HeR Interactive

American video game developer
HeR Interactive
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded1995
Headquarters
Bellevue, Washington
,
United States
WebsiteHerInteractive.com

HeR Interactive is a video game company based in Bellevue, Washington. The company was founded as a division of American Laser Games, and spun off as an independent entity. It later bought out its former parent company. The company designs, develops and publishes adventure-mystery games, most of which are based on the Nancy Drew franchise.

History

The company was launched as a division of American Laser Games called "Games for Her Interactive" in May 1995.[1] Its first title was McKenzie & Co.[2] After finding some initial success, the company became independent of American Laser Games and eventually bought out its former parent company. Her Interactive relocated to Bellevue, Washington in the late 1990s. Since 1998, the company developed 33 entries in its Nancy Drew adventure-mystery game series.[3] Nancy Drew: Codes & Clues has been praised for encouraging girls to learn coding.[4]

Stuart Moulder joined as CEO in May 2011 with a goal of diversifying the company's funding sources.[5] He left the company in 2014. Penny Milliken replaced him that same year.[6] The latest installment of the Nancy Drew game series, Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem, suffered many delays from its planned release at the end of 2015, due in part to the firing of a good majority of their staff. [7] An official announcement made by HER indicated the game was set to be released November 19, 2019. [3] However, it was pushed back, finally releasing on December 3, 2019, to mixed reviews. [8]

In April 2023, the company announced that a new Nancy Drew game is currently in development, with several teasers released on their social media.[9]

List of games

Nancy Drew Adventure

  • Secrets Can Kill (PC 1998)
  • Stay Tuned for Danger (PC 1999)
  • Message in a Haunted Mansion (PC 2000/GBA 2001)
  • Treasure in the Royal Tower (PC 2001)
  • The Final Scene (PC 2001)
  • Secret of the Scarlet Hand (PC 2002)
  • Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (PC 2002)
  • The Haunted Carousel (PC 2003)
  • Danger on Deception Island (PC 2003)
  • The Secret of Shadow Ranch (PC 2004)
  • Curse of Blackmoor Manor (PC 2004/DVD 2007)
  • Secret of the Old Clock (PC 2005)
  • Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon (PC 2005)
  • Danger by Design (PC 2006)
  • The Creature of Kapu Cave (PC 2006)
  • The White Wolf of Icicle Creek (PC 2007/Nintendo Wii 2008)
  • Legend of the Crystal Skull (PC 2007)
  • The Phantom of Venice (PC 2008)
  • The Haunting of Castle Malloy (PC 2008)
  • Ransom of the Seven Ships (PC 2009)
  • Warnings at Waverly Academy (PC 2009)
  • Trail of the Twister (PC/Mac 2010)
  • Secrets Can Kill Remastered (PC/Mac 2010)
  • Shadow at the Water's Edge (PC/Mac 2010)
  • The Captive Curse (PC/Mac 2011)
  • Alibi in Ashes (PC/Mac 2011)
  • Tomb of the Lost Queen (PC/Mac 2012)
  • The Deadly Device (PC/Mac 2012)
  • Ghost of Thornton Hall (PC/Mac 2013, iPad/Android/Kindle Fire 2014)
  • The Silent Spy (PC/Mac 2013)
  • The Shattered Medallion (PC/Mac 2014)
  • Labyrinth of Lies (PC/Mac 2014)
  • Sea of Darkness (PC/Mac 2015)
  • Midnight in Salem (PC/Mac 2019)

Nancy Drew Dossier

  • Lights, Camera, Curses (PC 2008)
  • Resorting to Danger (PC 2009)
  • Ship of Shadows (cancelled)

Nancy Drew Mobile Mysteries

  • Shadow Ranch (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch 2011)
  • Castle Finster (cancelled)

Other releases from Her Interactive

  • McKenzie & Co (PC 1995)
  • The Vampire Diaries (PC 1996)[10]
  • The Cody Capers: Cody Pops the Case (PC 2007)
  • The Hardy Boys: Treasure on the Tracks (Nintendo DS 2009)
  • Nancy Drew: Codes & Clues (iPad/Android/Kindle Fire 2016)
  • Odyssey: The Young Socratics (Release only) (PC/Mac 2017)

References

  1. ^ "Blood Lust". Daily News of Los Angeles. May 18, 1995.
  2. ^ "CD-ROM games for girls." Guardian. New Straits Times. June 1, 1995.
  3. ^ a b "The Case of the Disappearing Nancy Drew Video Games".
  4. ^ Chonacas, Kyriaki (2007-12-06). "New Nancy Drew Mobile App Teaches Skills to Young Girls". HuffPost. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  5. ^ "Gaming exec Stuart Moulder joins Her Interactive as CEO". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  6. ^ "HER INTERACTIVE ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP". Her Interactive. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  7. ^ "maker of 'Nancy Drew' games cuts staff, cites changes in game industry". Her Interactive. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  8. ^ "Midnight in Salem Steam Release Page". Steam. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  9. ^ "HeR Interactive Announces New Nancy Drew Game". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  10. ^ "More Layoffs for Video Game Companies". GamePro. No. 100. IDG. January 1997. p. 33.

External links

  • Interview with Megan Gaiser (President) and Sheri Hargus (Development Manager) of Her Interactive, Adventure Classic Gaming (2000)
  • Interview with Megan Gaiser and Robert Riedl, Adventure Gamers (2005)
  • Interview with Megan Gaiser, Pop Entertainment (2006)
  • Interview with Megan Gaiser, Tech Talk for Families (2010)
  • Interview with Megan Gaiser, GeekDad (2011)
  • Interview with Megan Gaiser, GamingAngels (2011)
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American Laser Games
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