Weekend Puzzle #156

Woot, Friday! We celebrate with leftover fudge, yum:

Weekend puzzle! Enjoy, and feel free to post your thoughts and solutions to the message board here.

"When solving a mystery, always go undercover. Snooping like sly foxes gains a sleuth valuable insight. Hiding behind a magazine prevents others from suspecting your sleuthing skills."

~Little Jackalope~

A Play on Names: Louis

I discovered and learned something today that I did not know before! (So excited, I had to share.) I had to look up the word chandelier to make sure I was spelling it correctly, and the dictionary said that the word of origin was "chandler". I thought, "Hey, wasn't that Louis's last name in Message in a Haunted Mansion?" Indeed it was.

So I looked up the word "chandler", and one of the definitions said "...a person who makes or sells candles..." and another definition said "a dealer or trader in supplies, provisions...". How cool is that? Louis, the antique dealer of Chandler Interiors! Those of you who have played the game will understand the irony of his name and how funny the first definition is. ;) I won't spoil it for the others, but if you haven't played MHM, play it! It's sooo cool, and pretty spooky if you like that thrill!

I just thought this was fascinating, after 11 years I finally understood the connection, and it was a magical moment.

Has anyone else noticed Ralph, the security guard's last name from the second game? Guardino. Haha.

~Little Jackalope~

Recording in June, Part 2

Remember the post Recording in June from last week? To follow up with that, today Phoenix posted the video of some of the recordings from then! Check it out on our YouTube channel. Do you recognize the voices?

Only one voice is new to the studio, but I've heard it plenty of times before. Perhaps in a future weekend puzzle I'll drop some hints...about... well, stuff. But for now, enjoy Phoenix's insider footage.

~Little Jackalope~

Scrapbook and Collages

In many of the Nancy Drew games (#14-25) you can view Nancy Drew's scrapbook of all her past cases. She has a collection of memorabilia, quotes, stickers, photos, and more on each page spread documenting her adventures and memories. Besides her scrapbook, Nancy also journals, as you can read in the games. She takes good notes, plenty of photos, and lots of evidence. Some things like names and phone numbers and passwords and flight numbers are good to keep track of, and Nancy does just that, and if we don't see in her journal or cell phone, we know it's in her mind.

Check out how one of our fans, Kelsey of Twitter, documented her cases: a poster collage of all sorts of Nancy Drew images and text! I'm honored to see some of my doodles mixed in. XD Thanks for sharing, Kelsey!

I also wanted to offer another shout out to birthday fan:
Happy belated birthday Krazy rabbit 23! Hope you had a great 12th birthday on Sunday!

~Little Jackalope~

Old Tricks and New Craftiness

Hope you all had a great weekend, for many of you students this means school is either out already, or will be out soon. Yay, summer!

I wanted to share with you something one of our Twitter fans, Maddie J. has made from The Captive Curse. It looks SOOO cool! I love it! (^_^) Thanks for sharing Maddie!

I think something like this would go great with a "I came to see the creature, but all I got was this lousy T-shirt" t-shirt (I have this, it's amazing), which is available in our Merchandise Store.

Speaking of merchandise...today is the last day to enter our Facebook Caption Contest featuring an image of Phoenix, for a chance to win this Tomb of the Lost Queen pillowcase! Head over and post the best caption!

Puzzle solved! Congrats on the sleuths who cracked this one! If you have learned about fingerprints from playing Treasure in the Royal Tower (or elsewhere), you would remember that fingerprints [start prominent (or dark) and leave less oil as the finger is used.] So the most recent/first press of a button would be [the darkest, and the last press would be the lightest print]. You'd also have had to identify the grid, which is on your [keyboard number pad (likely on your right)]. Writing down the correct numbers you gather from the prints, use the alt button to punch in the code. You can do this on a word document of any kind. Example: Hold down the "ALT" key and type 0116 to get the letter "t". Once you have gotten all of the correct letters, it spells "[Teslascope]", a rather interesting word contributed by our Designer.

