Facebook and Social Media

We have a new, small update to our website on the home page. In the lower right side it's now showing our Facebook feed (our latest posts, pictures and news links). It's just another way of showing everyone what we are talking about. :) And we will be having plenty to talk about in these upcoming months!

Speaking of Facebook and other social sites in general, I'm giving you a head's up...there will be a slight shift in our getting ready for Ghost of Thornton Hall soon. Perhaps tomorrow you will get to see it.
~Little Jackalope~

GTH Poem

This poem is kind of significant in Ghost of Thornton Hall:

Tip for you when reciting this: stay alert and listen well.

Also, there is a Twitter quote contest going on from now until tonight. Head on over to participate!
~Little Jackalope~

Following Clues

When solving a mystery, it is very important for the detective to keep an open mind, and to consider all logical (and crazy) possibilities. Any bit of information could be important; dates, times, speed, footprints, trash, notes, messages, a smudge on the mirror, a Koko Kringle bar wrapper in the drawer.... just about anything could be a clue to leading you to your answer. But the detective must be paying attention, and must be very observant, looking at everything. The room and everything in plain obvious sight, to the tiniest hidden detail could very well be important enough not to overlook.


What could be a clue and what could be a false lead? A little contemplation and proper judging of the clue may inspire a lead or a find. Or perhaps the detective may misinterpret the clue to mean something else entirely. A culprit can and will always leave something of value in existence, and it's up to the detective to track that evidence down.

We here at Her Interactive like to hide clues, in both plain sight and hidden in the games, it's just a matter of finding them, identifying them to be clues, and interpreting them correctly. Like this clue hidden in The Captive Curse:

It points to Tomb of the Lost Queen. But that's not all on this resume...there was another clue hinting to the game after that...do you see it?

Also,

~Little Jackalope~

A Great GTH Day

...Now that sounds like a funny title for a blog post!

But really, it was a rather enjoyable day today, at least from my part. I finished playing through the game my full second time, the first pass on Master Sleuth (and I must say, I had to get help on one crazy puzzle), and now have a page of my notebook filled with information of key points and highlights of the game, including notes for when we begin work on the trailer.

I also got to read the description for the game...but it isn't finished yet. We are also working on finalizing a few of the big important dates, like when pre-orders should begin. (!!!)

I've looked at all the in-game trophy awards, earned all the key chains...but I'm still missing a few Easter eggs...grr. I was thinking about drawing an Easter egg for this blog post, but the design I had in mind would have totally given away something I mentioned in the previous post from Friday. :( So here's my non-Easter egg sketch for you:

Don't forget! Tonight's the last chance to participate in the Facebook Caption Contest! As for the weekend puzzle, it was a Caesar Shift cipher. Find the letters 5 spots to the right and you'll get this answer: [Ghost Girl Pose].
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #186

Yay for Fridays!

(There is a theme here)

Today I'll be playing through the game on Master Sleuth level (my favorite), collecting more information, writing about the puzzles, and listening to more music from Ghost of Thornton Hall (so great!). Oh! And I will be reading through some of the fun captions that were posted on the Facebook Caption Contest photo, which are a hilarious read, if you are interested. ;)

Here's your puzzle! Enjoy!

Also,

~Little Jackalope~

Collecting info on GTH

So I'm trying to write this post really fast so that I can get back to playing through Ghost of Thornton Hall...again...

This time, I'm not preparing for ratings materials, rather I am collecting information. Here's the list I'm starting...as you can see, I haven't written anything yet. :P

Today our CEO brought in doughnuts again (thank you!!). I have to highlight this because it's always worth admiring:

Speaking of highlighting...you may want to start paying attention to blank areas of the posts. I've already hidden some messages. ;)

~Little Jackalope~

What Marketing is Up To....

I don't delve into much of what the Marketing Team is up to nearly as much as I inform you on what the Design and Art teams are doing. Well, now it's time to give you some tips to what they are secretly working on...

At the moment, Marketing is conducting the voting for the title for ND#29 (woot!) This has to be decided early so that the Production team can record Lani (the voice of Nancy) in time to put it in the teaser at the end of Ghost of Thornton Hall.

