Nancy Drew PC Games

[cellogirl]

hmm I don't think her mom will be alive. When the the message says "everything you know about your mom is a lie" or whatever I think its maybe meaning that she was actually some sort of agent or something not that she's actually alive. Just my guess. I guess we'll see though once it comes out

[bookworm]

Yes, except that I’m pretty sure the voice you hear in between the mysterious guy is her mom, because it’s someone calling for backup or something like that. So yeah, she may not be alive any more, but she clearly was not long ago, meaning the accident was a cover for her to go into spying or whatever. And like I said, that’s just as bad, because whether she’s alive now, or was just alive longer isn’t the point, it’s that she was alive at all.

[Astronomer]

Maybe it is saying that the accident was not an accident, but a murder by a rival spying agency.

[bookworm]

Once again, that is just as bad! Am I not being clear?
They have no right to alter something so central to Nancy’s whole story. I don’t care what spin they put on the accident, there should be no spin on it!

[Caitie]

I can't wait til 'The Silent Spy' comes out. There have only been a few of the Nancy Drew games I didn't enjoy, and most of them being the old games I think we own all of the games now, and we are going to try to get 'The Silent Spy'.

I really enjoyed 'Ghost of Thornton Hall', even though it was a bit creepy. The story plot was really cool, and kind of sad. I love how at the end of that game you can choose a couple different scenarios to finish with.

[bookworm]

Was it worse than Blackmoore Manor? Because I think that was the creepiest one (I haven't played Thornton Hall yet...).

It depends on you really, but I would say this one is scarier. Blackmoor Manor is a more mysterious creepy, like ‘What’s going on?’ thing, if you know what I mean, while Thorton Hall is an intentionally scary creepy, like ‘What was that?!’ As I said, it’s quite similar to Haunted Mansion, if you’ve played that one. Weird stuff happens to the scenery as you go around. That kind of thing.

Blackmoor Manor is one of my least favorite games due to certain cheesy and unlikeable characters.

Really? Blackmoor Manor is actually my favorite game! (I know I said I don’t have a singular favorite, and I don’t, but if I had to single out just one it would have to be that one.) It’s the one I think I quote most often, and I am just completely hooked on the story. A family secret passed down and expanded through the generations, with descendant specific clues added on each time; I love it! I admit the actual plot, once you finish it, may not be much but the backstory of the history they put in makes up for that for me.
And the Ballad of Brigitte is one of the most iconic elements from any of the games. When I’m doing stuff in Jane’s room I actually hum it along with her.

[~JCGJ~]

(Pardon my bump, but I feel like reviving this thread )

Blackmoor Manor was ridiculously long though. I just felt like it went on forever.

My favorite would have to be the Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon. I've always been a sucker for Trains, and Westerns, and Ghosts, and the Hardy Boys, so it pretty much has everything for me.
I also just love the music throughout the game. There are only a few games where I felt like the background music was perfectly suited to the story, and I have to say, that was definitely one of them.

Oh, have y'all seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIxq9Ql2ms0

He's celebrating the debut of the 30th Nancy Drew game by going through every single Nancy Drew game to date, straight through. It's rather intriguing.

[bookworm]

How in the world did he take an hour and 47 minutes on Secrets Can Kill? O.o I couldn’t make it last that long if I tried!

[Petrichor]

Has anyone else seen the trailer for the newest game yet?



I'm pretty excited for it, because we finally get to meet Sonny Joon!

[bookworm]

I still haven't done Silent Spy, so no I haven't. I have the game, just haven't played it yet.

[Kairi]

Blackmoor Manor is really the perfect game. The mythology they built is incredible--I love going through the Penvellyn family tree.

I'm looking forward to this new game. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

As far as creepy--Shadow at the Water's Edge is positively chilling.

[Petrichor]

I didn't realize Blackmoor Manor was such a fan favorite. I may have to play it again and reevaluate my opinion of it. My computer at the time sputtered and choked and threatened to die whenever I played any games on it, so that might have had a negative influence on my overall impression of the game.

I pre-ordered The Shattered Medallion a while back, and as far as I know it was released on Tuesday, but my copy hasn't even shipped yet. It's like they know I'm supposed to be writing papers instead of cavorting about New Zealand with Sonny Joon.

[Kairi]

I mean, it's not for everyone--it scared the heebie-jeebies out of me when I was younger, and it can be REALLY frustrating sometimes. (The puzzles are madness.) But I appreciate it for how much back story work they clearly did. They did the same thing with Secret at Shadow Ranch--and tried with Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon. I just really love back stories when it comes to mysteries.

[~JCGJ~]

I still haven't done Silent Spy, so no I haven't. I have the game, just haven't played it yet.

If you're the emotional type (as I am), The Silent Spy might just make your tear up a little at a couple points... It's very good though.

[Petrichor]

After a very long period of silence from HER Interactive, the Nancy Drew Facebook page has finally started releasing character profiles for the upcoming game, Midnight in Salem. According to this newsletter, the reason for the delay is HER Interactive's choice to switch to a Unity-based platform. As far as I know, there's still no release date planned for the game, but after a year of hearing nothing about the game, I'm hoping that Midnight in Salem will be here before too much longer.

This game will also be the first that does not feature Lani Minella as the voice of Nancy. I think that the preview for Midnight in Salem has Nancy's new voice at the end, but I'm not 100% sure that this voice is the one that will be in the final version of the game.

Do you think that the game will be worth the wait? I'm not sure if I should keep my expectations high, or really low.

[bookworm]

I'm a bit behind at the moment, last I've been able to play was Silent Spy, but I heard about the delay for the engine switch from a friend. I didn't realize it had gone on that long though.

