAC, TRT, ICE?

Looks like you super sleuths cracked the weekend puzzle! Answer is here: [Unscramble each word: Clue, undercover, listen, picture, resort, innocent, truth. Waverly, alibi, snoop. Secret, Tex, outside, professor, police, Emily, danger. Frank, open, Rentaro. Shorty, unlock, sapphire, poison, Isis, creature, investigate, observe, Uri, Sonny. Crime, arson, research, ghost, Ollie.] After you figured out all of the words, take a look at [the first letter of each word.] You will read [Culprit was stopped for suspicious cargo.] Any idea what this could mean? ;)

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #133

2012-01-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everyone! (Guess what the date is today. Hope no one is too superstitious!) Here's the weekend puzzle for today, this one is just for fun, but it does have to do with finding an Easter Egg in Alibi in Ashes:

LECU
RNOCVEUDR
TINELS
RTIPECU
STRERO
NTONICNE
HUTRT

VRALWYE
IBALI
OPSNO

CETRSE
XTE
SUDEOTI
FOSRPROES
COLPIE
LEYMI
GADREN

KARNF
NPEO
ORENTAR

HROSYT
KNOLCU
PIHPSEAR
IOSPNO
SIIS
RETCAURE
VETISGIAETN
REVBOSE
RUI
NOSNY

MIRCE
SANRO
ESAHERCR
STOHG
LIELO

Let's see what you can come up with, detectives!
~Little Jackalope~

On Today's Schedule...

2012-01-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

First off, we posted an awesome interview with our long-term Art Director, Kyle, on the Dare to Play Blog this morning. If you are interested in learning more about the creative people who work here and creatively contribute to the making of the games, I highly suggest checking it out here.
A few of us had a meeting today about the cover art and strategy guide designs that I got to attend (yay!). We looked at our older box art for our first Dossier game: Lights! Camera! Curses! so we know how not to make them look alike (say that five times fast). We went over the game story and the striking elements and points of interest and talked about what would make the art and guide look and sound good. It was so much fun!

Another couple of fun events today included catching an unwanted visitor (a spider) and going out for dessert lunch. Our designer and lead tester knew of an excellent place to get an amazing chocolate treat! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of that... but I did snap a blurry picture of the daddy-long-legged spider! (Don't worry, he was safely escorted out of the building).
Weekend puzzle tomorrow! Come back and solve it to get closer to the Easter Egg mentioned in last weekend's puzzle. ;)
~Little Jackalope~

Middle of ND26

2012-01-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

There is a lot going on here, but any random visitor wouldn't notice if they walked into our office, because everyone is really quite. (Except for me, when during lunch I shoot off my toy bow and arrow at the window with a colored-on target).

The artists are cranking away at a big deadline this Friday and so they have their eyes and minds focused on completing all their projects. A few programmers are busy solving the puzzle of "how to create this tricky puzzle in this scene" and putting it all together to make everything work properly. The writer and designer are polishing up last designs and dialogue, while at the same time beginning the early stages of the following game. Our Lead Tester is preparing for next week's tester training and of course, for heavy game testing. The sales and marketing team is planning, scheduling and cleaning up things to get ready for the early work of our next game launch (kind of like spring cleaning before adding new furniture).

~Artist's Row at night~

Yep, there is a lot going going on, and while you may not hear too much about it, we are deep into the middle of ND26! It might be a while before you get clued in with us, but in the meantime, there are plenty of past games we could play or replay. (I'm re-playing Warnings at Waverly Academy). What do you do in between new game releases?

~Little Jackalope~

Egyptian Pose Contest = Winners!

2012-01-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

All day yesterday we were looking through the many photo entries received over the weekend for the Egyptian Pose photo contest. Wow, there were sooo many great photos that it was super hard for us to choose only one, so we decided to accept three winners! But it was still a tough decision. To help narrow it down, we had the office take a vote for their favorites. Here are the three that we decided on:Congrats to the lucky three winners! And thanks to everyone for sending in really creative and great looking photos! (I'm thinking we should do something like this again in the future). Keep an eye out when Tomb of the Lost Queen is released, as these photos will be hiding inside Nancy's world!

Looks like the weekend picture has been solved! Congrats super sleuths! Here's what you need to do: [start at the A in the top left corner. Rotate the entire grid 90 degrees so that the letter F is now in the top left box. Continue rotating and taking the next letter as you work you way into the middle of the grid.] In the end you should get this: [A Fun Easter Egg Picture in ASH]. But where can this be found? I will leave the sleuthing up to you, but will give you more hints in upcoming weekend puzzles. Stay tuned!

~Little Jackalope~

Recycled Art

2012-01-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

Every once in awhile I like to ponder the art that is hidden in the games. Surely you have noticed a few re-occurring elements placed in several games, like the golden horse statue in Stay Tuned for Danger and Message in a Haunted Mansion. But some items that are re-used often get a few touch-ups to look different, making it a challenge to identify where the item was originally located. For example, check out this cat book that was originally used in Warnings at Waverly Academy, but was given a makeover and was placed in an environment in a newer game:

Any idea where it could have made a guest appearance? Hint: it is in a place where a few old things are kept.

Looks like several super sleuths are hot on the trail to solving the weekend puzzle, but so far, no one has completely cracked it. Here's a nudge: rotation counts.
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #132: First Puzzle of 2012!

2012-01-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

Some mischievous person here dropped a huge hint about something in Alibi in Ashes, and she suggested that it was perfect for the Amateur Sleuth Weekend puzzles. Want to know what I know? Perhaps a few of you have already discovered it. If not, here's a hint:

One last reminder! Send in a picture of your best Egyptian pose to solved@herinteractive.com with the subject line "Egyptian Pose" by Sunday, January 8th for a chance at getting your picture in our next game: Tomb of the Lost Queen. Time's a'ticking!

Good luck, sleuths!
~Little Jackalope~

Disguises

2012-01-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

I particularly like it when Nancy goes undercover. It's important to protect her image so that people won't research and learn about her history as an awesome detective, so Nancy must dress up from time to time to hide her identity.

Carnivale is a great excuse for wearing fabulous costumes, and Nancy takes the opportunity in The Phantom of Venice to dress up for a little sleuthing. She temporarily becomes Samantha Quick, and also, depending on how you like it, mixes and matches separate clothing articles that you can purchase should you have enough Euros to spend.

Sometimes dressing up to blend in is important for a case so that the detective won't stand out among her suspects. In The Captive Curse, Nancy had to wear a traditional Bavarian outfit for a time. Of course, everyone knew who she already was prior to wearing this. Interestingly enough, dawning the dirndl labeled her as a target....so it didn't quite benefit her sleuthing. If Nancy were to dawn another disguise, what could you imagine her becoming?

Reminder: Have you played the Nancy Drew TXT Challenge? You only have until the 19th of this month to complete all of the questions and enter for a chance to win a great big prize! (Be sure to score 90 points or more).

Keep it real!
~Little Jackalope~

Images from Egypt

2012-01-04T10:59:00.000-08:00

Could it just possibly be too early to talk about ND#26? Maybe so, but it is important that we do because at the moment we are holding a contest for it. If you haven't checked out yesterday's post, there are more details to be read. We have already begun receiving a few entries, like this one below:

Fans have posted a few of their pictures up on our Facebook page as well, so keep checking back to see more, or post yours up, if you'd like!

The first bit of art for our latest game has been revealed for the sake of this contest, check it out:

How exciting is that? Ok, perhaps you were expecting something....different? More? Sorry, we are going very Egyptian and this was as much as we can show you...for now. ;)

Twitter Quote contest is a go! Head over for a chance to win a free digital download game!
~Little Jackalope~

Just like an Egyptian!

2012-01-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

Hey guess what? We have a great new contest for you! For a chance to have your picture appear in our next game, Tomb of the Lost Queen, strike your best Egyptian pose! The background does not matter, just as long as we can see you clearly. Take a photo of yourself (or with a friend or two) and email it to us at solved@herinteractive.com with the subject line "Egyptian Pose".

You have until Sunday, January 8th. We will be picking a winner on the Monday, the 9th. Ready sleuths? Show us what you've got! (Facebook fans have their pictures posted on our Facebook wall! Check them out for a few examples and post your own photo or everyone to see!)

The Koko Kringle winners have been picked from last week's Facebook Challenge! Congrats to
1. Kelsey Gray
2. Smily Fancy
3. Karen Hiebert
4. Heather Turner
5. Laura Michaels
6. Michelle Paquette
7. Rachel Kear
8. Ada Noe
9. Jessica Kabakjian
10. Whitney Pleasant

If one of these is you, contact koko@herinteractive.com and give us your name and mailing address so we can send the candy bars to you.
Twitter Quote contest is returning tomorrow! Stay tuned for a chance to win a digital game download. ;)

~Little Jackalope~

Designing a Game

2012-01-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

Hooray! It's 2012! A brand new year to fill will more mystery, suspense, chocolate bars and anything mischievous that we can add to the list that would be awesome. We've been contemplating game designs lately. (Ok, so 100% of the time it is our Designer who, well, designs them) and the rest of us continually draw and gather inspiration from a number of sources, including each other. All in all, we non-stop create games. It's what we do. And we love it.

Lately, in particular, I've been thinking about table games and how we play with each other. I rather like a little competition, so I play with family members or fellow HI workers. With the Nancy Drew games, I challenge myself instead (not looking at old notes so that I have to figure out puzzles all over again).

~Raid from The Captive Curse~

However we play play games, there is always a drive in us that brings us back to them. Is it the competition? The goal to accomplish something? The satisfaction of winning? The entertaining (and sometimes educational) play-through experience? With Nancy, I'm sure it's a little bit of everything. What's your motivation? ;)

Looks like a few super sleuths solved the weekend puzzle! Solution: [use the pigpen cipher to crack the code.] You should get [Shift three JLOBAXKDBOQLZLJB] which means to [shift the letters three spots over to the right in the alphabet] to get your message. The end result should say [More danger to come].

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #131: End of 2011

2011-12-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

The end of 2011 has come! This will be the last Amateur Sleuth Blog post made this month, but no worries, we will be back in action on January 2nd to start off the new year. Here's a look at what we've accomplished in 2011:

Launched the first Nancy Drew Mobile Mystery: Shadow Ranch for the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch.
The Amateur Sleuth Blog received a title as one of the best amateur sleuth blogs by Criminal Investigation schools.
We updated our Twitter page and gave the A.S. Blog a big makeover.
Contests held: Cake Contest, several A.S Blog contests including the Mini Mystery Series, CEO 4 A Day, and a bunch of Twitter contests
Released The Captive Curse game
Participated in GirlFest! 2011
Launched the Nancy Drew TXT Challenge and brought it back a second time
Updated the installer art for the games
Changed the game specs and upgraded to a single DVD
Sent Nancy home to River Heights for the first time...and had her arrested in Alibi in Ashes
First opportunity to play as Ned + get to see the first picture of him in ASH
Launched our first Facebook mini-game Number Punch!
Reached 100,000 "likes" on our Facebook page
Began receiving testimonials and posted them to our Testimonial page
Most importantly: We brought to life the Koko Kringle candy bar!

What do you suppose is coming in 2012? We have a few ideas up our sleeves at the moment...For a clue to this mystery, check out this weekend's puzzle:

Good luck sleuths, and Happy New Year! ~.^

~Little Jackalope~

More Koko Kringle!

