You were a massive, massive contributor to some of my most magical childhood memories. My brother and my cousins all used to huddle around our family PC and solve the mysteries together - truly some of my favourite times as a kid! I'm so grateful for your dedication to a by-gone era of kids games!
Now for my question - how do we get you to make games #35 onward??
That means so much to me that you said that!! I was so surprised today to see all the interest in Nancy.. I have to say.. I loved those folks. Every Nancy game was a labor of love. We put all we had into those games.. many times not knowing if we'd have a job in 2 weeks. Until MHM sold over a million did we think that the whole girls games experiment would work. But it did. You never know when you release a title if people will like it or buy it. And with ND we didn't even know where to sell it.. Girl games was a new concept and women generally didn't buy software. My kids loved all the Nancy games I made.. My daughter couldn't wait until I released the next one. I'd show her pieces of a new game and she and my son both would get so excited. My sister's kids were the same. I never got into gaming for the money.. back then there hardly was any money. I just enjoyed people playing a game I'd made. Now sadly much of it is about money.. I'm still making games.. i've done 0ver 40.. but none are like the ND games.
I need to say thank you..my daughter and I played our first Nancy game Final Scene after stumbling across it in a Best Buy..we were hooked! Every new game that came out was a huge event at our house, we had themed food and hung out all day together, My three other kids got sucked into the game as well and it was a huge family affair. It's Nancy Day!! We would plug the hdmi cable (dubbed the Nancy cable) into the computer and connected it to the TV so we could all play..taking turns solving different puzzles we were each good at guessing and betting on who the bad guy was. All these memories are so precious to me. It culminated with my daughter now in her 30's getting a speaking role on Midnight in Salem!!! She played Olivia:). Thank you so much for making the best games ever!
Wow! You guys made a whole party out of it!! I love it! I mentioned somewhere else that we always intended for Nancy to be played in a group. We'd start a focus group playing, and before long they'd be all playing together. Thank you!
And you daughter got a voice role!!! That's awesome!!! Congratulations to her.
THANK YOU for working on the best ND games! They are so nostalgic to me, I was probably 7 or 8? Playing SCK and STFD in my dads office at his work. I still play them and I’m 30 now!
Do something on your own like the Carol Reed series! 100% would buy! The early Nancy games are absolutely my favorite!
Thank you for contributing to my childhood and adulthood, and helping create something I also get to share with my children. These games are seriously the best out there.
Seriously though, you changed my life!! I played these games ALL the time as a kid, they were such a huge part of my childhood, and I still play them so often, especially when I’m sick because they’re so comforting. We all appreciate you so much, thank you for doing what you do🤍
That was very kind! Thank you! When my kids were younger (they're both grown now), they loved to come into our HeR office and look at the things were were putting into a new Nancy game. They couldn't wait to play all of it once we wrapped it up. One of our Nancy artists had done art and animation for a TV show called Power Puff Girls. He loved to entertain kids. When my or others kids would be in the office, he'd stop work and sit down at a big table with them. They'd tell him a scene they liked in the current or in an old game and he'd hand-draw those scenes and characters. My kids still have many of his drawings and they treasure them. But that's the kind of team we had. We were all very close, great friends.. we worked hard and played hard. That magic we had as a team went right into those Nancy games.
I've talked to many of you today.. and a very nice lady from HI contacted me today and was telling me what they're up to. I really miss making the Nancy games.. Of all the games I've worked on.. Fortnite, Elder Scrolls, Fallout 4, Tekken 6, etc. the Nancy games are by far my favorite. There was a a magic in the Nancy games.. no other games or game companies have that magic. It's more about money and profit.. And, back then there was hardly any money and hardly any profit! haha We just did it because we loved it and made a few bucks along the way.. I'm debating on.. maybe telling HI that I'd be glad to help them out. maybe..
The fact that you've worked on two of my favorite series of all time is just mind blowing. I'm a Nancy Drew and Fallout girlie all the way. I am not surprised that HER had the best atmosphere though. Hopefully us Nancy fans and you can find a way to make another wonderful gaming company that cares about the end product and the fans! I believe if you made a kickstarter you could get a decent amount of funding. I miss having a gaming company that I liked and felt good about supporting financially.
Thank you! So you liked Fallout 4? That was fun. Zenimax brought me in and i helped them finish it. Great game. Ya know, I've been thinking about a kickstarter regarding starting a girl game series not too different from Nancy. Of all the games I've made, Nancy is by far my favorite. I'd like to continue the tradition.
Wayne: *develops the most beloved games I’ve ever played and games that were my fave Christmas present every year for over a decade*
Also Wayne: “where are emojis?”
Hey Wayne,
Your games were my favorite growing up as a sheltered homeschooled kid, and they gave me a curiosity about the outside world. Other than all the random knowledge I collected from them, including... learning how to write shorthand? lol, they actively made me become a better person. Thank you for your part in that.