I also heard about the actress change. I'm not going to say it's a bad thing until I hear it, but I will say I'm not on board with the news. I know they would have had to change at some point, but it's just because this is the voice we've had since the very beginning it's what we've associated and identified with.

[Mariogeek]

I love love love love these games, though I played Shadow at the Water's Edge and I had nightmares three months later. I'm not really a fan of the scary ones in general, The Silent Spy is my favorite of all time!! I found the

secret computer room in the cottage

and I just started laughing hysterically because that was so awesomely nerdy for me.

[GJ]

Oh goodness, where do I start?
I love these games, seriously. I grew up on them. As far as PC games go, they are amazing. I never complain about the graphics, they have always matched the period of technology in which they were released. The mysteries though, man, those are chill.

I think we have at least twenty of the games. My favourites are the ones with the Hardy Boys. Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon in particular. It's a good game, featuring difficult puzzles and infuriating companions. I used to think it was creepy when I was younger.
And The Creature of Kapu Cave, which is extremely exciting. Also, you can alternate between playing as Nancy or the Hardys.

The Silent Spy is fun, a little quicker than I'd like though.

[Petrichor]

I thought they would try to have Midnight in Salem out for Christmas, but they're being kind of cagey about what's going on with the game. I know nothing about how this stuff works, but is it normal for the switch in engines to take so long?

UPDATE: With no new Nancy Drew game released for two years now, I thought I would compile a timeline of the events that have brought us to this point. These are the major events that I recall seeing and hearing about, although I’ve only been closely following the situation for the past six months or so. Feel free to chime in with anything I may have missed.

I. Penny Milliken is appointed CEO of HER Interactive in September of 2014. Many of the fans believe that Milliken, an expert in the marketing field, was not qualified to lead a company like HER, and often blame Milliken for the downward spiral that HER Interactive has taken. https://www.herinteractive.com/about-us ... eadership/

II. HER Interactive mass staff layoff occurs in May of 2015, just prior to the release of Sea of Darkness. http://www.geekwire.com/2015/maker-of-a ... -industry/

III. Sea of Darkness is released in May of 2015.

• The last game featuring Lani Minella, the voice of Nancy for all 32 Nancy Drew games.
• Midnight in Salem teaser first released.

IV. August letter—Released in August of 2015. https://www.herinteractive.com/about-us ... ractive-2/

• The decision to switch to a Unity-based platform is first announced.
• Midnight in Salem—originally slated to release in autumn of 2015—is delayed. The hoped-for release date now becomes sometime in 2016.
• Codes & Clues is referenced. Codes & Clues is a coding app which was aimed at younger girls, but performed poorly with its target audience and was massively unpopular with the older fanbase of Nancy Drew games.

V. Character artwork and descriptions are released on the Facebook page in August of 2016.

• Speculation arises that the game will be released by Halloween.
• Speculation is inadvertently furthered when the Nancy Drew Facebook page changes their profile picture to promote a Halloween sale. Fans assume this change is meant to act as a teaser for Midnight in Salem, and become disappointed and angry when they discover that Midnight in Salem will not be released for Halloween.

VI. Fan response

• HER message boards begin to delete negative mentions of the CEO and Midnight in Salem’s production, which leads many fans to quit the message boards and move to reddit. The reddit Nancy Drew community is active; however, in their zeal to uncover clues about the new game, Nancy Drew fans begin to harass former HER employees for information, leading to a mass deletion of content on the Nancy Drew subreddit.
• The Facebook page becomes a place for people to voice their frustrations with the company and their lack of good PR regarding the game. Trite responses such as “We are not able to announce a release date as of yet. Stay tuned and stay sleuthy!” are beginning to anger fans, who start to troll the comments of everything the page posts.

VII. Fan speculation

• The most popular theory: The game will never be released. The company was run into the ground by Penny Milliken, who was utterly unqualified to run HER Interactive.
• Midnight in Salem, rumored to have been outsourced to another company to finish programming, is being held by the company until HER is able to pay for the game. HER potentially lacks the capital due to the flopped Codes & Clues and two years without new games. This theory could explain HER’s unwillingness to update the fans on the game’s progress: HER has absolutely no idea what is going on with the game.
  The closest thing I could find to HER addressing this theory is an offhand remark in a blog post: “Outsourcing is very common in the game industry. Sounds, designs, animations, modeling, marketing content and more are sourced from multiple companies who specialize in what they do. Our game company is no different, and we are a small one! Rumors have spread about Midnight in Salem being outsourced, so to confirm a fact: yes, MID has elements outsourced, just like our past games.” https://www.herinteractive.com/2017/01/ ... tsourcing/
• The game will eventually release in some form or another, but since the core of the company has fundamentally changed, we have seen the last of the "true" Nancy Drew games.

I am deeply saddened by what feels like the conclusion of something very special. Nancy Drew games have been a part of my life since I first played The Final Scene about 10 years ago; I have since played every game they've released (barring the dossiers and Codes & Clues), and with the exception of a few clunkers, I dearly love them. To see a company that has been near and dear to my heart show such blatant disregard for loyal fans is discouraging. Even if Midnight in Salem is one day released, it certainly won't be the same. The leadership of the company has drastically changed, the team that produced the Nancy Drew games I know and love was laid off from the company, and Lani Minella, who has done such a good job giving Nancy a cohesive voice and characterization throughout a series that has spanned nearly twenty years, was unceremoniously shown the door. Eventually, a game that says "Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem" may be released, but to me, it seems that the Nancy Drew series that I grew up with has sadly come to an end.

[Pianoman]

Thanks for the update. I didn't know so much drama has been going on. =0