2011-12-28T15:36:00.000-08:00

Yep, I'm talking about Koko Kringle bars...again. Honestly, can someone get tired of talking about Koko Kringles? Well, maybe, if you aren't a crazed fanatic for them. Take a look here, we squirreled away some candy bars (because we are sneaky like that).

These are meant specifically for the 10 people who will be randomly chosen next week. This is for our Facebook Community, because with your help we reached our goal of 100,000 "likes" before the end of the year. Hooray!!

Also, I was looking in Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake and was excited to find Koko Kringles hiding in there. Can you identify where they are located? ;)

Today's other notes:
- There is no Twitter Quote Contest this week since it is another short week for us office folk (New Year's is coming!)
- Tomorrow will be the weekend puzzle.

Until tomorrow!
~Little Jackalope~

After Christmas

2011-12-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome back all! Hope you had a great Christmas! It looks like many of you have received some much anticipated games this year, along with those who received a Koko Kringle bar like this lucky fan here:

Speaking of Koko Kringle bars...thanks to your help, we accomplished our goal of 100,000 "likes" on our Facebook page before the new year!! You know what that means? We will be selecting 10 lucky winners next week (from everyone who has "liked" us, both old and new fans) to each receive 5 Koko Kringle bars. Yum! If you haven't "liked" us yet, there is still some time to do so if you have a Facebook account.

As for the weekend puzzle, this one was clearly an easy solve to many of you super sleuths. Guess I will have to make it complicated next time! ;) Here's the solution to weekend puzzle #130:

"On the twelfth day of sleuthing my true love gave to me:
12 Rusty keys
11 Dusty footprints
10 Shifting shadows
9 Second chances
8 Hidden phone charms
7 Extra glowsticks
6 Creepy whispers
5 Koko kringles
4 Suspects
3 Fingerprints
2 Huge clues
1 Magnifying glass to solve the mystery"

Once you have all of the letters filled in, use the numbers to spell out a message. 9.5 references "9 Second Chances", and the 5th letter, which is N. Do this for all the numbers/letters until you get this message: "Next year is going to be full of adventure".

~Little Jackalope~

Contests and Challenges

2011-12-21T17:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend's mystery series puzzle was a contest, and we have selected a winner randomly from all the correct entries. Congrats to Miranda D. who will receive a Nancy Drew silhouette phone charm, a blank Nancy Drew notebook, and a Nancy Drew PC game of her choice!

The correct answers were:
1. [Blue lilac, flowers]
2. [Bavarian Creme donut, or donut]
3. [Evidence is Everything book, or just book]
4. [Blue Sky Burger with bleu cheese, or just burger. Will accept other burgers as well.]

We also have a testimonial of the week winner! Congrats to Shelby N. will will receive a black and white HI Logo coffee mug! If you haven't submitted your testimonial, check out this page for more information.

Unless otherwise noted, all of our weekend puzzles are solely for fun and can be discussed here.
Until tomorrow!
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #130

2011-12-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

(*Please Note about last weekend's contest: We will select a winner randomly from all the correct entries by 5pm PST tonight. We will also post the answers then. Stay tuned for another post later today!)

We have a short week here at the Her Interactive office because it's Christmas time! So we are giving you an early weekend puzzle. Enjoy!
If you have trouble reading this, I posted it here:
"On the twelfth day of sleuthing my true love gave to me:
12 R_sty K_ys
11 Dus_y _o_tprints
10 Shiftin_ Sha_ows
9 Seco_d Chanc_s
8 H_dden Pho_e Cha_ms
7 E_tr_ G_ows_icks
6 Creep_ Whisp_rs
5 K_ko Kri_gle _ _rs
4 S_sp_c_s
3 _inge_pr_nts
2 Hug_ C_ue_
1 ma_nifying glass to s_l_e _he mystery

9.5/9.12/7.2/4.7//6.6/12.7/5.13/3.6//3.9/2.9//1.3/5.2/8.2/5.8/10.8//11.4/11.8//5.12/2.4//

11.6/12.2/2.6/7.7//1.19/3.1//7.5/10.12/1.21/4.5/8.10/7.11/4.2/8.15/6.12"

*Another note: today's Weekend Puzzle #130 is not a contest. You may discuss this puzzle on the message boards if you'd like, since this round is just for fun. The solution will be posted on Tuesday, December 27th.

Good luck!
~Little Jackalope~

Hints and Pictures

2011-12-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

Hey all, tonight and early tomorrow is the last chance you will be able to submit the answers to last weekend's puzzle contest. Looks like some of you could use a last-minute hint (*Note: you can be generic in your answer):

Detective Ryan took what 4 things with him?:
1) [They are blue and are found in a Floral Shop]
2) [A German-themed bakery treat]
3) [Check out this sleuth book from the library]
4) [What you can get at Hamburger Heaven]

Once you have the answers, email them to solved@herinteractive.com with the subject line "Weekend Puzzle".

Check this out! One of our fans posted this image on our Facebook page, isn't this amazing? She looks just like Connie Watson, the character on the cover of Secrets Can Kill Remastered!
Other fans are posting their pictures of themselves with their Koko Kringle bars on our Facebook page as well. Do you have a Koko Kringle picture you would like to share? We would love to see them!

Tomorrow will be the new weekend puzzle as us office workers have a short week for Christmas. Stay tuned!
~Little Jackalope~

Koko Kringle Kalamity

2011-12-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

It's not really a big deal, but....
The Koko Kringles for the December Holiday Sale are all out!!! Nooooo! This is distressing news indeed for the general population, except for those lucky sleuths who ordered earlier in the month and have already received theirs, that is (the sale will continue until December 29th, so it is still a great deal to order your missing games for 50% and get the strategy guide for free. After Christmas shopping anyone?).
Ok, so this Koko Kringle situation is perhaps a big deal. I'm trying not to feel too upset because we have a challenge up our sleeves. We are trying to reach 100,000 "likes" on our Facebook page by the end of this year. We could use a little help from all of a you! Here's your challenge: if we spread the news and make our goal of 100k "likes" by or on January 1st, 2012, we will randomly select 10 people who "like" us to each receive 5 Koko Kringle bars! Ready? Let's earn us some chocolate bars! (Or at least, a few of us.)

~Little Jackalope~

Mystery Weekend Contest

2011-12-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

We have a couple of announcements and reminders today:

1) The TXT Challenge is still going on. Have you played yet?
2) We have a testimonial winner this week! Congrats to Sydney S., who will receive a Trail of the Twister Mouse pad! Submit your testimonial for a chance at winning something awesome!
3) Facebook Challenge!! If you help us reach 100,000 likes on our Facebook page by January 1st, we will randomly select 10 people to win 5 Koko Kringle bars each! Have you "liked" us, yet?
4) We have an Amateur Sleuth Blog contest! See here:

Here are the rules, read carefully!

1. Solve the weekend puzzle question by reading the 5 parts to the story.
2. When you think you have the right answer, email it to solved@herinteractive.com with the subject line "Weekend Puzzle".
3. The prize? A physical copy of any Nancy Drew PC game, a blank Nancy Drew notebook, and a Nancy Drew silhouette phone charm!
4. The time? Contest begins now and ends at 10am PST on Wednesday, December 21st.
5. One winner will be randomly drawn from all of the full correct entries by 5pm, Wednesday, December 21st. (We want to be fair and give everyone a chance.) :) Each contestant may only enter once.
6. This contest is open to everyone.
7. Due to holiday shipping, the prize might not reach your house before Christmas.
The first Weekend Mystery series has come to an end! Read all 5 parts to answer the contest question below.
Part One: "The Threat"
Part Two: "First Clue"
Part Three: "Donut Evidence"
Part Four: "Library Search"
Part Five: "Case Closed"

Contest Question:
"Nancy and her friends went to four places. Detective Ryan regularly visited these locations and took away an item from each place.

Name the four items he took with him."

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Mystery Part 5 = "Case Closed"

2011-12-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

When Nancy was finished scribbling in her journal, she showed her friends a diagram of an analogue clock. At the top of the clock, just above the 12 was the letter A. The alphabet was written out letter-by-letter above the clock numbers going clockwise three times until all the letters were assigned a number. Below the image were the decoded letters: “Ask Joy about big cloud burger.”
Ned looked at the newspaper clipping again and said “I suppose we should check out Hamburger Heaven and find out if there is a Joy around.” Bess’s face turned into a frown. “I don’t remember that burger being on their menu, though,” she replied. “But we should visit them, just to be sure.”

The group then headed to Hamburger Heaven, went up to a nearby waiter and inquired about Joy. “I’m Joy,” a perky young brunette in an apron called from across the room. She walked up to the group with a big smile. “Hi Joy, would you know anything about the Big Cloud Burger and who would usually ask for that?” asked Nancy. Joy rolled her eyes and unenthusiastically answered “Yes I certainly do.” She placed her hands on her hips and looked at the detective. “I don’t know his name but he comes in once a week and always orders the same thing: a Blue Sky Burger with bleu cheese.” George looked confused “But why would he ask about the Big Cloud Burger? I don’t even see it on your menu.” Joy smirked and continued “He asked me to do him a favor: Whenever he requested information about that burger, I was to reply with ‘Check your mailbox above the microwave and radio’, as if it was some sort of code. He always tipped well when I answered, so I kept doing it. Nice guy.” Nancy asked about his description. “He’s a young man with dark hair who wore a plain jacket…I think I spied a badge of some sort behind it. That’s all I can tell you.” Nancy thanked the waitress and the group left.

Once outside, Nancy smiled thoughtfully. “You guys, I don’t think the guy we are looking for is threatening Mrs. Wilkins,” she said. “Who are these ring-around-the-rosy notes for then?” asked an annoyed George. The detective pulled out her keys and beckoned them to her car. “I’ll give you a hint: He’s a trustworthy guy, and I believe he’s been threatening himself about a key.” Nancy then drove to the River Heights Police Station and the team went into the building. “Are we going to report somebody?” asked a wide-eyed Bess. Nancy smiled and went around the corner and up to the desk of Detective Ryan. The young man looked up at Nancy and smiled. “Hi Ryan, could you please explain how this note of yours got into Mrs. Wilkin’s purse?” she handed the young detective the original threat along with all the other hand-written clues. “I was wondering where that went!” he exclaimed. “That was on my notebook the other day. Mrs. Wilkins was in dropping off some papers to the Chief and I remember she set her purse down just next my desk. It must’ve blown off as she walked by and fell in.” Ned gave him a suspicious look “Is this really a note just for you?” Detective Ryan looked guilty “Yes, it’s my own system for helping me remember where I put my key; it’s just over there in my mailbox. But I did find this extra key on the floor yesterday. Do you know whose it is?” Bess and George nodded. “Well,” Nancy sighed and turned to Ned, “That made for an interesting day. Case closed.”

Fixing Things: Computers and Stories

2011-12-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

When things break, we pretend to be Nancy Drew, get creative and figure out how to fix what is broken. I took a picture a while back of this computer getting fixed. Apparently the sound card wasn't working. Our super savvy techies were on the case!
Another problem solved: A few of us got to sit in on a meeting today to fix a little hole in the latest mystery we are working on. Our lead tester figured out a way to break the game, which is awesome, because that is her job. ^.^ We gathered in the meeting room to hear our designer's solution. The area in the story lacked incentive to continue in the right direction, and therefore needed something interesting applied to lead the player further in solving the mystery.