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #155

FRIDAAAAY! Hooray. I've  played Tomb of the Lost Queen three times, so I'm thinking of playing Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon this weekend for a change. It's been a while since I've played that one (the last time I played it, it was in French) and I'd like to make more cheeseburgers. :P

If you need something fun to do, you can think up a fun caption for our Facebook Caption Contest. What is Phoenix saying in the recording studio? It's up to you to decide! Contest ends Monday night, so you have a couple days to think up something good. ~.^

Here's a puzzle for you to chew on this weekend, requiring you to use all of your detective skills from the past (well, only two really). It's just for fun, and is not necessarily difficult (so says our Lead Tester), but if you want to discuss it, you may do so here on the Message Boards. Enjoy!
(Click on the image to view a larger version).

~Little Jackalope~

Recording Studio in June

Yesterday was an incredibly fun day for me and Phoenix! We got to tag along with our Writer and Designer to the voice recording studio! It was one of the last sessions to record the phone characters, the last to go into the game. (Meanwhile, our artists were animating and lip-syncing the dialogue for the characters you meet in person, and since those take time, we record them first.)

Here's one of the hallways in the studio:

Mattie Jensen's and Rick Arlen's dressing room doors are on the left wall.
...

Just kidding.

We managed to get a snapshot of Phoenix having fun in the recording booth, which is now our Facebook Caption Contest photo! That's right, it's another contest time! Log in with your Facebook account and post a caption to this photo we posted over there for a chance to win a Tomb of the Lost Queen pillowcase!

 

Contest begins now and ends 11:59PM, Monday June 25th. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 26th. Good luck! And think up some good captions for Phoenix! ;)

~Little Jackalope~

Beware of the sneaky ones...

Wanted to give a quick shout-out to one of our fans from England: Natasha, who is celebrating her sweet 16th birthday!

We noticed a comment on one of our YouTube videos from a loving fan:

And my first reaction was:

But then I thought: "Not if I get to it first, replace them with fakes, and hide the real chocolate in a secret place. Mwahaha!"

No update to the egg mystery. :( Sadly, this case is going cold. There is no more evidence to go off of, and my "trap" hasn't sprung since there was no activity since the "dozen eggs" incident. I have hefty suspicions on one particular person, but I can't prove it. Nuts.

Twitter quote contest is today! Head over for a chance to win a digital strategy guide!
~Little Jackalope~

PS: Tomorrow's post will be rather exciting!!

Real Game Content

Although the Nancy Drew games feature fictional characters, fictional stories, instances, fictional brands and such, a lot of the game content is derived from real world... stuff. Some history and actual facts are indeed real: Marie Antoinette, Harry Houdini, ohm resistors, shanghaied sailors etc. Or they were real... or had existed at one time.

Some things you just might be lucky to find out there in the real world. Like tornadoes, or shorthand stenography or even better, these things a few fans found here:

That's right! Jackalopes live on, not just here in the Her office:

Thanks to Madison for sharing this photo!

And check out Molly's real snowflake ice cube that she made with her sister! Looks like she pulled it directly out of Alibi in Ashes, no? XD

I'm pretty excited that we will be featuring another real, historical person in our next game. ;)

Weekend puzzle answer! If you've seen our latest postings, then the answer will be familiar.
The letters represent the colors, and the numbers represent the level of that color in the web. (S = Silver). 1 = the level closest to the spider (the inner-most level) and the 3 is the outer-most level. After doing the math requested, you should get: [office tour videos]. Referring to Phoenix's uploads to YouTube.

~Little Jackalope~

Nancy Drew Spaces

We have been *cough*purposefully*cough* keeping you in suspense for a few days with the secret YouTube video. Cue evil laughter: Mwahaha! Cut evil moment: The "private" video on intern Phoenix's play list is now viewable! Check out our YouTube channel and subscribe to stay informed on all the latest uploads she adds. ;)

 

This is my favorite video so far, because it's really cool to see what our office looks like. Although to a non-Nancy Drew fan, it might look just like any other office. There are still tiny secrets around, you would just have to look harder, with keen eyes. The story behind every room and every cubicle and every space is most interesting. Perhaps Phoenix will enlighten you on some while she snoops further.