Marketing is also about to play through the game to gather information to decide what the key features of the game are, what the best puzzles are, and what scenes would be best to pull out for the official trailer. (!) I guess you can say they are the team who "presents" the game to you.

Another big project they are working on is the cover art design, which many of us have seen, and even in the concept stages...it looks gorgeous and spooky! I think it will be better than the cover art for Shadow at the Water's Edge...!

~Making room for the 28th game~

"Ladies and gentlemen! May we proudly present...."

Sorry, I can't say anything further, because the red carpet is still in storage and is not nearly ready for GTH to welcome its audience. (Can we wait just a few months? Don't know if I can keep these secrets to myself for too long.)
After all, the blinking eyes are just too cool!
~Little Jackalope~

Music from the Past

In case you missed us: we took yesterday off to celebrate President's Day. :)

Deep within the old Secrets Can Kill game a music track was hidden, embedded but cannot be found in the game... Long ago before the game was published, at the last minute our President pulled it out, because it didn't quite fit the mood we were going for. Instead, the melody remained and can be heard in the end credits.

Sixteen years later, we revived it. We have uploaded it to our YouTube channel for your enjoyment:

Secrets Can Kill: The Lost Rap Song

As for the weekend puzzle, the clue to solving this is in the title: "Alternate" meant using the "Alt" key and typing those numbers to get the result. This is known as ASCII, and you can find dozens of charts online to help you, but all you need to do is hold down the ALT button and type the number. The grand answer is [Read the Epitaph]. A clue to Ghost of Thornton Hall. (No release date or further news has been announced for this game yet.)

Also,

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #185

It's puzzle day! Also, don't forget about our Valentine's Day weekend sale that is going on until the end of Feb. 18th. Use promo code LOVE13 at checkout when purchasing any digital game (and remember: you will be getting a free digital guide as well!).

Here's the puzzle, this one mentions a tip from Ghost of Thornton Hall:

~Click on the image for a larger view~

Also,

~Little Jackalope~

Happy Valentine's Day, 2013!

We've had a pretty awesome Valentine's Day so far at Her Interactive!

First, our Marketing Director brought in fancy doughnuts:

Then Megan, our President, brought in Cupcakes:

And then later, the ice cream truck arrived!

As promised, today I'll post the last weekend puzzle reward:

And that's not the best part! Today, and this weekend, we are having a sale on all of our digital games:

Her Interactive wishes you a very Happy Valentine's Day! Be sure to tell somebody you love and appreciate them!
~Little Jackalope~

Recording Misc Audio

Today our Tech Support and I locked ourselves away in the conference room for a short time to work on a fun project for the future. It required asking to borrow our writer's tablet and microphone.

We recorded several takes, once with the instrument, and a few with vocals, then I took it over to my computer, checked the pacing to make sure it was on time, and we went back to finish more vocals. I'm rather happy with the outcome! I think it will be a lot of fun!

Recording the first track: done!
Now I need to do some research on...well...something awesome. I can't say or I'll give it away. However, here's a direct clue from our project:

"...I'm comin' for ya, ya dirty crook!"

Ooo! Tomorrow's a big day! A great time to tell someone you really appreciate their friendship!

~Little Jackalope~

Telling a Story: GTH

Today I finished playing through a rough build of Ghost of Thornton Hall. But I can't share anything valuable about it at the moment. (NOOOO!!!)

Throughout the game play, I often thought about how the story was being told, and how all the activities and puzzles were connected. Telling the story we wish to properly share is its own art form. The design team must think about several things at once, especially how key points of the story are woven together. There are really a few "chapters" to the game that make up the entire story. In each chapter a new addition is added, like when Nancy discovers some vital information, and as soon as she backs away from the information (that could be found in a box, a book, a note or anything) you can sense that something is about to happen. And it does! Your eyes fix to the computer screen, watching the scary animation play out as you sit motionless...stunned and intrigued. After that scene, you come back to reality, save your game quickly, and decide it's time to go and question a certain suspect again...