I'm being very vague, if you've noticed. Perhaps I will take a picture of our meetings and save them for later when the game comes out. I will give you a big hint about what we were talking about: tomb. Yep, that's all I will say. Maybe it will be more of an exciting give-away if I capitalized it: Tomb. Nope? How about italicized, capitalized, and an ellipsis added: Tomb...

Yep, I think that sounds more exciting...

We have an Amateur Sleuth contest happening tomorrow! Come back for a chance to win a prize!
~Little Jackalope~

Koko Kringles and Fan Gifts

2011-12-14T17:04:00.000-08:00

It's a drawer full of Koko Kringle bars!! Who's desk drawer do you suppose this is? Unfortunately, it's not mine *sigh*. But wouldn't it be awesome to have a drawer filled to the brim with these candy bars, and every time you open it up the fun Koko Kow would smile back up at you? Oh the dream...
Do you love Sonny Joon? Download the very same desktop wallpaper from Danger by Design! Remember his (and Nancy's) computer background? Now you can have it on your own computer, and also to your phone!Check this out! One of our fans sent in a gift along with 40 Christmas cards! This must have taken her and her sister quite some time to put together. (Thanks, Shanna!) We always enjoy hearing from our fans.
~Little Jackalope~

Christmas Party!

2011-12-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

So...much...food! Today we had a Christmas potluck and white elephant gift exchange in the office. It was a real feast, and I'm sure there will be leftovers for the next few days (and chocolate, LOTS of chocolate)!There were some pretty zanny gifts going around, including a toy bow and arrow, a stuffed toy shark, a moose in a coffee cup, and other cool gifts. One gift in particular included a scary note which said "...the person who reads this gets Creepy Santa on their desk for one month," which refers to last year's gift seen here:
This Santa's belly bounces as he laughs. It's really funny, but can be a bit annoying when played too many times. >.<

Today's News:
1) Have you tried playing the Nancy Drew TXT Challenge? I got a score of 80 when I first tried it. You could be entered into the grand prize if you participate, so what are you waiting for? ^.^
2) The December Sale is still on! There aren't many days left before Christmas to order a physical game for 50% off and still receive it on time, so hurry and get the game that you are missing!
3) We interviewed one of our 3D artists, John on the Dare to Play Blog today! John has been with us for many years and has greatly contributing to the game environments. Read his interview to learn more about him and a fun fact about what he created for Message in a Haunted Mansion!

~Little Jackalope~

Testing Week = Puzzles!

2011-12-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

This week is when we begin some focus group testing, when girls (and guys) come in to test some early puzzles and difficulty levels. This is important information for our designer and programmers. Once we know a puzzle is too hard, or if a common issue arises, we will then identify the problem based on the study, and then properly execute a plan to fix it.

We don't want the games to be too hard, or have any problems, nor do we want them to be super easy that the game takes far less time to solve. I for one like to take my time and thoroughly think through a logic problem, because once it is solved, I feel quite accomplished, and I also learn something. What kind of problem solver are you? Do you like logic puzzles such as translating Mayan glyphs in Secret of the Scarlet Hand? Or perhaps the lucky trial-and-error type of puzzle such as the slot machine in Cappy's in The Secret of Shadow Ranch? Maybe you prefer the simple, fun games like Land Rush from Trail of the Twister? However you like it, we try to incorporate different kinds of puzzles for diversity.

Speaking of puzzles, I'm letting you know early that this coming Weekend Mystery puzzle will be the last in the series, and therefore will be a contest! As a head's up, you will want to study all 4 past weekend mysteries in addition to the upcoming one this Friday in order to properly enter with the correct contest answer (there will be a prize involved). Stay tuned for more info!

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Mystery Part 4 = "Library Search"

2011-12-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday all! Today's headliner is a reminder:

“Don’t forget…the December Holiday Sale ends on December 29th. The KoKo Kringles are going fast…so don’t be disappointed and order today. All physical games are 50% off and include a free strategy guide and KoKo Kringle bar.” -- The Her Interactive Team

This is so true, if you want a Koko Kringle bar, you'll need to hurry and place an order before I eat all-*ahem*, before we run out! ;) Oh! And congrats to our testimonial winner, Katrina Q, will be soon be receiving her prize: a Koko Kringle bar soon. For a chance at next week's prize (may or may not be another Koko candy bar...we'll just wait and see), submit your testimonial to solved@herinteractive.com.

Weekend Mystery #4 below! Good luck!
~Little Jackalope~

=======================================================

Ned and George arrived shortly, and looked at the sticky note that Nancy held. “That looks like an easy one, may I have a try, Nance?” asked George. Nancy handed George a pencil who then quickly filled in all of the blanks with the letters on the back. “It says ‘Check out Evidence is Everything’ and the last part is underlined…what does that mean? Do we need to head to the police station?” Nancy looked carefully at it for a moment and replied “Nope, we are heading to the library to check out a book”.

The team journeyed to the local library and walked in. George began a search on the computer catalog and narrowed the results to find the book titled Evidence is Everything. “It’s just a few shelves down the non-fiction aisle” she said. The group crowded in between the tight row of bookshelves and focused their eyes on the titles and call numbers. “Here it is!” exclaimed Ned in a loud whisper. He pulled out the hardcover volume and opened it up. As the girls peered over his shoulder, Ned flipped through the pages to find a bookmark. Holding it up to the light, they gazed at what appeared to be a newspaper clipping of a restaurant advertisement.

Written over it with green ink was a series of numbers:
12.1/6.2/10.1
9.1/2.2/12.3
12.1/1.1/2.2/8.2/7.2
1.1/8.1/6.1
2.1/11.1/2.2/8.2/3.1
1.1/8.2/5.2/6.1/4.1/5.2
A picture of an analogue clock with one hand pointing to the 12 was in the upper left corner.

“Do we need to figure out what time it’s pointing at, Nancy?” asked Bess. “Not quite,” the detective replied. Nancy pulled out her notebook and studied her watch.

Koko Reminisce #2

2011-12-08T17:04:00.000-08:00

I'm guilty. There is a half-eaten Koko Kringle bar on my desk. I had very carefully folded up the foil (which is very fragile by the way) and slipped the bar back into the colorful wrapper for trophy reasons. It is soooo tempting! It's like the bright red color beckons to me from the corner of my eye. So I decided to bring in some other chocolate, which isn't as good, but it's enough to distract me from the Koko Kringle.

-Fan Art-

I'm guilty of making myself feel a little sick from eating too much generic chocolate in the effort to avoid my Kringle bar. I don't recommend it. Have you been able to resist in the games where you can eat these amazing chocolates? Beware! Eating too much chocolate can and will make you sick, just like Nancy experienced in Legend of the Crystal Skull.

Spot the Koko Kringle! From which game can you find these Koko Kringle products?
~Little Jackalope~

A New Look + A New Challenge!!

2011-12-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hey all! After a year of writing to all of you, I thought it was high time for an Amateur Sleuth makeover...if you haven't noticed already. ;) What'dya think? I might let it simmer for a little bit until I find something that needs tweaking, so any suggestions or ideas would be awesome! After all, it's a blog to you, for you. Check out the before and after:

Guess what? We have a new Nancy Drew TXT Challenge for you! Text "Nancy" to 82257 to begin your adventure! You can also hop onto the message boards to get help from fellow members, but just a note: this time we are scoring you! Compete with your friends to see who can get the highest score. Also, if you get 60 or more points, you will be entered into the grand prize drawing, so think real hard because you don't want to get too many incorrect.
Good luck sleuths!
~Little Jackalope~

The Map in Alibi in Ashes

2011-12-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

A while ago I went spying on (with permission) some artist's work for Alibi in Ashes. One particularly large project was the map of River Heights. Our artist put a great deal of time and care into this world, carefully making every building, tree and driveway look nice. She let me snap a picture of her computer at work:

What do you think of River Heights? Have you recognized some of the locations from the books? I got excited about one place in particular near the top of the map: Fenley place. (I loved reading the Nancy Drew book The Double Horror of Fenley Place.) I suggest reading a few books after #56 as there are several that I love, and it's super awesome to see those places placed on the map in the game!

We've got another little something up our sleeves. Come back here tomorrow or be sure to subscribe to our newsletter on our home page to be the first to hear our announcements!
~Little Jackalope~

Koko Reminisce #1

2011-12-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

I'm still super excited about these Koko Kringle bars! I'm sorry, but I will be talking about them for a while...they taste so amazing and I'm super thrilled that they have come out of the games and are sitting on our desks at this very moment! And that's where it all started: from the desk of an artist years ago, the Koko Kringle candy bar wrapper was designed and placed in the drawer of Sonny Joon's former intern desk in The Secret of the Scarlet Hand.

Today's free download is the wallpaper from this scene. Get it here and reminisce over the original game location for Sonny Joon's crazy doodles and favorite snack wrapper.

The Koko Kringles can be found in several games...Can you identify which game this image was taken from?
~Little Jackalope~

December Holiday Sale!

2011-12-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

I'm totally psyched right now! Apparently Sonny wuz here and took over my desk. I know this because 1. He hacked into my computer and wrote my daily post yesterday, 2. I found one of my empty journals open on my desk...which is no longer empty. (I'll have to show you sometime what he drew inside.). 3. I tried the Koko Kringle candy bar he left on my desk...and it tastes awesome!

Because this candy bar is too cool to keep to ourselves, we've decided to share it with you!! There are limited quantities, so here's how you get it: Purchase any Nancy Drew (physical) game during the month of December and you will receive 50% off plus a free strategy guide and one Koko Kringle bar with each order! If you want multiple bars, I suggest trying to place separate orders.
This is a super great deal, so I recommend acting fast, it's not every day you can get any game for half off, and it's an especially rare opportunity to hold a real live edible Koko Kringle bar in your hand. I SUPER excited about this, I keep picking it up to look at it. It's like a dream come true! Or 'game' come true!!

Guess who is also getting a Koko Kringle Bar? Stefanie L. who submitted her testimonial and was randomly selected to win this week's prize: a Koko Kringle bar, of course! Submit your testimonial for a chance at winning the prize next Friday!

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Mystery Part 3 = "Donut Evidence"

2011-12-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

“It’s a semaphore code, when you use flags to signal letters,” replied Nancy. “Although I’m not sure what to make of the answer…” George offered to take a look at Nancy’s decoding. “Bavarian Rosslyn?” she questioned. “Sounds like a funny character you missed seeing on your last trip, Nancy!” giggled Bess. “There could be several places in River Heights that are German-related or perhaps a Bavarian visitor named Rosslyn can be found somewhere,” suggested Ned. “You’re probably right,” replied Nancy. “Let’s split up and try to cover all of the German places we identify, or find someone by the name Rosslyn. Ned, go check out The Royal Hotel and find out if any foreigners have checked in the past few day. Bess, do the same at the train station. George, check out the other hotels: Waterfall and Riverview, they are right next to each other. I’m going to the Applesauce Dinner Theater; they hire all sorts of people with different acts to perform. Perhaps they will know of our character. Post to the wiki on our phones if you find anything.” The group separated and went different directions.

