Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving week! Head's up: at 1pm today (PST) we will be leaving for this holiday break, and we won't be back until Monday. If you, too, will be celebrating with friends and family, enjoy your extended weekend! Here at the office, we are having a potluck. Check it out, a cupcake turkey!

 

Also, big sale is happening! All of our digital Nancy Drew games are on sale for 50% off!! Shop at our site here.

No weekend puzzle this week, instead I'd encourage you to replay a classic (perhaps wintry) game, or better yet, a new one that is on sale. ;)

We have a few birthdays!

See you on Monday!
 ~Little Jackalope~

Creating a Character

Hooray! Wehlaunched a new behind the scenes video today on our YouTube Channel! Check it out:e

This is definitely one of our longest videos,ibut that's because there is a lot to show! I've been collecting video footage over the past year to show you everything that happens insthis process, so a lot of the content you see is actually old to us in the office. Today,cVan is just starting theo3D model of the last (and most important) character in The Shattered Medallion.
m
I casually went over to his desk today to take a look at what he's up to,iand I do believe what he is working on right now will become my favorite animated character of all time.nI should probably stop talking about it before I reveal any secrets. <3

Anyways,gdon't forget about the Laptop Contest! (And a winner has been chosen for the Facebook Caption Contest! Head over to Facebook to see who won!)

~Little Jackalope~

Cookie Love in SPY

Looks like a few of you solved the puzzle! Congrats! The two clues provided (puzzle = keyword, and "no q") refers to a Playfair Cipher. Using the letters given, it decodes to these words [Creating a Character on Monday]. I especially like one person's theory on the message boards to what this means...he/she is spot on!

But alas, we have a short week this week for Thanksgiving break, and I got backed up with more important things. The *something* I was referring to in the puzzle will have to wait until tomorrow. :(

As for today, I was reading through the captions on Facebook and had to stop mid-way. Why? So much cookie talk and I HAD to go and get some cookies to enjoy while reading the rest of the captions.

Oh cookies...how I love them. I especially like to stare at the beautifully decorated cookies we get to make in The Silent Spy. I may just have to make some of these one day: a sugar cookie filled with jam topped with icing and sprinkles. Extravagant!

Oh wow, I just realized I added a clue to the *thing* I'm working on, releasing tomorrow...

~Little Jackalope~

Laptop Contest! (And Weekend Puzzle #221)

You guys!! Check it out!

Awww yeah! This is one of the coolest prizes we have ever given away: a new Nancy Drew themed laptop that has every desktop Nancy Drew game pre-installed on it! (Except for the original Secrets Can Kill). And yes, this includes Stay Tuned for Danger and the two Dossier games as well. BONUS!!

Is there a limit to how many times you can enter? Not really. So what are you waiting for! Start sharing Nancy Drew games and come January 1st we will be randomly selecting a winner from everyone who has shared. Look for the little laptop on the left of our home page here to start entering!

No Q about it! Here's your weekend puzzle:

do pf wg mh bd gb md aw ls ro nr rb ft 

We also have a birthday!

~Little Jackalope~

Kate Drew -- Modeled

Another part of what I'm working on this week had me looking through Kate Drew's 3D model, particularly the sample models that our character designer creates for our animators:

Since there really aren't many descriptions in the Nancy Drew books to go off on, we were able to design Kate how we imagined her to be. We had a little fun! We won't be showing Nancy in our games, but we wanted to "show" what she could look like through how her mom appears -- although Kate is in her 30s here.Kate is pretty much a 30-year-old Nancy Drew. So to speak.

I have more close-ups of Kate coming soon! Or better yet, if you want to see her animated, play The Silent Spy!

Are you on Facebook? We have another caption contest starting today! Head over to participate for a chance to win a prize! (Contest ends Monday).

~Little Jackalope~

Nancy & Phone Technology

Back in the very early days (1930s) for Nancy Drew, there were less-advanced sleuthing gadgets for a detective to use. Sure, Nancy drove her own car and had running water and electricity in her home, but calling someone on the phone looked different back then. 

Making a phone call took an extra step or two. In the 1930s, Nancy didn't get to carry around her cell phone and call for help as soon as a tire blew out. She would have had to walk someplace (if she didn't have a spare) to find a public or private phone. To use that phone, she would have to have some pocket change (and/or permission) to make a call. If she didn't hear an operator at the end of the line to speak to, the phone would require Nancy to rotate the dials to enter each number (which she would have to have memorized or written down).

Today, Nancy is in the twenty-first century. Modern Nancy has been through several different types of phones, with the latest being a smart phone. All she has to do is be within cell service, have the device charged, and have contacts saved in the memory. Once she enters a contact's phone number (and sometimes picture avatar), she won't have to remember it again. All she has to do is press the call button after selecting the recipient. How easy is that?!