A proper balance to the pacing of the story includes a mixture of animations, clues, new things to discover, new leads, and new questions to ask the characters. This definitely keeps me intrigued as to what may happen next, and gives enough motivation to keep tracking down the answers to the mystery.

That being said, I'm curious to know what type of scares you like the best! Cast your thoughts in the new poll to your right!
Real ghost singing in GTH. Very eerie!
~Little Jackalope~

Gummy Bear Theatre

Number 3 clue in the post 13 Hints for 2013 has been revealed! Gummy referred to Gummy Bear Theatre, which can be found in the BONUS EDITION of The Deadly Device, in the end game outtakes. (Those who pre-ordered the game during pre-order period received this edition).

We posted the video below to our YouTube channel last Friday (be sure to subscribe to us!), and now I'm cluing you in to a little behind the scenes content: these audio files did not make it into the final game (except for a part of "The Tragic End of Two Gummy Bears"). And so we put together newly-animated scenes of these files for your enjoyment. Ryan has a little fun playing with gummy bears...if you haven't noticed... XD

Enjoy!

Looks like you all solved the weekend puzzle! Congrats! Here is the solution:

1. Fill in the blanks with the correct words
2. Find these words in the crossword puzzle
3. Identify the remaining letters in the puzzle
4. type out the complete web URL address to find your prize.

 
The prize will be re-posted on Valentine's Day (Thursday), so that will give you extra time to find this for yourself if you have yet to complete the search.
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #184

Hooray, it's Friday! And it may be the weekend (or perhaps Monday) when we release the #3 "Gummy" clue item from the 13 hints post last month, so stay tuned! Until then, solve this puzzle for a little fun. ;)

(Click on the image for a larger view)

Also,

~Little Jackalope~

A Classic Moment from TRT

Today we shared a classic Nancy Drew moment from Treasure in the Royal Tower. See for yourself!

This was something that drove me to insane curiosity when I first played it: What was in those rooms?!?! Nothing important. They must have been other maintenance rooms and empty guest rooms, and somewhere downstairs must have been the kitchen, as well as Jacques's and Dexter's and Lisa's rooms. But none of those were relevant to the mystery. I personally like when all the environments have reasons to return to, so exploring non-important rooms might throw the detective off course in her sleuthing.

For those of us that really really want to be able to explore every room in the game and feel satisfied, I recommend Shadow at the Water's Edge, where you eventually get to explore every single room! *Insert little victory dance here*.

~Little Jackalope~

Tales of Whales

Today was are monthly burger outing, but I forgot to take a snapshot of the burger truck we visited...or that one tasty thing I ate of which I don't remember what it was. So I found something else fun to talk about: WHALES! 'Cause they rule. (~.^)

To take a detour away from teasing you about GTH, I recently discovered these sketches to share. I found them in the Danger on Deception Island art archives in our office and loved them instantly. So I snatched them. Honestly, I don't know the real story behind who drew these...but I can imagine that the artist was getting in the right mood for the game. To me, they look like baby Orcas, instead of adult ones. :) I love this game, I find it really fun. (And yes, it was based in the San Juan islands here in Washington up Puget Sound. There is no real Deception Island, but there is Deception Pass. The weather here is most often grey, just like the game.)

Oh hey! Twitter tweeters! Head over to our Twitter page to participate in today's contest!
And we have a couple of birthdays to celebrate as well:

~Little Jackalope~

National Weatherman's Day

Woot! I bet you didn't know that today is National Weatherman's Day. In honor of that, we have a sale going on, today only, check it out:

Also, I was out sick again yesterday, but I did not forget about the weekend puzzle. Here's the solution: It was a Playfair cipher. Using the letters, you take a look at the grid to find its corresponding letters and you get this answer: [Writing Words]. This is related to a few other weekend puzzle answers from the past. ;)

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #183

Hooray for Fridays! What makes it awesome: It's a beautiful day at the office, we'll be playing games during lunch break, and will have other fun things going on later...I also got to see some new animations for Ghost of Thornton Hall. Oh. My. Wow. They are super cool animations!! (I think). XD

Anyways, here's your GTH brain teaser for the weekend. Enjoy!

Hint: [Playfair].

~Little Jackalope~