Nancy made her way across town to the theater. Despite the “closed” sign, she went into the building. At this time there were several actors rehearsing on stage. Not wanted to rudely interrupt, she gazed about the dining room until she spotted the janitor replacing the bulb in a wall sconce. “Excuse me,” she called. “Would you know if anyone by the name of Rosslyn worked here?” The janitor looked her way and replied “Well, none that I can recall, and I know just about everyone’s name who has worked here since 1992…wait, that name sounds familiar…hm..nope, can’t say that a Rosslyn was ever here. Sorry ma’am.”

Nancy exited the building. Suddenly, she noticed Bess just down the street coming out of a building with something in her hand. Nancy looked closer at the sign above the door. “That’s it!” she exclaimed and posted a note on the wiki for everyone to meet her. Nancy raced to Bess she caught site of Nancy and tried hiding what she held, but it was too late. “I’m sorry Nancy! I was down by the train station when I smelled these donuts from like, a mile away and I had to have one. I ran down here and boy, it was such a workout!” Nancy ignored her defense and said “I believe you found the place, Bess!” Bess looked bewildered and then cocked her head to look at the building sign which read “Rosslyn’s Bakery”.

The young detective rushed inside and quickly spotted a little A-framed table display with the picture of a Bavarian Cream donut. Stuck to the reverse side of the display was a sticky note with the following written on it:
"C _ _ _ K
_ U _
_ _ _ D _ _ C _
_ _
_ V _ _ Y _ H _ _ _" with the last three words underlined.
Nancy turned the note over to see several letters: TOEESRVETNIHEICENGEI. “What does it say, now, Nancy?” asked Bess.

Koko Kringle - Have a Kow!

2011-12-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

I don't have much time to talk, because Little Jackalope might be back from getting some cookies any minute...

I snuck into the office late as most of the workers have already left for the day. I wanted to practice my computer-hacking skills and leave a huge hint about finally sharing Koko Kringle bars with the world, so I left a treat on some one's desk in hopes that others will get the chance to enjoy my favorite snack of all time! Sounds like an awesome plan, I think. Check out my calling card:

Maybe by tomorrow they'd tasted the chocolate and go all crazy like a coatimundi at lunch time, and then decide that this yUmmY, kruNcHy, kOkoLatY bar by Wickford is the real deal. ;) Just maybe they could work something out to share it with everyone...I have high hopes that it will soar like a spaceship over ancient temples and go out of this world.

Oh boy, now I'm super distracted...Little Jackalope has a huge assortment of colored pens on her desk, and like...ten journals! But alas, I have no time to sketch something. :( on second thought...I wonder if she'd notice a journal missing?

Gotta go! I hear the sound of a cellophane cookie bag opening up, until later!

Sonny Wuz Here -- Sonny Joon

Early Sketches

2011-11-30T16:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it helps the artists to sketch out their images before they begin on the computer. I rather enjoy seeing their hand work before it comes to life on the screen, and this blog is the perfect place to show you what I dug up. While searching for potential images to use in the Amateur Sleuth Blog re-design, I found this buried in the deep archive:

On the left is the original sketch of the Koko Kringle Kow. On the right is the finished Kow that was first seen on the Koko Kringle candy wrapper in Secret of the Scarlet Hand, found in Sonny Joon's messy desk in the lab. Sonny Joon reflects many of the artists in that their early sketches turned into real in-game doodles.

Check out this early sketch of The White Wolf of Icicle Creek! This is too cool...

I'll be sure to share with you more early sketches in the future. ;)
~Little Jackalope~

Beginnings

2011-11-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

I recently realized that last week a year ago I began writing to you all. I'm excited about this. In honor of the Little Jackalope's being here for so long (and yes, I'm temporarily referring to myself in third-person) I plan on updating the look of the Amateur Sleuth blog. After all, it could use an update. Before I begin the make-over, are there any images that come to your mind when you think of Her Interactive, Nancy Drew, the Her Interactive office, or the Amateur Sleuth Blog? I hope to use some imagery, and any bit of help would be great. ~.^
Speaking of beginnings, look what I found! These are early box designs of our first two games, and they cannot be found anywhere, but I'd thought I'd show you what they looked like back in the early days: Until tomorrow!
~Little Jackalope~

After Thanksgiving + Driveways

2011-11-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

If you are reading this today (Monday), then you only have until the end of today (11:59 PST) to purchase a digital Nancy Drew game download for 50% off, and if you purchase any physical product, you will get free shipping. ;) I made a silly decision to go shopping over the weekend when the crowds were better defined as "herds". Might I recommend research and strategic planning for your holiday purchases in order to best save time, money, and stress.

I hope you all had an excellent Thanksgiving weekend! After a relaxing break, the Her Interactive workers returned today to start afresh a new week. This is the view we had just as we entered the parking lot:A tree-lined road filled with beautiful orange leaves caked along the sides! It was a little wet, too, but this got me thinking about driveways in several Nancy Drew books. I often imagined a few locations where Nancy drives off of the main road and onto a private driveway that weaved through tall trees overhanging the drive like a tunnel. It would take a moment to finally reach the house or building that was so secluded and backed away from the road. Homes like this that are hidden seem very mysterious and really intriguing. It makes a detective wonder what the owners could be hiding...?

~Little Jackalope~

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hey all!

I just wanted to share a few announcements before the Thanksgiving weekend:

The latest Newsletter has just been sent out!
Yesterday we posted an interview with our Sales and Operations Manager, Maureen.
There will be no Twitter Quote Contest today :(
Congrats to our Testimonial of the week winner, Veronica! She will receive her prize, a Nancy Drew Mug soon! For a chance to win a prize next week, submit your testimony to solved@herinteractive.com and we will select a winner on Friday, December 2nd.
New holiday sale!! Get any Digital Download game for 50% off. Also, any physical product you purchase will have free shipping, only if you order this weekend before the end of Monday, so be quick!
The office will be closed from now until Monday for the Thanksgiving holiday (that's why you get to read the Weekend Mystery below a few days early.)

Have a great weekend!
Stay sleuthy!

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Mystery Part 2 = "First Clue"

2011-11-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

“Of course Nancy will take the case! She’s really good at tracking down the source scary notes,” chimed in Bess. “Sure, Mrs. Wilkins, I could take this case for you, as long as it’s ok if my friends can help..?” replied Nancy. “Oh of course!” answered the nervous lady. “Just please hurry, I’m not sure how much time I really have before everyone finds out I lost the key, or when my life will end!”

Bess walked over to Mrs. Wilkins and placed a hand on her trembling shoulder. “There’s no need to panic. We’ll find the cruel author for you and solve this case…right, Nancy?” Nancy wasn’t listening. She was gazing at the note and asked “Where did you find this note again?” Mrs. Wilkins blinked and looked at her hands. “Hmm…I do not know exactly. I found it in my purse as I was walking to the bank. I haven’t gone anywhere else today and have no idea how it slipped into my bag.” Nancy smiled and looked up. “Alright, we’ll investigate the clue in this note” she said.

As the foursome walked away from the town hall, Ned noticed Nancy begin to scribble in her notebook. He turned to her and asked “We don’t have much of a lead, what is our next move?” Nancy smiled and said “We are heading across the river. The numbers in this note refer to the alphabet but not in standard alphabet order. We need to convert these numbers using the “key alphabet”, meaning the letters as they are in order on a computer keyboard. The first few letters on a keyboard are Q, W, and E and so on. This note says ‘Blue Lilacs at RHF’.” George made a face. “What do Blue Lilacs have to do with anything and what is RHF?” she questioned. Ned thought out loud “RHF…River Heights, something.” Bess’s eyes grew wide. “Flowers! Or, Floral! There’s a flower shop called River Heights Floral!”

The group hopped into Nancy’s car and drove to the flower shop. They greeted the owner and inquired about Blue Lilacs. “I sold my last few to a young school girl yesterday, and I don’t remember who else made a purchase before her, sorry.” The florist went back to a table and began tying a bouquet of lilies. Nancy studied the interior of the shop and rested her eyes on a sign propped against an empty vase. The sign was an advertisement of Blue Lilacs. Nancy walked up to it and reached behind the poster. After feeling around, she pulled out a piece of paper with familiar handwriting in green ink. On it was scrawled “Not even flowers will get you out of hot water, but this might help you: Flag this" followed by several jointed lines.

"What do you make of this, Nancy?" Ned inquired. Nancy gave him a knowing look and began to crack the code...

Character Animation

2011-11-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

Today I got to attend a super awesome animation meeting! A few animators presented their work on the latest character's movements and lip syncs, so I got to see them for the first time moving along with their speech. It was super cool!

It takes a while to get to this point. Character development is a long process that needs to be taken in care. The first step comes from the Designer, who describes how the character looks: heritage, height, build, hair, eyes, age, facial features, and clothing are noted with the accompaniment of several image samples and references. Meanwhile the writer builds the character: how they behave and talk, decides the voice and accent, what they say and how they say it in response to Nancy's questions etc.

Next, the Character Designer conceptualizes: taking all of the descriptions, he illustrates the characters. After several edits and plenty of feedback, he begins forming the 3D shape, seen here:Next, the animators rig the characters with joints, muscle movements, and assemble figits so they can move like normal human beings.

They sync the dialogue with the actor's voices and when all the animation is finished, the characters are placed in their respective environments, like in this picture here:Then comes a grand presentation time for further critique and comments, which I got to sit in on today. Sadly, I won't be able to share too many details, but I will say that these characters are so cool! (Try identifying where this picture of Bess and George can be found in ASH.)

*Tomorrow will be the second part of the Weekend Mystery series since the office will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
~Little Jackalope~

Fall Leaves

2011-11-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

The autumn leaves are still falling at our office. With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, I have been looking at a lot of fall-related images, and there are a lot of pretty leaves. Digging into Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, I find several different kinds, such as oak, maple, ivy and one titled "shrub".

~Leaves outside of our office~

Even though DOG feels very autumn-like, it could be that much of the foliage is from deciduous trees (leaf-bearing versus cone-bearing coniferous trees). Warnings at Waverly Academy is a more appropriate game to describe our weather. It feels like day one in the game; we are just waiting for the following day when snow begins to fall.

Until the snowstorm, I wish you an (early) happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate this week:

Looks like you sleuths nailed the weekend puzzle! Stay tuned for the continuation (and puzzle answer) of the weekend mystery!
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Mystery Part 1 = "The Threat"

2011-11-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

“Oh, Nancy!” A middle-aged woman waved her arm and scurried up to Nancy and her friends as fast as she could in her tall heels. Nancy, Bess, George and Ned were gazing at the old Town Hall one last time before the construction crew began to demolish it in preparation for the work on the new museum.

