Particularly powerful is correspondence with the family of Rachel Vaughn. The letters from girls who have played these games offer a rare look at the meaning players have found in the games the company produces. Historians interested in the relationship between gender and gaming will find these records particularly valuable, as focus groups studies, surveys, and correspondence from players offer insights into what girls look for in games and how Her Interactive has created games that connect with them. The design documents, walkthroughs, press materials, business studies, and other materials in this collection show how Her Interactive has taken games like Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger from initial concept to final product. Guided for many years by Megan Gaiser, currently the company’s Chief Creative Strategy Officer, Her Interactive persevered in the face of conventional wisdom that gaming was for boys-an early company slogan proclaimed that Her Interactive made “games for girls who aren’t afraid of a mouse.” As the number of female players of video games has grown, the company has continued to produce for girls high-quality, high-fun games that emphasize problem-solving and exploration. Her Interactive’s singular focus on games for girls separates it from almost every other game company over the last two decades. These have sold, collectively, more than nine million copies. In 1997 the company began making a game based on the Nancy Drew books, and in 1999 it released Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill, the first of more than 20 titles about the girl detective.
Begun as a division of American Laser Games (the donation includes an arcade game from American Laser Games), Her Interactive released its first game, McKenzie & Company, a dating-sim targeted at girls in 1995, followed a year later by The Vampire Diaries, based on Lisa Smith’s series of teen romantic thrillers. Sixty-nine years after Nancy Drew’s literary debut, Her Interactive began creating games infused with her trademark smarts and spunk.
Nancy Drew fired the imagination of her readers as she raced across the countryside in her blue roadster, hunting clues, collaring bad guys, and solving mysteries. The 19th Amendment gave the sexes equality in voting in 1920, female participation in workplaces and universities soared during this period, and the automobile offered many women newfound mobility and freedom. Originally created by Edward Stratemeyer-whose Stratemeyer Syndicate also produced the Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and other mainstays of popular juvenile literature-Nancy Drew epitomized the “New Woman” of the era. Nancy Drew has captured the imagination of girls since her fictional debut in 1930. I have no idea how Her Interactive manages to keep their level of quality so high in such a consistent manner, but whatever they’re doing, it works.Her Interactive, creator of the popular Nancy Drew games, has donated a large collection of games, design drafts, memoranda, press materials, focus group studies, player correspondence, and other materials that document the company’s history, the development of their Nancy Drew games, and the attitudes of girls towards gaming over the past 20 years. “It’s yet another solid adventure game in a series that has always been among the best the genre has to offer. Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall debuts two wonderful gameplay additions: an expanded hints system and the ability to fast-forward through dialog.” “The mystery for Nancy to solve is as intriguing as ever, the writing and voice-acting is solid (though a bit cheesy in places), puzzles are challenging, and the atmosphere is suitably creepy. While navigation may be cumbersome, it’s definitely not a deal breaker, and it’s far too easy to get sucked into the game and never want to stop until you reach the conclusion.” “Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall continues to provide some of the best storytelling around, and the game’s ample dialog means even the most diehard player will take a few hours to unravel all of its secrets.