A good detective skill to remember: we can't always rely on our phones. If the battery dies or if it gets damaged while on a case, it's best to have important phone numbers memorized or written down and stored on your person. You never know when you'll get in a jam and need to borrow another phone! I personally carry a miniature phone book in my bag, just in case.

Head's up! Twitter Quote Contest is today!

Also, we have a birthday!

~Little Jackalope~

Work in Progress

I suppose I shall share with you a little of what I'm working on today. Today I wear slippers around the office, eat cookies, interrogate people, play with green material and tape, watch videos, laugh at some some outtakes, hover over the artist's shoulders, and snoop through the newest art files. I have gathered several pieces of great footage below:

What do you suppose I'm working on based on these clues? (Be specific!) Friday may just be the perfect time to share with you the end product...so stay tuned!

~Little Jackalope~

Finding Hidden Compartments

Some of you have already noticed, but we posted a new video to our YouTube channel on Saturday! It's the start of a new series where we share with you real-life tips and examples on how to be like Nancy Drew, or to put "Drew" as a verb, "How to Nancy Drew".

We already have a short list that includes picking locks, finding secret rooms, and dusting for fingerprints, but we are always up for suggestions! Comment to this post below (or in the Blogs & Tweets forum on the message boards) with any and all ideas of the different Nancy Drew skills we could show you. What sort of things does Nancy do while on a case?

On another note, it looks like several of you correctly identified the weekend puzzle in the previous post, which says [New old character]. This is a reference to next game, and the discussions, comments and rumors I see are fun! Some guesses are valid, but it isn't the exact *someone* I'm secretly referring to. Another guesser is spot on.

There is something we do/do not do when building up the suspense. Might I suggest looking at GTH and SPY again? Something is either there or totally not there...

Does this make any sense? I hope not, because whatever I'm talking about is still a secret!
~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #220

Late post tonight! This is because I have been working on another fun video. It involves a real-life secret compartment. (~.^) Keep an eye out for it this weekend, or possibly Monday, on our YouTube Channel.

It's a little early to say anything, a few of the environments for the next game have already been modeled! Of course, they aren't done, as the artists are still adding texture, lighting and placing the cameras to take navigational shots for our programmers to take and piece together. Also, some characters have already recorded some lines, and our character designer is about to begin the concept illustration of the most important character in the game. It's all so exciting to see a new game start to form!

I can't share any pictures with you at the moment, so I'm going to dig around for a different picture...
Oh look! More pictures to share of our merchandise:

 Oh yeah, the puzzle should be around here somewhere...
~Little Jackalope~

Ewan's Mouse Pad

For those of you who have not played The Silent Spy, you should totally play it! For those who have, you may recognize this image below. It is a close up of Ewan's desk.

See that awesome Cathedral mouse pad? I dove into the artists' archives and grab a copy of this very mouse pad design created by artist Jayme. This image is now available in the merchandise store! You know what that means? Not only could you put it on a t-shirt, phone case, pillowcase, and photo panels shown below...

...but you can put it on, of course, a mouse pad! This means you pretty much get to purchase Ewan's very own mouse pad for your own secret office! Yep, I love it when you can purchase actual items from the games.

Birthday!

~Little Jackalope~

Collecting EVERYTHING in Sight

We posted this Nancy Drew moment from The Silent Spy today:

To poke fun at Nancy, she is always collecting things. Things that are immediately available and things that belong to other people. Pretty much everything in sight! We could call her a kleptomaniac, but really! Don't we, ourselves, enjoy collecting things in the games?

To be fair, there are a lot of broken things or things that are missing some parts. Wouldn't it be our duty to put them back where they all go properly? This is a proud job for us! Outsiders of the Nancy Drew universe may say something like "Hey, why did you just steal those cards?" and we can respond with a rational answer like "They are an incomplete set! I need to take them to where the remaining card(s) are so that they are complete. It's Nancy Drew logic." And we crazy Nancy Drew nerds would understand.

However, it is a little different when there are extra elements available for grabs in the games, like lots of food to try, or bonus charms or souvenirs to purchase. While some simply want to collect things and see what cool toys and gadgets are available, others like to see if they get an award for collecting everything...

Twitter quote contest today!
~Little Jackalope~

Adorable Things

At times I do "fangirl" over little things, in both our games and in the outside world. One of the best moments in The Silent Spy was seeing Nancy's baby picture with Kate:

Other things can be questionable. While some people find a few moments in a game that make you go "Awwww!" other people may find it totally creepy. For one example, the adorable "Suki" robotic cat in Shadow at the Water's Edge. To roughly quote Bess: "I don't know if they're creepy, or cute, but I love them just the same!"

Today's "Awww!" moment is brought to you by our Lead Tester and Designer, who recently returned from a trip to South Africa. Look at what a great snapshot they captured while down there! A baby leopard!

Hmm... I wonder if I convince the design team to make a game set in that location, or at least someplace with wild jungle or safari types of animals...
~Little Jackalope~

Identify That Game!