The dark, curly-haired lady in a frilly blouse and skirt was hurrying up to the group. “Hello, Mrs. Wilkins!” called Nancy as she and her friends turned to face the clerk who was out-of-breathe and appeared anxious. “Oh Nancy, I’m glad I found you! I need your help”, she stopped to catch her breath as Nancy glanced at her friends with piqued interest. “How can I help you?” she asked. Mrs. Wilkins reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of scrap paper from her large bag slung over her left arm and handed it to the detective. “I found this in my bag yesterday. I think I might be in danger!” Mrs. Wilkins exclaimed.Bess, George and Ned crowd around Nancy as the titian-haired girl looked down at the note. On the torn paper was scrawled the words “If you lose the key, you are permanently done for!” Below the menacing words was written “Redeem yourself by using the key alphabet: 24.19.7.3.19.8.19.11.22.12.11.5.4.16.14”. Mrs. Wilkins gripped her bag with tense hands as she heard the words read aloud. “What makes you think someone is after you?” questioned George. Mrs. Wilkins hesitated. “I have lost an important key to a file cabinet where I work. It’s really embarrassing to admit this, and I didn’t think I’d be in too much trouble, but now I believe it’s a matter of life and death. Will you take this case for me?”

Pockets and Coats

2011-11-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

Today our writer was walking around with a sub sandwich tucked in his vest pocket. It made me laugh because it looked so random and funny. If someone has big pockets in a coat or vest, one could hide a lot of different things inside.

I particularly like large pockets because I can put my gloves, wallet, and phone all in one place that is safe and easy to reach them. It's also good to put those things in a pocket instead of walking around with a purse or bag, which can be left alone somewhere or get stolen. Of course, you can put the important things in your pockets and just use the purse as a ruse, that way if it gets lost or stolen you wouldn't need to worry too much.

I figured owning a sort of trench coat would be the most Nancy-like coat to own:
This coat has deep pockets that are perfect for protecting cold hands, or phones, or...sandwiches. >.<

Weekend puzzle tomorrow! This time we have a story series to accompany it.
~Little Jackalope~

Left-Over Halloween Decorations

2011-11-16T18:16:00.000-08:00

As I was walking around the office today, I noticed a few Halloween decorations that were still up. There are still some crows hanging around, plastic spiders in the snack basket in the kitchen, and in the front office was the ceramic jack-o-lantern filled with candy (this is a good thing). Here is a particularly eye-catching piece for taller people who walk by this cubicle:

~Large skull glaring at passers by...unfortunately it's not made of crystal~

We should probably begin putting up Thanksgiving- and Christmas-themed decorations soon...

Twitter Quote contest is today! Head over to see if you know who said the quote!
~Little Jackalope~

Ned Nickerson

2011-11-15T15:58:00.001-08:00

Every once in a while it's good to focus in on Nancy's family and friends. A special one in particular is Ned Nickerson.

The first time we get to see him in-game was as a phone avatar and in a picture in Nancy's room in Alibi in Ashes, but his voice has been around since near the beginning. The voice actor for Ned has done several other voices besides Nancy's boyfriend. He was also Charlie Murphy in Message in a Haunted Mansion, Sherman Trout in The Final Scene, and Henry Albert Daddle in Secret of the Scarlet Hand.
Ned is a very loyal and caring boyfriend who is there for Nancy when she needs to talk aloud her case or when she needs a hint. Some of my favorite quotes are below:

--(Fake German accent) "Hallo – eez dees Marthe Windergrassen? Who eez pleez calling me?" -- Secrets Can Kill REMASTERED.
--"Nothing like a good sneaking suspicion to keep you on your toes, I always say." -- Curse of Blackmoor Manor.

Ok sleuths, here's the solution for the weekend puzzle. The hint given yesterday [binary code] means to translate those numbers using that method. Here's how: [binary code is when you have columns for the numbers (zero and ones only) going from right to left.] The columns represent this worth: [starting at the far right is the 'ones' column. The second-to-right is the 'twos' column, next is the 4s column...]. Each column [doubles as it moves to the left]. You only need to have the columns up to 16, and will look like this: [ 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 ].

Now place the sets of numbers provided in the puzzle under your place-valued columns. Zeros mean nothing, while a 'one' means that place value. Now add all of the place values. Example: 01010 means there is a one in the 2s column and a one in the 8s column, so you add 2+8. The answer would be 10. Once you've got all of the binary numbers solved, figure out [what letter of the alphabet the numbers represent. A=1, B=2, C=3] and translate to get your ultimate answer.

Answer:

[10100 = 20 = T
1000 = 8 = H
1001 = 9 = I
10010 = 18 = R
10100 = 20 = T
101 = 5 = E
101 = 5 = E
1110 = 14 = N
111 = 7 = G
1000 = 8 = H
1111 = 15 = O
10011 = 19 = S
10100 = 20 = T
10011 = 19 = S].

Twitter Quote contest is tomorrow! Stay tuned to see if you'll recognize this one. ;)
~Little Jackalope~

Birthdays in November + Winner

2011-11-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

It's always fun when some one's birthday comes around, that's when we get to kindly tease or celebrate with them...perhaps both. What's extra nice is when a birthday treat comes in and everyone gets to partake in the desert.

Today was a production worker's birthday and cake was brought in to celebrate! Yum.

Looks like this weekend's puzzle contest was a bit hard, yes? For those of you who submitted your answer, here is the winner selected today: Congrats to Laura S. for correctly answering! She will receive a digital copy of Curse of Blackmoor Manor. (If you are still stuck and have no clue how she solved it, here's your hint: [binary code]. Although the contest is now over, go ahead and give this puzzle a try for fun, it may be useful in the future.

I will post the answer and solution tomorrow. ;)
~Little Jackalope~

11.11.11 = Weekend Puzzle #129 (Contest!)

2011-11-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

Today is 11.11.11! In honor of such a day, we are holding another contest, and the prize is a free digital download of game #11 Curse of Blackmoor Manor. (You may help eachother out on the message board if you'd like, but just remember to put all answer in spoiler code for those who would like to solve it on their own.)

Here are the rules, read carefully!

1. Solve the weekend puzzle below.
2. When you think you have the right answer, email it to solved@herinteractive.com with the subject line "Weekend Puzzle".
3. The prize? A digital copy of the Curse of Blackmoor Manor!
4. The time? Contest begins now and ends at 10am PST on Monday, November 14th.
5. One winner will be randomly drawn from all of the correct entries by 5pm, Monday, November 14th. (We want to be fair and give everyone a chance.) :) Each contestant may only enter once.
6. This contest is open to everyone.

Here's the puzzle (featuring a lot of 1s). Good luck!
(And a big thank you to those who have served and are currently serving our country, happy Veteran's Day!)
~Little Jackalope~

Character Designer Interviewed!

2011-11-10T17:37:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to announce that we interviewed our Character Designer, Van! Check out today's Dare to Play blog post here. I really like his designs. I admit I was a little worried about how Nancy's friends would turn out...because I'm a little protective of how I envision them. But now I am very happy how they look (George is my favorite). Bess is super cute and looks great with any hairstyle and wearing any sort of cute clothing, while George has that tomboyish style and haircut with a little teasing smirk on her face (that is so much like her). Ned was my most worrisome character, but look how cute he turned out!

These were the early concept sketches of the phone avatar/icons for Alibi in Ashes. Pretty neat, right?

~George Fayne~

~Bess Marvin~

~Ned Nickerson~

Guess what? Tomorrow's weekend puzzle will be a contest! Stay tuned for more details!
~Little Jackalope~

Snow, yet?

2011-11-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

I'm hearing that many places in the U.S. are getting snow already! Winter is coming and it might just be me, but I thought I smelled snow in the air the other day. (Here at the office we don't have any ice or snow yet.) It is getting colder, though, and my numbed fingers today are proof of this.

With winter coming soon, I thought about the snowy games; Treasure in the Royal Tower, The White Wolf of Icicle Creek, and Warnings at Waverly Academy. ICE involves a lot of outdoor investigating (and a few icy accidents). For now, this is how I enjoy snow; by playing a Nancy Drew game. Oh to hear the sound of snow crunching underfoot, walking around until you nearly freeze, and then going indoors to spend a little time in the sauna and then heading upstairs to enjoy a hot meal...of which Nancy has to cook three times a day. French toast does sound good right about now...

Take a look at this! I found this snooping in the ICE art folders and thought it was very pretty.

Sunsets create purple and pink snow!
This makes me want to fetch some hot cocoa, grab a blanket and play a game in the protection of a warm house. Who's with me?

~Little Jackalope~

Digging for Treasure = Brady?!

2011-11-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

My version of treasure hunting is finding all sorts of little pieces of history, information and art from past and present games. I went digging for something specific and decided to take a detour, exploring the folders and files along the way. This one particularly caught my eye:

A movie poster from The Final Scene featuring Brady Armstrong! I think it's a very nice poster, even if Brady isn't my #1 heartthrob choice. Would you see this movie if it were real? I think I'd rather take a black marker and color all over it... XD

Check out the newly added testimonials to our testimonial page! Remember to send in your testimonial to solved@herinteractive.com, because at the end of the week we will select one entry to receive a small, but very cool little prize. I promise you will like it. ;)

~Little Jackalope~

British Nancy Drew

2011-11-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I visited with my Grandparents, and my Grandma gave me this:

Check it out! This is a Great Britain 1974 printing of The Moonstone Castle Mystery, which I brought in to add to my office shelf. I find the different artwork fascinating, but what's even more peculiar is that on the back of the hard cover the rest of the books are listed out of normal order. Book #1 was The Secret of Shadow Ranch, #2 was The Mystery of the 99 Steps and The Moonstone Castle Mystery was the most recent at #36. I'm curious to how this little book time traveled from the 70s and made it's way half-way across the world to here. This is yet another bit of evidence that Nancy Drew is not just famous in America, but all over the world and from different times.

I figured you sleuths would solve the weekend puzzle quickly! Here's the solution: find all of the words related to The White Wolf of Icicle Creek. Here's the complete list: [Isis, Bill, Lou, Fishing, Cooking, Breakfast, Frost, Laundry, Lodge, Egg, Icicle, Wolf, Howl]. Once you have found all 13 names and words, note all of the [unused letters in the grid], written out it will say [Call 1 555 Mystico], a jingle Nancy sings in the game.

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #128

2011-11-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Friday has come. It's time for another intense brain-boggler! Ok...it's not so much of a toughy this time, but good luck anyways!

Hint: [There are 3 names included]

*New announcement: We have a new page on our web site! Check out the Fan Testimonials.
Have a good weekend!
~Little Jackalope~

Nik and Cathy Interview!

2011-11-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today we posted an interview with our writer Nik and designer Cathy on our Dare to Play Blog! This is especially a great read if you are curious on how the Nancy Drew games first start out.It takes a lot of thought to get just the right story, design, layout, pacing, and balance of puzzles, logic, mystery, suspense, and effort to bring to life all of the characters in a fun and interesting way. You have to make sure that the characters each have a story, a background, reasons for behavior, and sometimes a little bit if wit and humor. To design a Nancy Drew adventure, you have to be able to think of literally every part of the game.

What I find really fun is this: every time I play a game, there is something new I notice...in fact, there are still some little bits of random connections and fun references hiding if you look hard enough. (Have you really tried finding all of the 8's and 80 references in Secrets Can Kill Remastered? There are a lot!)

Tomorrow's the weekend puzzle, stay tuned for a slightly easier one this time. ;)
~Little Jackalope~

Tweets and Birds

2011-11-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

Do you Tweet? You don't have to have a Twitter account to view our "tweets", but you do need an account to participate in our weekly Twitter Quote Contest. (It happens every Wednesday). Here's how it works: early Wednesday we post or "tweet" a character quote on Twitter. Your job is to reply to @HerInteractive and identify who said that quote and in which game it was said. On Thursday, we randomly select a winner from all of the correct entries (those who identified both the correct character and game). Last names aren't required unless there is more than one character who shares the first name (like an Emily or Joe). You will not be disqualified from misspellings.