You also get a sneak peak at my desk in this video. Oh dear! Now you know how much of a Nancy Drew nerd I am... XD The game collection on my top shelf, posters on my wall, the tin on my desk with the Earth's remaining Koko Kringles, a box of crayons and colored pens next to my monitor...*sigh* This cubicle is my Nancy Drew dream space. Although, I think I would love to have a living room designed the same way Nancy's looks like in Alibi in Ashes. It's so homey! That would be the dream space for me.

I would have to put up the coat rack somewhere, the mugs and coasters on the coffee table, along with a magnifying glass and a few Nancy Drew books on some shelves or side tables. That would be amazing.

How would you decorate your space Nancy Drew style? Would it be Nancy Drew memorabilia, or would it look like an environment from a game? Say, Nancy's bedroom in The Captive Curse, or perhaps decorate it like the Wickford Castle in Treasure in the Royal Tower? The artist in me wants to go crazy with all these possibilities...now where's my canvas? 

Weekend puzzle answer will be posted tomorrow. For those who are new to these, you do not need to submit your answers, these puzzles are just for fun. But if you'd like, you may discuss them on the Message Boards here.
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #154

Due to technical difficulties, the Thursday post did not go live. And now we time travel from Wednesday to Friday, whereupon we have a few announcements:

We have not one, but 2 sales going on this weekend! In honor of Father's Day, we have Secret of the Old Clock available for  25% the digital download, and in celebration of 2012 graduates, we have Warnings at Waverly Academy also for 25% off the digital download.

For CLK, use promo code DAD2012.
For WAC, use promo code GRADS2012.
These are only valid until 11:59 PM PST, Sunday June 17, 2012.

The Waverly Cat will laugh at you if you miss out on this deal:

Want to learn more about the employees in our office? We posted a new interview on our Dare to Play Blog, this time featuring Scott, one of our Character Animators! Who do you think was his favorite character to animate? ;)

Weekend puzzle time! I originally drew this puzzle out with a pen and colored it with crayons (which looked super spiffy), but the computer scanner wasn't picking up the color, so I thought like Sonny Joon, and scrawled a computer sketch...in honor of Phoenix mentioning her distaste of spiders in her last video blog. (>_<)

P2. B1. R1+Y1. B3-G2. P3-Y3. G1. Y3. S3-W2. W3+Y1. R3. O3+O1. O3-R2. O1+W1. O2-B1. R1+G2. O3.

Good luck sleuths!

~Little Jackalope~

Game Testing Results

Howdy all! I was out of the office yesterday and that explains the lack of a post. :(

No update to the egg mystery, but we do have some other updates: our new intern, Phoenix, uploaded a new video to her Video Blog series, which can be found on our YouTube channel. Check it out, she gives you a real look at the walk up to the office building. Very cool!

 

Today we had a meeting to review last week's focus group testing results. Here's a graph created by our Designer on the puzzles that were voted people's favorites. Unfortunately, I can't share with you the puzzle names, so I made up some not-so-creative substitutes as place-holders:

The next step from this meeting is that puzzles have been taken into consideration for further revisions, like making the instructions more clear, and a certain puzzle made harder. My favorite puzzles are sliders and logic puzzles, you know, the ones you really have to think on to solve. ;) I love a good challenge! So my favorite went to the blue category.

Twitter Quote Contest! Enter for a chance to win a guide!
~Little Jackalope~

Peaceful Monday...?

We are right in the middle of the excitement, meaning it was exciting on Friday, and it will be super exciting in the near future, making today a nice, peaceful start to the week here at Her Interactive. The sun came out, and I heard that Phoenix is already working on more video blog entries to add to her YouTube Channel play list. (Subscribe to sty updated on new additions).