Veterans Day! A big thank you to all who served!

I thought I'd grab a screen shot to share with you to tease what I'm working on right now:

Also, it looks like a bunch of you were able to find the secret message in the weekend puzzle! Congrats! Since there were only a few games you had trouble identifying, I'll go ahead and post the entire answer:

Once you have correctly identified the games, count the number of letters in the title to get a letter for the message. The end result will say [Real father and daughter voices]. This means our actors for Carson and young Nancy. Too cool, right? XD

Birthdays!

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #219

Hooray for Friday! Another great weekend ahead to play a Nancy Drew game! Or you can try solving this mega-puzzle below. I tried making it a challenge for you. (~.^)

Identify the game, and find the secret message!

Also, we have some birthdays this weekend!

~Little Jackalope~

Jackalopes in The Silent Spy

Last June some Her Interactive team members traveled across the bridge to Seattle, where our favorite local sound recording studio is (it's right near the Safeco baseball field). At the time, I couldn't really share with or show you much since The Silent Spy was still kind of a secret.

The team got together and sang songs and cheered as if we were watching a sports game on TV, chattering away and such. This audio was used at the Ten Raven pub at Giffnock, as well as for the halls outside of the hotel room across the courtyard. The lady you hear singing is actually our tech support! So if you ever have game installation issues and call her, that's her voice you heard! ;)

I was lucky to get a very small part in the game, as some of you guessed correctly. :) I was the cookie lady at the deli in the courtyard. For a little bonus, one of our awesome artists, Jami, modeled a Little Jackalope charm for me in the game! This is hung up in the deli, as well as could be purchased at the souvenir machine in the station.

A few production screenshots Jami took before it went into the game:

~Little Jackalope~

Outside of the Games

I love seeing game references in real life, such as nautical flags, antique clocks, identifying cloud names and so on. Experiencing game sequences is just as exciting, like trying gumbo, dressing up as Samantha Quick from VEN, or actually discovering a real-life secret compartment in a desk. I'm always looking for game elements out in the real world.

Here are a few things outside of the games:

~Lauren dressed up as Nancy Drew for Halloween!~

~Another fan has started a merchandise collection surrounding game elements~

~I found a jam cookie from The Silent Spy! It was delicious!~

Have you found some Nancy Drew things out in the real world?

Also, do you remember this post from June? I'll reveal the secrets to what we were doing up there, soon.
~Little Jackalope~

Nancy Drew-isms in SPY

Recently I've been hunting through a few game environments and came across a few screenshots that stood out to me in The Silent Spy. If you haven't played the game yet, I'll try not to reveal too much.

Here you get a glimpse into Nancy's room from long ago when she was a kid. Do you see what I see? She has a miniature version of the haunted carousel from CAR! Also, she has a doll house replica of the Lilac Inn and model toy car that is spotted in Secret of the Old Clock!

How cool is that? Could this be some sort of backwards foreshadowing? Although we have played those games years ago, Nancy had toys that will be life-sized when she grows up. Crazy, huh? Have you played The Silent Spy, yet? Have you spotted any other hidden Nancy Drew items from other games?

As for the weekend puzzle, it has been solved! My vague hint about Jake's locker from Secrets Can Kill was to highlight the part about looking at a telephone for letters on the numbered buttons. For example, 6.2 would mean button #6 and the second letter shown, which is "N". Once you identify all the letters you'll get [nancysidiscode or better put "Nancy's I.D. is code"]. This is refering to SPY and another game...and it's for you to figure out. (Although some detective have already discovered this meaning.)


~Little Jackalope~

Charlotte on Monday

Yesterday was daylight savings, and we switched our clocks backwards an hour. I always get confused which way the light switches... does the sun stay up longer or go down sooner? Turns out the sun sets earlier in the winter. It's been really dark outside for a few hours already, it sort of feels like The Captive Curse outside, with the foliage and darkness.

Speaking of darkness, some fans dressed up as ghost Charlotte from Ghost of Thornton Hall this last Halloween! Check them out!

It appears as though the weekend puzzle has been left unsolved. I have given you this type of puzzle before, but this time I left out that little hint to nudge you in the right direction, just to make it harder. (I'm so mean!) Here's that hint: chances are, you may have forgotten that letters and numbers once shared the same space. Today's technology has changed since Jake had locker troubles.

We have another birthday!

~Little Jackalope~

Weekend Puzzle #218

How was everyone's Halloween? Hopefully no ghosts got to you...

Anyways, SPOILER Alert! We have officially released the preview for Nancy Drew's 30th adventure. Watch it here:



Aaaaaaand your weekend puzzle:

6.2 - 2.1 - 6.2 - 2.3 - 9.3 - 7.4

4.3 - 3.1

4.3 - 7.4

2.3 - 6.3 - 3.1 - 3.2

Birthday!

~Little Jackalope~