So what are you waiting for? Head over to our Twitter page and see if you know who said today's quote! This week's prize is a digital download of Message in a Haunted Mansion. (And the prizes vary from each week).

Check this out, one of the skilled artists drew this bird on a white board.
I thought a bird picture would be appropriate when mentioning Twitter.

~Midge~

On a side note...if you have a Facebook account, you should try beating my first score on Number Punch. When I first played, I finished in 1:06. Can you do better than that? ;)

~Little Jackalope~

Post-Halloween + Flashlights

2011-11-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

Has anybody tired of candy yet? We are still enjoying left-overs from yesterday's potluck, and still have plenty of candy left to eat. No worries, I'm sure it will all disappear soon.

With Halloween just behind us and the winter days becoming shorter, my thoughts have been on the darkness outside. Nancy has done a lot of sleuthing outside in the dark, or in dark spaces. She chases after burglars and culprits, investigates areas when no one is around, and she knows how to keep hidden. While it can be very dangerous to go prowling in the dark, Nancy is often prepared for such occasions. Her flashlight, or "torch light" as it is called in a few books, is kept safely in her convertible's glove compartment.

In the games, Nancy has acquired and used several different light sources for exploring in the dark, such as flashlights, lanterns, and glow sticks...plenty of glow sticks!

~Recognize this lantern?~

Are you prepared for the dark? I've learned from Nancy to put a flashlight in my car's glove box, and I know where to find a few candles should I need them. (I also have a little hand-held glitter globe that lights up different colors when shaken...but it isn't too bright or reliable.)

Looks like a few of you solved the weekend puzzle! Great work, it was a tough one!
Here's how it's done: First, it helps to figure out what the directions mean.
Directions: -->4x6^
A=T-B and N=L-R
Combine the I and J. No X.

The answer to these random letters:
[Make a grid across 4, and 6 tall.
Alphabet = Top to Bottom
Number them Left to Right.
Combine the I and the J into one space, and delete the X from the alphabet].

Now you find the letters from the numbers given: 9-1-9-14-18-17-23-10-3-4-6-17-12-1-3
Answer: [Cackles in the van] It's a reference to [Alibi in Ashes]. Hm...what could this mean?

~Little Jackalope~

Happy Halloween 2011!

2011-10-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween! This is the day where we have the opportunity to dress up in any sort of outfit or costume for fun. Today, several of us silly and imaginative workers dressed up and together the entire office enjoyed a delicious assortment of foods and goodies. Yum...every once in a while I like to sneak back into the kitchen to steal a few left-overs.

Today's the last day that three of the scariest games are available for 50% off! Get the digital download of Shadow at the Water's Edge, Legend of the Crystal Skull, or Curse of Blackmoor Manor for a spooky night of mystery-solving. You have until midnight before the clock strikes, your time runs out, the opportunity to be brave passes you by and...you will have to just wait until another awesome sale comes around.

Looks like no one's taken a whack at last weekend's puzzle..? I suppose it's time for hint. ;) A=Alphabet. You are not subtracting letters.

Have a go at it! (And good luck!)
~Little Jackalope~

Ready for Halloween? (And Weekend Puzzle #127)

2011-10-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

It's the weekend before Halloween! This means parties and last-minute decorating for many of you. We are decked out with a few hints of the spooky season (see below). There are pumpkin lights hung along cubicles, blinking eyes posters, a rock wall wallpaper, giant spiders and a poor flier who crashed into a cubicle wall.
What are you planning to do this weekend? We are having a weekend sale on a few of our scary titles. You can get the digital download versions of Shadow at the Water's Edge, Legend of the Crystal Skull, and Curse of Blackmoor Manor for 50% off! Now is the season to turn out the lights, close the doors and windows, and play a spooky game. o.O

If you already have the games that are on sale, there are some other options. Message in a Haunted Mansion, Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, The Haunting of Castle Malloy, and The Captive Curse are great for playing in the dark as well. (I felt pretty brave playing these games the first time, except for my most embarrassing moment when I played The Captive Curse for the first time in the office. I really did jump and squeal at one scene.)

On to the weekend puzzle!

Directions: -->4x6^
A=T-B and N=L-R
Combine the I and J. No X.

Puzzle:
9-1-9-14-18-17-23-10-3-4-6-17-12-1-3

Have good one!
~Little Jackalope~

Shelved Game Cover Art

2011-10-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Before you get all excited, we are currently not bringing back the legendary 3rd Dossier game: Ship of Shadows. It has been "shelved" and is not in production. Our CEO touched on this subject in a recent interview (read it here).

Due to a big request and desire from you all on the message boards (that's right, we hear and read what you have to say) ;) I present you the art to the unpublished game: Nancy Drew: Ship of Shadows:

Check this out! Our Designer, Cathy, was interviewed by Wild Tangent! Hear what she has to say about herself and Shadow at the Water's Edge.

~Little Jackalope~

Parlez-vous... mystère?

2011-10-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so maybe my French isn't perfect, and maybe I didn't pay too close attention to Professor Hotchkiss's French words in Treasure in the Royal Tower, but I thought it would be a nice lead-in to this image:

Check out the French packaging for Secrets Can Kill Remastered that we just viewed yesterday!I find it rather interesting how the localized (creating for different countries) versions of the box art look different. Notice how the text on the spine is backwards from how we read, and the little magnifying glasses are silver and are differently shaped.

Speaking about cover art, word has come to my ear that some of you (particularly on the Her Interactive message board) desire to see a closer-up image of the legendary (or not so legendary) un-published third game to the Dossier series. While this game is not in production and has been "shelved" (see our CEO's interview response to this), we still have the pretty cover art. Do you really want to see it? Shall I pull it out of the dark to show you?

~Little Jackalope~

Giving (or receiving) Gifts

2011-10-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this! A fan of ours attended a silent auction where she offered a Nancy Drew-themed basket for people to bid on. Looks like she has a few desirable items in there. ;)

The gift-giving season is nearing, might one of the games be on your list? I've been looking around, and it looks like our site is the only site to sell every single game we've made. So if you are missing any, you know where to look. ;)

Speaking of gifts and the nearing season, I wonder if anyone likes the gift of getting scared? Someone put a fake spider in the fruit basket...and also on the floor at the entrance to the kitchen. It nearly scared one of the workers! I like this reaction. Hm, I wonder what antics I could come up with for this weekend. Do you have any trick or treat ideas to share?

~Little Jackalope~

A Great Story

2011-10-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I like to stop and think about what makes a good story. Perhaps it's the mystery, adventure, drama, suspense, or interesting history? I know I like a little of all of that perfectly balanced in every book. What makes a great Nancy Drew read? I find that a few hidden passages, secret compartments, puzzles, riddles or codes, villains, treasure, a person in need, some help from Bess and George, and a date or two with Ned makes for great way to sit quietly and enjoy a good mystery. What is it that keeps you coming back for more?

How about a fairy tale or a Charleena Purcell novel?

For those few of you who have played several, if not all, of the Nancy Drew games, you might have found last weekend's puzzle to be rather easy (I hope not, because I love making them hard or tricky) ;)

Here are the game titles where the items are found:
[Mushroom = CRY
Toasty Pack = ICE
Barette/Bow = WAC
Sea Urchin = RAN
Bunny Doll = HAU
Soldering Gun = CAR
Coconut monkey = CRE
Lava Lamp = DAN
Iron = MHM
Lighter = TRT
Metal Polish = ASH
Gold/Ruby Charm = CAP
Telescope Eye Piece = CUR
Arcade Card = SAW
Catnip Mouse Toy = CLK
Popcorn Slide = FIN
Three Cranks = SHA
Ranger Pin = DOG
Pa Penny = TOT
Yellow Bank Card = VEN
Sandwich = DDI
Special Screw driver = TRN
Jade Mayan Cube = SSH]
Now put them in order of the game release and your letters should spell this: [Nancy I lied, I'm freaking out!] A quote from [Bess] in [Alibi in Ashes].

New wallpapers have gone up for Alibi in Ashes! Check out the Desktop and Mobile version of the old Town Hall!
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #126

2011-10-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hey howdy hey! It's Friday again! That means a few of us get to attend another top-secret meeting and try out puzzle prototypes (below are the pieces I used to try out our designer's latest game). Any ideas what this puzzle might be like?

So you don't get left out on some fun, I've attached below this weekend's puzzle. I'm curious to see how fast this one will be solved...
~Little Jackalope~

Games and Puzzle Thursday

2011-10-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Today we had a company meeting to get updated an all that's happening. We enjoyed pizza and salad while playing board games with each other. It's worth the effort and patience to learn a new game! Several of us tried a new one called Dice Town, which had a cowboy and western theme. If the board had sound effects, it would probably sound like the pachinko game in the Museum in Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.

Another puzzle we tried was one a fan created. A while ago she sent us a package: Inside was a note and several envelopes with cut-up letters. It took a couple of us a bit of time to piece the letters together, and when we got stumped we gave it over to our puzzle wizard. It took her almost no time at all to finish it. (The answer was a web site address to some Christmas music. Gathered by the clues we have, it almost sounds like we will be getting a Christmas card from her later....yay!) We really enjoy it when we get letters and cards from fans. ^.^

Weekend puzzle tomorrow! (Will not be a contest this time).
~Little Jackalope~

Chocolate Wednesday

2011-10-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

Like the title states, it has been a chocolate Wednesday! Well...for me at least. After sneaking a piece of chocolate from the production department (if you are quiet, they won't notice), I visited the kitchen. One of our hard workers brought in some Italian chocolate treats in from her trip to Italy, seen here:
I don't really know what it says or what it is that I ate, but it was really good! The thought of Italian chocolate reminded me of The Phantom of Venice, where two boxes of chocolates can be found...and one box can be eaten.

(You can eat the entire box!)

What made this day even better is when our CCSO and CEO brought it fancy chocolates not too much later!! It's like stepping into the game, only this time, instead of Nancy always having the pleasure of devouring the treats, we get to enjoy them.

...I think I've had enough sugar for today. >.<
Do you Tweet? Check out our Twitter page and participate in today's Quote Contest! The prize is a digital download copy of The Curse of Blackmoor Manor, and I'm sure many of you would be able to identify whose quote is posted. ;)
~Little Jackalope~

Alibi in Ashes Officially Released!

2011-10-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

October 18th has finally come! We are excited and pleased to present Alibi in Ashes, the special 25th game of the series, one that has been long awaited by fans! It's finally time for Nancy to return home to River Heights, where this time she has become the prime suspect. This is the first time you get to play as Nancy and all three of her friends (Ned, Bess and George) in one story. You can read the official press release here.In addition to today's excitement, have you tried the Number Punch mini-game on our site? If you have, you are not only well practiced for the real game, but also for the newly added Facebook app! If you have a Facebook account, you can play and compete with your friends' top speeds. This is what we've been testing over the last few weeks, and here in the Her Interactive office it has been a fierce competition between the players to see who can get the fastest score. (I walked past an artist's desk not too long ago and noticed he was back on, trying to beat the reigning champs). It's really fun to play!

