Dare to Play!

Here at Her Interactive, it's time for self evaluations. We make a list of all our accomplishments for the year and then another list of all the things we want to work on for next year. It's important to look at the good along with the 'needs improvement' so we can continue to grow. So here's Her Interactive's list that we came up with:

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
1) launched our first Hardy Boys game
2) launched our first game on the Nintendo DS
3) launched three PC games - Warnings at Waverly Academy, Ransom of the Seven Ships, Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger
4) wrote our first Twitter soap opera "Watching Waverly"
5) made 6,273 friends on Facebook
6) found 1,780 followers on Twitter
7) started the Amateur Sleuth blog
8) redesigned the message board and website
9) created our own YouTube channel
10) created microsites for our games at www.TreasureOnTheTracks.com, www.RansomOfTheSevenShips.com, www.ResortingToDanger.com, and www.WarningsAtWaverlyAcademy.com

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
1) getting feedback from fans - we need to do more surveys to ask about how our fans felt about the game
2) updating the Dare to Play blog on a weekly basis - it would be nice if we could be more consistent with our posts
3) work toward getting back to the 'classic games' - fans keeps saying we're missing that little bit of magic that got them hooked on the games
4) promote the Nancy Drew game soundtracks better - they're kind of hidden on the site
5) create more downloads and content for the games we release - more wallpapers, screen savers, bookmarks, etc. for our fans to use

That's our list in a nutshell - do you have anything to add in their the ACHIEVEMENTS or NEEDS IMPROVEMENT section? Let us know!

Every year we like to look back and reflect on how we've done each year. This year is no different and we have a lot of questions to ask our fans. We generally like to survey our fans and ask what they think about each game at the end of the year. So look for our 'post-mortem' surveys soon.

We have lots of questions in mind, such as

1) Which game is your favorite?
2) Who is your favorite character?
3) How would you rate Ransom of the Seven Ships on a scale of 1-5.
4) Who is your favorite character in Warnings at Waverly Academy?
5) Did you like the new user interface in Resorting to Danger?

We have to make most of our questions multiple choice, so users can pick one of the answers we provide. We call these quantitative questions - meaning they give measurable numbers and provide specific answers. Otherwise, a lot of people will have the same answer to a question but give the answer in a different way. For instance, we may ask question 5 - who is your favorite character from WAC and we'll get: Corine, Cornie, Corine Meyers, CM, Corine M., Corrine - but they're all trying to say the same thing and that makes it very difficult for us to count how many people liked Corine the beset out of 2,000 responses to the question.

There are also qualitative questions that are much harder to measure but give us great information about what our users want to tell us. Sometimes we ask why questions such as,

6) Why did you like Ransom of the Seven Ships?
7) What can we improve for the next game?

These 'why and what' questions can be helpful, but we have to read through 2,000 responses and try to figure out the main point of each one and tally up the number of response for each main point. Some firms specialize in this type of online survey they have statisticians and market research specialists on hand to help analyze the data. Here at Her Interactive, we undertake that tasks ourselves as just another part of marketing. We look at the numbers and figure out what they mean to try understand what our fans are trying to tell us.

So, if you were writing a survey for our fans, what questions would you want to see on it?

A lot of fans say that Treasure in a Royal Tower, Message in a Haunted Mansion, and The Final Scene are our best games - the classic Nancy Drew games. Secrets Can Kill and Stay Tuned for Danger didn't make the list probably because we were still figuring out what to do and tweak our formula, but they were the very first games we made. The games have evolved over the past 10 years, so it's interesting to see how technology and usability has improved since then. So if you haven't played 'the classics' or want to see how the Nancy Drew series began, we're offering these games at a special price of just $9.99! And yes, these games will work on Vista, but it's a little tricky to install them - email techsupport@herinteractive.com if you need any help.



In addition to the first five games, we also are also offering Secret of the Scarlet Hand, Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, The Haunted Carousel, and Danger on Deception Island for $14.99 - just in case you need to fill in the gaps in your Nancy Drew game collection. :)



And finally, The Cody Capers: Cody Pops the Case is now just $6.99! Cody Pops the case is a cute bubble popping puzzle game. It's fun and kind of resembles a stand-alone arcade game from the Dossier series. Plus, Cody the puppy detective is absolutely adorable.



So which games are you going to get for your collection and are there any games that you're still missing?

The girls at Waverly Academy have their own personalities and interests. For instance, Izzy is student body president and a social butterfly. Corine concentrates on her studies and loves to learn about the world around her. Then there's Mel, who likes to keep to herself and is a cello virtuoso. Leela plays almost every sport and spends most of her time practicing. And of course, there's Rachel - she just tries to blend into the crowd. Each girl is special in her own way, and so are you!

Who do you identify with the most in Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy? Check out the girls' profiles on the website, see a quick fact sheet, or read their Twitter feeds to help you decide.

Jenn Fisher is known as the authority on all things Nancy Drew. She heads up the Nancy Drew Sleuth club, the Nancy Drew convention, writes books, and collects everything related to Nancy Drew. Her collection is so large, it takes up most of the space in her house! Here's an interview with Jenn Fisher.