The team went outside to play hacky sack in the sun, and I was very happy to see Phoenix venturing out to try this new sport with us. ^_^ Last week I was explaining the rules and how you don't want the hacky to pass between your legs, an instance called a "wickit", whereupon feathers of shame are passed along to the victim. Is it ironic or just downright embarrassing that I was the one who that very day was wickited, and therefore received the feathers of shame. See how they are so gloriously displayed up high for all the office to see at my cubicle:

The only way I can get rid of them, is if someone else gets wickited. But if the next victim becomes me a second time in the row....then I would be passed the delightful pink feathered boa. >.<

Sadly, my egg culprit trap did not spring over the weekend! Here's why: the culprit has not attacked again. It's kind of hard to catch someone in the act of doing something when they aren't doing guilty actions. *Gasp* Light bulb!! Perhaps my little threat telling them to "be afraid" from last week's post really did scare them off? Hmmm...I have been working on my intimidation skills... But then, one of my suspects, our Creative Director was out today. Could it be him and he didn't have the opportunity to sneak in? It's a possibility. I can't imagine what would top the dozen eggs, and the return of my first egg was pretty climatic...kinda hard to beat that!

Weekend puzzle! This one is a [nonogram], a puzzle you can solve in Shadow at the Water's Edge. The answer? [Scoot to the corners], and this is for you to interpret. My lips are sealed. XD

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #153 + Exciting Friday!

Boy oh boy, we had a full day today! Busybusybusybusy...but in a very good way. There is a lot to say, so hang tight and don't hold your breathe; it will be a long read. (~.^)

First off, as you may have learned already, we have a new summer intern! Introducing Phoenix! She has a new vlog (video blog) that she will be doing for you each week, sometimes multiple video uploads! Phoenix will be giving you the inside scoop on life as an intern at Her Interactive. Watch her first video here, and stay tuned for more updates! (Better yet, if you subscribe to our YouTube Channel, an email will be sent to you every time there's a new addition.)

We have a new web page on our site at www.herinteractive.com! Are you new to the Nancy Drew world? Is this the first time you are playing the Nancy Drew games? Then hop over to this page and get the scoop on who Nancy is, and read some tips on how to play the games, learn what to expect, and get caught up on the latest going on with the games and at Her Interactive. This guide has a little bit of everything for first time players, so if you know someone who is a fan and is just starting out, direct them to this page, it's a big help. ^.^
Visit the New to Nancy Drew page now!

Check it out! Thank you Silvertongue for sharing this amazing picture with us of her kitty "Jack", or should we say, a littl-er jackalope! (So cute!)

Also, we have a sale going on in honor of Aquarium month! From now until the end of June, you can get Danger on Deception Island (digital only) for 25% off using promo code AQUA2012. If you are missing this title, order now for a little weekend fun!

No news on the egg mystery, at the moment, I am waiting for the culprit to strike again in hopes that my plan for nabbing him/her will work....perhaps another time. (I'm onto you egg culprit, be afraid!)


Now for the Weekend Puzzle! If this is your first time trying to solve a puzzle here on the blog, feel free to discuss your progress and share your solution on the Message Boards, as this week's puzzle is only for fun. Enjoy!

~Little Jackalope~

Cover Design Meeting + Revealed Secret

Today was a rather exciting day! We had our first kick-off meeting with the team for our next game's cover art design. I got to bring our intern in with me to see our Designer and Writer show off the game art (or what little we have, since it is still in the making and some of the environments have not even been textured yet. Which still looks pretty cool...one word to describe it: "clean" as our intern says).

 

We discussed previous game covers and also talked about what elements are most important to this new story. It's important what we choose to convey, to best describe the game in eye-catching images. I'm really excited! The process is just starting...and now I want to go snoop in the art files...again. (^_^)

I've decided it's only fair, while after teasing you with secrets I can't reveal,  to give you more clarity to past secrets I teased you with before. So here goes one: Remember back in Weekend Puzzle #147's answer where the answer was Nancy's Voice + Brilliance = S.P.I.E.D? I can now say that this referred  to one of the Bonus Edition's extras in Tomb of the Lost Queen. Back in April while I was trying out TMB before it was released, I had inquired about this to our Writer. He said that our Brilliant voice actress, Lani (who gives voice to Nancy Drew) also provided the voice for the recorded messages from S.P.I.E.D. Fascinating! Those little secrets that are hidden from view...love those! 