How fast are you?
~Little Jackalope~

ASH and SAW in October

2011-10-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

Alibi in Ashes comes out in stores tomorrow! And today we have two new ASH wallpapers for you: check out the desktop version or the mobile version.

We have a winner! Last Friday was the weekend puzzle #125 contest, here's the solution: the puzzle is a [keyword] cipher. Using the keyword provided (quick) you take the alphabet and [insert the word "quick" at the beginning, taking out all repetitive letters.] Here's the alphabet you should get: [quickabdefghjlmnoprstvwxyz]. Take the real alphabet and place above the fake alphabet. Now take a look at the crazy puzzle letters and find them in the fake alphabet, look at the above letter. For example: [s=t, m=o, and n=p]. In the end, you should get this final answer: [Top your friends at Number Punch!]
Of all the correct entries submitted, one random person was selected to win the digital guide to Alibi in Ashes. Congratulations to Jennifer D. who will receive her prize when the game is officially released!

It's been October for a while, and most attention has been on ASH, of course. I'd like to take a moment to consider the monthly special: Shadow at the Water's Edge. With Halloween coming, this is a great game to play in the dark, especially for the first time! I was looking at the art for this game, and thought how beautiful it was.
Sometimes it's really nice to take a good close-up look at one area and I favored this. Love the colors!
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #125 = Contest!

2011-10-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hooray for Friday! Here's the news for today:
--The winner for the CEO-4-A-Day Contest was announced on our site. Check it out! Looks like we will be bringing in a new CEO sometime in the future ;) and of course I will be ready to share pictures with you when the time comes.
--Stuart, (our CEO)'s interview has gone up today for you to read.
--Monday there will be a free Alibi in Ashes wallpaper download for you, I promise.
--This weekend puzzle below is a contest!

Here are the rules, read carefully!
1. Solve the weekend puzzle below.
2. When you think you have the right answer, email it to solved@herinteractive.com with the subject line "Weekend Puzzle".
3. The prize? A digital copy of the Alibi in Ashes strategy guide!
4. The time? Contest begins now and ends at 10am PST on Monday, October 17th.
5. One winner will be randomly drawn from all of the correct entries by 5pm, Monday, October 17th. (We want to be fair and give everyone a chance.) :) Each contestant may only enter once.
6. This contest is open to everyone.

Here is the puzzle, good luck!

Keyword: Quick

SMN YMTP APEKLCR QS LTJUKPNTLID

~Little Jackalope~

Halloween Preparation

2011-10-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of us took a short trip to our storage shed (more like a closet) to fetch some old Halloween and Christmas decorations. When we brought them back, we sort of left a mess in the kitchen, and then sent out an email to the office saying "Please take anything you like, and feel free to decorate!" I rummaged through and found some awesome plastic glasses with a nose and eyebrows. I'm also planning on putting up the rock-wall wallpaper (to help make the place look more like a castle).
Halloween is only a few weeks away! Now is a great time to prepare, get decorations and choose a costume. Our Production department is always prepared with candy:
I have a few games in mind that would be great for this season. Can you guess which two I'm thinking? ;)

I'm thinking tomorrow's weekend puzzle might involve a digital strategy guide...
~Little Jackalope~

Last Day of Pre-Orders

2011-10-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day to pre-order Alibi in Ashes! Anyone who purchases the game tomorrow will be receiving the standard edition. (All boxed games ever made will say Special Edition because it's the 25th game, yet only the pre-orders will have an additional starburst that says "BONUS Edition" which has the additional content).

Just a reminder: If you ordered the boxed game, overnight shipments and early orders will ship out Alibi in Ashes first, then the 3-day, and finally the 5-7 day regulars. Depending on how close you live to Seattle, you might be getting your game earlier. Just keep an eye out your window! The game will arrive soon and you will get to play and see all that we've been working on the past year. ;)

Oh my, I believe I have forgotten to post the solution to last weekend's puzzle! It looks like many of you are well experienced in solving Nonograms from Shadow at the Water's Edge and have solved this one fast. To solve, ignore all of the letters in the grid. Then fill in the boxes according to the numbers above and to the right. Those numbers mean that there are X-amount of consecutive boxes filled in (don't forget that there needs to be a blank space in between each set of filled boxes). Once you fill in all the spaces, read the remaining letters left-to-right, top-to-bottom. You should get this answer: [A clue to ND26 is found in Trail of the Twister].
*If you like surprises, do not, I repeat do not click on this link or read any emails about our YouTube Channel: HerInteractiveGames.

Take a look at this odd trophy!
Megan Gaiser, our CCSO, won an award at IndieCade this year! Congrats for winning the coolest, oddest, most creative trophy ever! (It's a teapot with old binoculars on top, sitting on knobs of some sort, attached to a picture frame with old Clue game cards --with Miss Scarlet face up-- at the base.)

~Little Jackalope~

A Digital Tuesday

2011-10-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

A new update on the Alibi in Ashes digital download was posted on the Dare to Play Blog. Check it out if you pre-ordered and are having troubles. If you ordered the boxed version of the ASH, just know that there is no delay on these, all you have to worry about is how often you need to peek out the window for it to arrive. ;)

And all I have to worry about at the moment is which tiny screenshot to create a new wallpaper...I have one in particular I'm leaning towards. ^.^ Any preference?
~Little Jackalope~

A Rough Monday...

2011-10-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Hey all, if you haven't heard...we have been experiencing some awful technical issues with the Alibi in Ashes digital download, ugh. We apologize for this and it frustrates us as much as it does you. :( We are working hard to get this working properly and hope to share the game with you soon. If you have any further questions, please check out the Tech Support page.

Until then, some people were successful at downloading the game and are now playing it (enjoy!). If you are currently playing, please keep in mind when writing about it that others have not gotten their chance and would like to be just as surprised as you were when you first played the game. ^.^ Thanks!

(If you are anxiously awaiting your turn and like surprises, I suggest avoiding the message boards and reading others' posts so as not to spoil your fun.) I also suggest avoiding YouTube as some people are likely to post the Preview to the next game (ND#26). ;)

We will let you know as soon as everything is ready to try downloading again. Thanks in advance for your patience!

~Little Jackalope~

Temorary Delay: Alibi in Ashes Download

2011-10-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, we find it necessary at this time to suspend all downloads of Nancy Drew: Alibi in Ashes until we solve the download issues surrounding the game. As soon as this issue is resolved we will notify you immediately. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Thank you in advance for your patience.

--The Her Interactive Team

Extra! Extra! New Mini Game!

2011-10-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

I had to create a special extra post today just to let you know (and I'm super excited) that we have a new mini-game up from Alibi in Ashes! Check out Number Punch on our site. Enjoy!

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #124

2011-10-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Yay Friday! And only 3 more days until the digital pre-orders get to play Alibi in Ashes!

Just to clarify all the pre-order dates:
*October 10th = Digital Download pre-orders that purchased before the 10th may now begin downloading and playing the game.
*October 10th = Pre-ordered boxed games will begin the shipping process.
*October 12th = Pre-orders officially end. The regular game (no bonus content) will now be for sale.
*October 18th = Alibi in Ashes is out in stores!!

Oh, boy, we are super excited! It's so close!
To add to our Friday excitement here at the office, a few artists brought in doughnuts:
And later we are planning a "study" group involving board games:
Another day for another puzzle, aye? This one's a little bit more important than last week's answer.
Good luck!
~Little Jackalope~

Letter From A Fan

2011-10-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

Hey all! We received an awesome email from a fan the other day, and we loved it so much we wanted to share it with you. :)

"Dear Her Interactive,

When I was in the second grade I was presented with a book order form and on the back was a small advertisement for Treasure In the Royal Tower. Since the name Nancy Drew was tagged on to it, my curiosity was piqued. I begged my mother to buy me the game and I returned the next day with my book order form. I remember waiting the four weeks for the order to come in, and it felt like ages. I also remember receiving the box, along with a magnifying glass necklace, and I was stoked. I played through the game as fast as I could. I can now close my eyes and relive the sweaty palms and fast heart rate I experienced when breaking into the castle's library. I learned so much from that first game I played, and I was addicted. I purchased the earlier games and played through them as well, and over the years my cousin has blessed me every Christmas with two new games. It has been about ten years since my first Nancy Drew experience, but I can't even begin to explain how much the games impacted me.

I am now studying interactive entertainment at the University of Southern California, a dream school for video game design. I never thought I would end up in a field such as this, or a school unite as good, but looking back it makes sense through my avid love of the Nancy Drew games. Now as the rain pours down outside in an uncharacteristically rainy day, I will pick one of my favorite ND games and enjoy my afternoon. Thank you so much for continuing making these wonderful games, and someday I do hope to make it out to the Her Interactive studio!

Warmly from a huge fan,
M. D."

Glad to hear more girls are going into game design!
~Little Jackalope~

I'm Getting Excited for ASH!

2011-10-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

There are only six days left (including today) until pre-orders for Alibi in Ashes begin shipping out and the digital download becomes available! I had to open up the game today to take a peek at the ending (again), and watch the teaser trailer to the game after ASH. Do you like learning about the next game as soon as possible, or do want to find out yourself by playing the game and watching the teaser first?

Take a look here! This is going to be the icon for Alibi in Ashes (the one that shows up on your desktop, in the My Computer folder... etc.)

~A Flaming Match~

Twitter contest is today!
~Little Jackalope~

Professional Auditions

2011-10-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago the design and production team held voice auditions for our next game (the one after Alibi in Ashes). This is when professional actors and actresses come in for a chance to read a script. After they are given a brief summary of the character, it's up to them to bring that character to life with only their skilled voice. (I was lucky enough to sit in on a few few auditions for a couple female characters).

We record their voices with this little device here:

After auditions, the team then listens to all of the recordings to determine the cast. Once they have been chosen, the real recording begins! We'll have to wait and see what happens next.

Oh and just a note, we *might* have something exciting this week.
~Little Jackalope~

Monday Download

2011-10-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, based on what the favorite screenshot votes were, I picked the Drew Home as the next wallpaper (now you can see it a little bit closer, and larger). There is also a mobile wallpaper option. All of the Alibi in Ashes wallpapers can be found on the downloads page.

Today our designer brought in a Peach Cinnamon coffee cake, seen below (yum).
Which reminds me of the weekend puzzle...
All you have to do is [place all of the letters from all 4 grids into one box], then you read the message top to bottom, left to right. You should get this: [Try a bowl of Peachy Keen]. I wonder how vanilla ice cream would taste with peach cinnamon coffee cake..

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #123

2011-09-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Only 10 days left until pre-orders start going out for Alibi in Ashes! We can now count on our fingers the days until you can download your pre-ordered game.

On to a quick weekend puzzle, I'm sure you could solve this in a matter of moments. Our lead QA tester was able to get it in 25 seconds. ;)

Have a great weekend!
~Little Jackalope~

A Breather After Pre-Order Launch

2011-09-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Today, a few of us can take a breather after launching the pre-orders yesterday. Now we can sit back and relax, and skim over everything to make sure no problems arise. (I'm sure there won't be any issues). Alibi in Ashes is only getting closer by the day. We have 11 days left (including today) before the game starts shipping on the 10th and you can download. (Eleven days?! Wow that's not much time at all!)
We are thinking of offering another desktop wallpaper featuring the art from Alibi in Ashes. I can't decide between a few options. Take a look at our screen shots and let me know which is your favorite. ;)

Tomorrow's the weekend puzzle!
~Little Jackalope~

Alibi in Ashes: Pre-Orders Are Live!