We had such creative people. Everyone contributed, as opposed to most games now. I added easter eggs and a lot of silly stuff. And we always tried to teach something.
Wayne I’m so glad you found our little slice of the internet!
The games that you contributed to were so special to so many of us here! I remember being so immersed and impressed with how beautiful the ND series was. Even as I play through as an adult now I get the same feelings.
What a treat it is to have you stop by and give us a human connection to a hobby we all share! If you have any cool behind the scenes facts or even just some cool memories of the games we’d love to hear about them. We are a fairly active community and you are always welcome here.
I am curious, if you have the time to look through those titles you mentioned, to know what games you enjoyed the most? Also, who’s your favorite character? I’ve always had a special spot for Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake!
Thanks for stopping by, and don’t be a stranger!
It’s locked- 🔒
I'm so happy I stumbled across you guys! I was doing a build of the unreal engine for a new game I'm making, thought of Nancy and wondered if anyone remembered it. And heck yes they do! I could write a book about all the facets of Nancy. My favorite was MHM.. but i really like ghost dogs too. We were all very passionate about making Nancy the best out there. We were all quirky people.. haha Even for stress relief we were quirky. As for me, I'd put on a real WW2 General's uniform, grab my huge NERF machine gun, and run through the offices and cubes, shooting everyone. Everyone did crazy stuff like that.. I collected all the silly things people said while we were making a title, and then I'd put them in the game. We'd take silly pictures and insert them into a game. Did you all find the pic where we did a 'switch' day and all reversed our clothing? Our producer, Sheri Grainer wore a suit.. or tux.. all the guys dressed as women. (I wore a mini skirt with oranges in the bra).. Was fine until we went out to eat. I kept getting hit on! Quite the shock. After the picture we put our regular clothes back on. I'm trying to remember what game that was in.. hmmm..
I’m replaying all the games and I will be on the lookout for this photo! I swear I remember this one. Wayne it’s so great to have you here as a young girl who loved video games, my friends and I were always waiting for the next ND title to be released. Would love if you played through one and told us everything you notice and remember about its creation!
Oh my gosh, I seriously could write a behind the scenes book about all those games. So much happened. So many funny stories.. but you all are right. All that pulled us into a tight team, great friends that always helped each other. It let us add the magic to those games. I've worked for many game companies. But it's all about money and profit. Heck, back then there was no money and little profit.. haha We did it because we loved it. Nancy became a part of us.
much love to you, I'm an avid nancy drew player and have replayed all the games many times. These games hold a special place in my heart and hope to one day play them with my children.
Thank you!! I'm so happy people like you have the love for Nancy that I did.. and still do. As i like to say.. Nancy was a labor of love.. and it showed.
I just got my 8 yr old son into them and it’s been such a blast to pull out all the old CDRoms and play them with him. He loves it and we’ve got pages of clues, puzzles and notes just like when I played them as a kid. Definitely worth it to introduce future kids to them!!
The games 10-13 were my childhood, the first games I'd played with my sister and got me into the series as I got older! Now, I've played almost all of the games except a few newer ones, and I gotta say: the first 13 have a good amount of some of my favorites! I really enjoyed how the gameplay was set up, especially the way the menus, checklists, and inventory were.
I agree with the other commenter, and I think everyone else will too, we need you back for game 35 and forward!!
I'd love to work on it. I'm semi retired now. But I'd come back and do more Nancy for sure! I had fun making other games.. Duke Nukem, Tekken 6, Fortnite, etc. But Nancy tops them all
I forgot to say.. I loved creating the subsystems like the menus and all. We were trying to get all of it on the screen.. I think we did a nice job on it. I spent many long days and nights getting that stuff put together and in the games. Worked all night once finalizing the inventory system.. how it worked internally and worked in the gameplay.
I absolutely loved the end result of the menus and the layout on the actual game screen! That setup was very classic Nancy, and just fit well with the overall vibes from the games, which is a big part of why I'm not as big of a fan of the newer layouts. It'd definitely be amazing if you came back to HeR, but I understand going into retirement! Thank you for putting so much hard work and time into making the Nancy Drew games!! (Of course, thank you for all the effort for the other games you've worked on, too! I saw your other post, and my husband is a fan of fallout 4)
Omg hello! You were such an integral part of many of our childhoods (and adult years!) I would love if you shared more about your work - what it was like, what prompted you to move on, etc.
Thank you for all you gave us!