So what about your collection of Nancy Drew? Do you have shelves full of books or all 23 Nancy Drew games lined up together? Is all of your collection placed kind of like a shrine or is it spread throughout the house. And how much of a collector are you? Do you have the vintage books or just a few of the games? Collections come in all sizes and forms - and as long as you are proud of your collection, that's what matters the most!

Make sure you add the newest Nancy Drew Adventure series games, Warnings at Waverly Academy, to your collection this week when you're at the store! Buy the game at Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Gamestop, and Amazon or download it only from our website.

Also, apply to Waverly Academy at http://www.warningsatwaverlyacademy.com/ and receive your personalized Waverly ID card. Hint: you'll need to answer the questions EXACTLY as they appear on the website to get into the school.

We've seen a few posts on the message board about the boys playing Nancy Drew games and we wanted to discuss the issue for a moment.

Girls being the majority is very unusual in the hardcore gaming world. In fact, the video game industry is dominated by titles that are meant for boys - that's not to say that girls don't play them, but they are made with boys in mind. The girls who do play the shooting games and fighting games often have to deal with the stereotypes of women that are upsetting. Yet, they solider on and continue to play these games because they love them and not as a result of what anyone else says or thinks of their choices.

Her Interactive makes games for players of all ages and genders. We message that we make "games for girls" because there aren't enough games out there that are designed with girls in mind. Girls should have great games too!

We conducted research to try to understand what girls in general would want from a game when we first started making the Nancy Drew games and evolved our mission from there. While the play preferences of girls differs somewhat from the play preferences of boys, we don't design games that only girls will like. We hope the EVERYONE will like our games, and we give kudos to the boys who are willing to go against stereotypes to play our games. Very few boys are willing to give our games a chance, simply based on the fact that Nancy Drew is traditionally a character loved by girls. They often think - it's a Nancy Drew game, so it must be girly. The games aren't 'girly' in the pink, Barbie sense, and at the end of day - it's a good game that anyone can play.

This belief extends to all aspects of our business, including the message board and website. With the recent the message board and website redesigns, we chose a tone (color and layout) that could convey our ideal and goals in the best manner. We created our website to appeal the customers who are most likely to play the Nancy Drew games. You may question whether women and girls like burgundy more than the original teal - well, we don't really know that answer, but in order to convey what Her Interactive represents, burgundy is a good way of saying "Feminine and mysterious, but not too girly."

The title of our website serves a similar purpose. "Mystery, Fun, Inspiring Games for Girls of All Ages" is for the search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. It makes it easier for people who are looking for games for a girl to find us since they might not know that Nancy Drew games exist. But it also helps us make a specific distinction; we offer games for girls. There are many sites out there catering towards boys and boy-culture, and we, in our own way are trying to show women that they too have a place to find their passion.

Lastly, Warnings at Waverly Academy (box games available now or preorder the download exclusively at Her Interactive) takes place at an all-girls school. Although there are no animated male characters in the game, the boys definitely still play a role in the story. The theme of the game might make boys less interested in playing it, but we can definitely guarantee the same suspense and mystery you’d find in all of our other games. And that’s something that appeals to everyone!

How do rumors start? Someone tells someone something and it magically morphs into something else as it get passed from person to person. Rumors can be false information that spreads or truths that have been greatly exaggerated. We speculate about who likes who, who failed their test, who has been saying mean things about other people, etc. You can't avoid gossip and rumors, especially in school, but you do learn to question your sources and fact check every rumor. It's a little like doing detective work.

Which brings us to Nancy Drew, who's doing the same kind of detective work to figure out who's sending Black Cat notes to the valedictorian candidates in Warnings at Waverly Academy. She's in your shoes, trying to get to the bottom these viscious rumors that are running dangerously close to actual threats. As the new girl in school, she needs to figure out the social cliques, work on projects, and try to solve the mystery! That's a pretty tall order for our super sleuth, but something tells me, she's up to the case.

To prepare for the case, Nancy would research background information on the suspects - the residents of Ramsey Hall or Val Can Hall (short for Valedictorian Candidate Hall). We've managed to find the Twitter feeds for her fellow dormmates. You should follow their posts closely to see what kind of information you can gather about them. They only message each other and the @ symbol denotes that they are talking to a particular person instead of the whole group. If you're already a Twitter member, follow the girls to see the story unfold in real time over the next two weeks.

Follow:
Danielle_Hayes
Megan_Vargas
Izzy_Romero
Leela_Yadav
Corine_Myers

If you're not a Twitter member, you may follow the story on the right column of the Amateur Sleuth blog. All of the twitter updates will be posted as they happen in the Waverly Soap Opera.

So we're excited to start what we're calling a Twitter soap opera! There will be drama, gossip, and random thoughts, so get ready for what promises to be an interesting introduction to the girls at Waverly Academy! It all starts next Monday 10/5!


Remember, we are currently taking preorders for both boxed and digital copies of Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy!