GZ Interview

Her Interactive talks about the latest exploits of sleuth Nancy Drew
By Michael Lafferty

It was more than 70 years ago that a young, fresh-faced sleuth first burst onto the detective scene. Her passion for solving crimes grabbed the attention of readers worldwide, both the young and old.

After more than 375 books, it was inevitable that Nancy Drew would find a new venue to solve crimes – that of the video game genre. Her Interactive was the company that brought Nancy’s exploits to PCs, and other platforms, and it is at it again with the latest adventure, Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Scarlet Hand.

In the new game, Nancy has taken an internship at the Beech Hill Museum in Washington. However, trouble soon follows when a series of thefts takes place, and the only clue is a scarlet handprint.

Her investigation will have her tracking clues throughout Washington, while learning a little bit about the Mayan culture.

Her Interactive took time to talk with GameZone about the latest adventure.

Question: Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Scarlet Hand takes Nancy to several different locations. When you can create a top mystery game for children within one site, why visit other locations? What opportunities will Nancy be presented with while traveling?

HI: “In one of our earlier titles, Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger, players travel to different areas in New York City. Players enjoy having to navigate to and from different places. The storyline in Secret of the Scarlet Hand allows players to travel to other areas by taking the Washington, D.C. Metro.”

Q: Is there anything new or different that will set this title apart from the other Nancy Drew mysteries?

HI: “The Museum in Secret of the Scarlet Hand adds a huge area for discovery while solving the mystery and it also lets players enjoy a rich, detailed setting viewing Maya culture and artifacts. We also have several new features in this game: a journal mode on Nancy's laptop where players progress is tracked, a new navigation mode, ‘automove’ allows player's to rotate in an environment automatically; this makes it easier to orient themselves in a without having to click-through. We also introduce a new item in this game, the Mouse Light Tool that lights up special darkened areas, and CD-quality sound. We also introduced the Hardy Boys as phone buddies in this game.”

Q: You've managed to combine the entertainment of a game with some educational material. Can you explain the planning process that goes into creating a mix like this? Is it important to the game itself that players have the opportunity to pick up information about museum displays, or is this just a nice adjunct to the story?

HI: “Mysteries are an excellent format for intelligent entertainment. Nancy is not just working on a case in this game – she’s the Asst. Deputy Curator so she has a job to do! One of her assignments is to match up audio recordings to the proper plaque. It is a puzzle intertwined with content – in this case Maya culture through a museum exhibition.”

Q. How long does it take to create a Nancy Drew game like this?

HI: “Our average development cycle is six months.”

Q: What is the most important aspect of creating a game like this?

HI: “Picking one thing is difficult. The combination of many different elements (game design, exciting storyline, script, art, puzzles, intriguing backstory, features, interesting characters ease of game play, quality of content) that determines whether or not the game works.”

Q: When you are working on a game like Nancy Drew, what aspect of it presents the biggest challenge?

HI: “All the elements I just mentioned. Game design is key. We really take pride in the historical aspect of our games and a lot of work going into researching backstory. Puzzles are challenging as well.”

Q: Demographically speaking, whom will this game appeal to?

HI: “Primarily girls aged 10-16, but we've found that both men and women, young and old like these games. Basically, anyone who loves a mystery should play.”

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