Today was operation H.A.M.B.U.R.G.E.R. where members from the team go out and explore new (and not-so-new, but good) burger places. I was super excited that this place had a really small burger, and was able to finish it in one sitting. Woot! It was little and I loved it!

Secret Mission: catch the egg culprit. Hope my plan goes well. >.>
~Little Jackalope~

Secret Stash

I like to hide things....and when I forget where the treasures are hidden, it makes it all the more fun to re-discover them for the second time.

Our intern has not yet tried a Koko Kringle bar, and I just happen to have a few left. She was excited to get one of these famous treats. They have been hiding in my secret place below...although...come to think of it, they are not secret anymore. >.< I shall count them and keep an eye open for fingerprints in case someone raids this stash:

 

This is one of the many uses for these collector's tins! I have another tin where I keep my collection of strategy guides, it's very handy!

No new additions to the Egg mystery. But then, I'm working on a plan to nab the culprit. I won't say what that is in case in case they come back. ~.^

Twitter quote contest tonight! Enter for a chance to win a digital guide to The White Wolf of Icicle Creek!
~Little Jackalope~

Intern Day #2

Can't talk long! Need to concoct a plan to catch an Egg culprit. Very focused here, no progress on the mystery today. :(

I did have a good break from this difficult mystery, though. (In the books Nancy often stops to enjoy life while in the middle of her thoughts). Today we took our new intern out for a welcome lunch, and had Mexican food, (yum). Perhaps one of the most exciting parts about the lunch trip was that it was raining cats and dogs, metaphorically speaking. While I appreciate the rain which helps keep everything green here, I'm eager for a little sunshine and summer weather.

Hmm, rain does make for excellent footprints, though...

Weekend puzzle answer!
The puzzle was a [playfair cipher], so you would take out the Q in the alphabet, and use the key word "Clue" to begin re-creating your alphabet grid. There are some further guides on how a [playfair cipher] works online, but once this puzzle is solved, you should get this: [intern coming], which is 2 days' old news, because she's here!

Ok, my mind is going elsewhere...like back to the eggs...
~Little Jackalope~

Haunted Eggs!

It's a new week and we have a new intern here in the Her Interactive office! Maybe we will get to hear from her later after she learns all of the company secrets. ;)

There has been a development in the egg mystery. Unfortunately I have made no progress except to eliminate a few suspects who were out of town and therefore could not have placed A FULL DOZEN set of eggs in my drawer! Ahh! That was super cool. Here's all that I know:

- There was no red stamp on these white chicken eggs
- They were raw, I know because one was cracked just enough to tell
- They were room temperature, so they had to have been there a while, perhaps over the weekend
- Larry, our IT genius whose office is two cubes down from me and arrives super early, did not see anything suspicious today
- it could not have been our Designer and Lead Tester who were both out of state this weekend
- Our CEO and Megan were in Saturday filming something
- Our creative director 100% denies putting any eggs, chocolate or real, ever in my drawer
- This culprit knows when I arrive and leave

The creepiest thing that happened today was that when our intern opened her desk drawer (which I checked last Friday and was empty) she informed me that there was a Koko Kringle colored egg in there. I rushed over and was stunned to see the exact egg I had colored! This was my first egg I mentioned from a couple of weeks ago and had thrown away. Who fished it out of the trash only to re-plant it today? It must be a haunted egg! Your thoughts?

I'll post the weekend puzzle solution tomorrow...I need to think about this egg mystery. >.<

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #152

We have some exciting things going on next week that we are preparing for right now! The weekend puzzle answer contains one little secret of the excitement. ;)

Today I brought in an attempted creation of a Koko Kringle-themed cupcake. A chocolate cupcake with red frosting and chocolate crispy candy inside and on top of the cupcake. It's...interesting. It's also one of our employee's birthday today. Happy Birthday!!


Weekend puzzle! Good luck sleuths!

"Clue" no Q!

 Ji SA TK BV NJ MH

 ~Little Jackalope~