2011-09-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

The clock is ticking. Every five minutes we check the time. A smidgen closer. Two hours left...one hour left...15 minutes left...we need to remember to breathe...*breathe in*. Need to make sure every thing's ready. Test the page, test the links, check the art, make sure it's all there.
Tick-tick-tick-tick.....DING!

It's finally time to pre-order Alibi in Ashes! Place your order before October 12th to receive the BONUS Edition and be entered into the CEO-4-A-Day contest.

We've been preparing for this moment for a while now, and are super excited for the release (I've probably said this at least three times recently). Here's a snapshot of our next newsletter..coming very soon.
Are you ready for a new game? Are you ready to play as Ned, Bess, and George? Whoo-hoo!! Alibi in Ashes is getting closer to the hands of all those detectives out there!

~Little Jackalope~

The Box Has Arrived...

2011-09-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

We got the sample box sleeves the other day for Alibi in Ashes! See here:

They are shiny and embossed...going to look great on the shelves!
Besides admiring box art, we've been competing against each other on a mini-game we've been working on. This one keeps a score, and it's a lot of fun to play against people you know. I can't give away much about it, but someday you will get a chance to play.

Twitter quote contest tomorrow!
~Little Jackalope~

GirlFest! 2011

2011-09-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

On Saturday many of us went to GirlFest! 2011 over in Seattle where we had a booth showcasing our games. We had six laptops with minigame demos for them to play, our big TV playing trailers from our last 5 games, buttons and magnifying glasses to give away, games for sale, and hourly raffles giving away our collector's tin. We had a lot of fun, and a lot of girls (plus a few guys) learned about Nancy Drew! Here are some pictures (for the complete set of pictures, visit our Facebook page, we will have those up sometime soon).

~Our booth, all set-up before the crowds come in.~

~Girls playing Nancy Drew for the first time. The dress-up avatars from SAW were most popular~
~A few fellow Her workers giving out raffles and showing the Shadow Ranch app~

Looks like the weekend puzzle was solved successfully! Here's what you do: [Play the Alibi in Ashes official trailer. "Scrub" over to the times listed. Pause the video. Count the letters you see on that screen from top to bottom, left to right.] The answer you get is [Pre-orders begin Monday]. But sadly the date was pushed back, so the puzzle answer is now incorrect >.<

Until tomorrow!
~Little Jackalope~

Alibi in Ashes: Pre-orders Delayed

2011-09-23T16:14:00.001-07:00

Due to circumstances beyond our control. We regret to inform you that we will need to delay the launch of the Alibi in Ashes pre-order period until 5pm PT on Wednesday, Sept. 28th. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. We truly appreciate it as we work towards ensuring a seamless pre-order experience for all our fans.

-The Her Interactive Team

Weekend Puzzle #122 + Proofs

2011-09-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we received our proofs for the fancy box cover design of Alibi in Ashes, which will have sparkly foil on the BONUS Editions that go out for pre-order. Look here!

~Proofs for the strategy guide~

Also, have you read the latest Letter from the CEO? Head over to learn about the update to our digital store.

On to the weekend puzzle!
0:40 #13
0:02 #4
0:02 #8
0:26 #2
0:08 #3
0:13 #6
0:29 #3
0:29 #2
1:08 #1
0:29 #1
1:51 #4
0:40 #9
0:08 #4
0:13 #3
1:37 #33
1:08 #3
1:37 #5
1:52 #1
1:48 #10
1:48 #5

Good luck sleuths!
~Little Jackalope~

ASH Screenshots!!

2011-09-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Some of you found the clue hinting to today's special: Alibi in Ashes screenshots have been released!! Check them out and learn more about River Heights and the game on our screenshots page. This one's my favorite:
This is a day for more treats here in the office. Today we celebrated two of our artist's wedding by having red velvet cake and cheesecake, yum! (And congrats to the awesome happy couple!!)I've got a few more pictures to share with tomorrow, when the weekend puzzle goes up. Stay tuned!

~Little Jackalope~

Getting Ready for GirlFest

2011-09-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

We've been preparing for GirlFest! 2011 this Saturday. It's an event for girls and their families to come and check out companies, products, have fun, learn, and try new things. We attended last year, and will again this year. I've been scavenging around the office for things to take with us Saturday. Let's see, I've got:

Collector's Tins
Games
Little display holder for the games
Buttons to give away
Big Nancy poster
Tape, pens, clips, scissors
DVD of the game trailers

There's a lot more I need to add to that list. Oh! Perhaps I should bring the camera to take pictures for you. Us in our snazzy Her Interactive shirts. (There are pictures of us from last year on our Facebook page if you'd like to see).

On top of putting together things for the event, I've also been getting ready for more Alibi in Ashes art to display online. See here:
I just had to add that little tidbit in. ;)
~Little Jackalope~

Big Contest! (And us being busy)

2011-09-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

It's the super busy season for a couple of us in the office (myself included) and I've noticed how many times I use the word "busy". Note to self: try to avoid using that word for the remainder of the launch season for Alibi in Ashes. Will need to come up with a new vocabulary, what would Nancy say? Distracted? Detained? Engaged? Active? In motion? Hmm...will have to keep this in mind.

Take a look here! It's a bit hard for a camera to pick up, but if you look closely at this white piece of paper, you will see that it is a sample of the embossing for the Alibi in Ashes box.

A HUGE new contest was posted yesterday! Head over to the official page for more details on possibly flying out here to our office and becoming CEO for a day (the best part is meeting me...just kidding.)

I'd better take off or else I won't stop working...I'm super bus-- occupied. :)
~Little Jackalope~

The Latest Post + Official Trailer!!

2011-09-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

...Literally! I think this is the latest time I've ever posted on the Amateur Sleuth Blog! (That should tell you how busy we have been).

Let's start with the weekend puzzle. (You solved it quick!) It was a Nonogram, like from Shadow at the Water's Edge. Once you color in all of the appropriate places (that's what the numbers on top and on the sides mean), take the remaining letters and make a sentence in the order they appear.

You get [One stuffed Teddy Bear] referring to [Mr. Woogle Woggle]. Next, look for the 19th, 16th, 26th, and 9th [blog post dates, which were all Friday puzzles] and insert the proper grammar into those answers. I'll give you another day to try it before I lay it all out for you. :)

On to more important matters! This is what we've been busy with:

~Alibi in Ashes Official Trailer!!~

Check it out on our trailers page, and our YouTube Channel! What do you think? Better than the teaser trailer, right? ;)

Look here! This is what a few of us did on Friday; attend the Seattle Chamber of Commerce 129th Annual meeting where Megan was interviewed among a panel on stage, and I got to help participate in showing off our games at our own table!! (So much fun talking about Nancy Drew!)

~Nancy poster!~

~Our lovely table (I hooked up the monitor) :P~

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #121

2011-09-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday puzzle sleuths! Today, several of us are going to the 129th annual Seattle Chamber of Commerce meeting, where Megan will speak about Her Interactive and the games, I'm really excited! Perhaps I will show you some pictures next week, if I'm allowed to take them.

On to important matters. Puzzle time!

Click on the image for a larger view.

When you are done, the 2nd is first with a (,) at the end.
The 19th is second with a (:) at the end.
The 16th is third with a (") at the beginning.
The 26th is fourth.
The 9th is last with a (".") at the end.
(All excluding the () brackets).

Good luck sleuths, and have a great weekend!
~Little Jackalope~

Alibi in Ashes Characters

2011-09-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

I'm super excited to introduce you to the characters of Alibi in Ashes! Whoo-hoo!! The Character Profiles page is now live with images and descriptions of the suspects and Nancy's friends.

~Deirdre Shannon~

So what are your thoughts on these characters? Whose your favorite so far? How do you like Ned? There have been some updates to Bess and George, do you like them here, or do you prefer them from Ransom of the Seven Ships?

Monday is another big day, we've been working hard this week to prepare for next week, and I'm itching to give more details. You will have to wait until then. o.O

Weekend puzzle tomorrow! Stop by for a little challenge.
~Little Jackalope~

In the Secret Corner

2011-09-14T16:30:00.001-07:00

In one big corner of our office, across from the production department, is a collection of cubicles where you can find the "render farm", an old arcade game, packaging boxes, letterheads, envelopes, miscellaneous other storage and a whole bunch of our games! See here:
I made a trip to this secluded corner to fetch a box of our letterheads (nice paper with our logo and contact information) as well as several copies of The Captive Curse, Shadow at the Water's Edge, and Trail of the Twister.

This corner makes for an excellent hiding place...I will keep that in mind in case I ever have to hide something. ;)

Twitter Quote contest is today! The prize this time is a Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon digital strategy guide.
~Little Jackalope~

A Day of Random Gifts

2011-09-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's not Christmas, or a birthday (well, one of our artists had a birthday yesterday), but we received a few gifts today... OK, so maybe they aren't really gifts according to everyone else, but I like to call them that to make it sound interesting.

Our order of office snacks came in (somebody keeps eating the cookies...). With that same order came several cubicle-sized white boards for the artists to hang up on their walls to doodle, sketch and write crazy ideas on. (Maybe I will spy on them and take a few pics to share with you. I thought I saw a blue jay on one of them.)

Another "gift" came in the mail today. Huge proofs of Alibi in Ashes box prints...with a kick to it! I will have to show you a picture of these later.

This little gift seen below came last week, and we've been playing with it ever since.This is Auggie. You put one of the yellow balls in his mouth (tight and snug), and squeeze him until the ball pops (more like shoots) out. The goal is to knock over those alien sticks. A word to the wise: If you aim Auggie straight up, you are most likely to get hit with the yellow ball in an instant. I would know.

Twitter quote contest is tomorrow! Participate then for a chance to win a digital strategy guide.
~Little Jackalope~

Alibi in Ashes Teaser!!

2011-09-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

This is what we've been working hard on last week: preparing for the Alibi in Ashes Teaser!

The teaser is up on our website and also on our YouTube Channel (by the way, I suggest subscribing, it's the fastest way of knowing we have a new video. The official trailer is currently being worked on *wink*).

More info on Alibi in Ashes was sent out via the newsletter that went out today. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can view the latest in our Newsletter Archive.

What did you think of the cover art? There is a wallpaper for your desktop and phone featuring the cover art of Alibi in Ashes in the downloads page. Check them out!

Looks like several super sleuths managed to crack the weekend puzzle! Congrats! Here's how it was done: First, the numbers are [letters of the alphabet. A = 1, B = 2 and so on]. Once you complete the letters, begin reading them [starting in the middle, then go up one and spiral around until you've run out of letters.] The Xs are to fill in as blanks and do not mean anything. In the end you should read [Authorized search warrant]. Another fun answer, aye? ;)

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #120

2011-09-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Friday fun for fans! Yep, it's that time again; time to wrack your brains, gather clues, and solve a puzzle.
We have an exciting week planned coming up, and this is my reminder for you to prepare: if you haven't signed up yet, head over to our home page and subscribe to our email newsletter! If you've missed the older ones, check out our Newsletter Archive. (Are you ready to see some of our secret projects?)

Good luck sleuths!
~Little Jackalope~