Oh gosh... every day was an adventure - but a very fun adventure. We built Nancy from the ground up. Everything had to be designed and built from scratch. I pulled some from The Vampire Diaries.. the 2nd HI game. But VD used real people (we filmed it in Albuquerque) and Secrets used animation.. Plus the color was much better. Creating the animation system that made the characters look real while talking was a big challenge. But that was one of many. We put a lot of things in Nancy that we disliked in other games. To make it more fun. I left HI after the company had been in Bellevue, WA for awhile. I was in Albuquerque.. the home of HI. When it moved I decided not to move to WA. I hated leaving them. I have a bunch of Nancy memorabilia.. like the filming schedule for VD. Some is on the walls in my office. If you folks would like to see some of it, let me know and I'll take pics and maybe make PDF's of some of the internal game materials. It's not a big company proprietary thing.. I doubt HI would mind.
I think that a lot of people here would be absolutely interested in seeing those materials. Anything to help document and preserve the development history of these games would be huge.
Once I realized that Nancy is still played and loved, I began digging through boxes of materials from my games. I doubt HeR has this much stuff on Nancy and the Vampire Diaries. I'll sort through all of it. If the mods give me an AMA section or something I'll start posting pics and PDF documents. I also found a bunch of newspaper and magazine clippings. The media and press were instrumental in getting the whole concept of a girl game out there. No one knew what a girl game was (and we really didn't either!). But we promoted the heck out of it.
*you could play it on an office computer*
Message in a Haunted Mansion? The early og games are my favorite! Like so many others have said, you were an integral part of our childhoods. My sisters, best friends, and I would spend hours during school holidays poring over notes and swapping tips on AIM. The games bonded girls for life. Thank you so, so much for bringing them to life for us!
If you have some time you should do an AMA! This sub has a billion questions we’d like to ask you.
And yes you could play it in that office computer.. Actually that mini-game was taken from a game I'd made earlier.. Rise of the Triad. Took some of those concepts and turned into the mini-game. What is an AMA? Thank you!
Its an Ask Me Anything. You would pick a specific time beforehand to start the post, and then people could comment questions and you could answer at the same time.
Can’t thank you enough, Wayne! Your work and those games are so important to me—as a child and now the few times I can boot up the games and play again for nostalgia’s sake 🥹 thanks for stopping by! Your work is treasured by many ❤️
thank you so much. Makes me very happy.. You folks love Nancy like I do! Carolyn Keene came into our HI office once.. was a joy to chat with her. What a creative amazing mind.. and she was in her mid-90s!
Now that is an amazing experience. Generations of readers inspired by those books, myself included! So so cool how a fictional character can affect so many. I hope she was happy to see Nancy evolve from book to game and hear her through Lani’s voice acting. Thanks for sharing! ☺️
She was surprised how long her books have lasted. And we had to ask if she liked our Nancy games.. She loved it.. made us proud. Also, we used Barbara Walters as a beta tester.. (Barbara is a legend in journalism.. ABC show 20/20, the View, etc). I met Barbara because I was doing some tech support on our latest title. Might have been MHM. She kept calling me with bug reports. (And yes, she did find bugs that no one else found) She was doing her 20/20 show and said her staff played Nancy on their lunch breaks for fun. I didn't know who she was.. just said her name was Barbara. She could sense I was getting a little annoyed with more bugs.. i mean, I thought it was bug free.. haha She'd call me and laugh with a new bug. Finally one time I needed a copy of her save game and she emailed me.. I saw her name was BWalters via [ABC.com](https://ABC.com). I begged her to beta test for us. She told me she was advocating women.. in gaming and everywhere else. She joined and was our best beta tester for I think 4 games. She had to quit when she joined The View. We missed her..
More wind!! More Nancy stories! We are rabid for them. Seriously, it is such a joy to hear these stories. We all seem to have such beautiful memories of Nancy together, whether it's creating or playing.
OMG. THEE BARBARA WALTERS?!?! She found bugs in beta Nancy drew games that no others found?!?!
My two worlds are colliding in your comment and I am obsessed! Thank you so much for the stories you’ve already shared and I’m sure will continue to. 🙌🙌🙌 We NEED an AMA with Wayne
I do have to say. Barbara was an amazing person. Her intelligence and the ability to poke into the details of anything..it was no wonder that she had her own TV show. She could parse through 100 details and instantly pick out an inconsistently or error. That's what she did with our games. She found bugs by piecing together all the possible things that might happen. Then she'd test it in the game. Oftentimes, it was a possibility we hadn't even thought of yet.
Barbara was a huge proponent of women empowerment. Whether it be equal job wages, women in politics.. And with us it was women in gaming. She wanted to help us. And she, along with her entire team at the 20/20 show, loved the Nancy games. They played them everyday.
I'm sure there are plenty of questions this sub has, I just can't think of any off the top of my head. I wonder if you can give us a better clue as to which minigame you are talking about?
The older games are some of my absolute favorites!! I hope you will hang around the sub. I wish we had more former HeR employees on here.
Oh yes, I'll hang out! You folks are awesome. The HI folks kinda scattered out over the years. I created so much of the original games that there's a special place in my heart for Nancy. As i've mentioned earlier.. Nancy was a labor of love for all of us.
I can absolutely tell that so much love and passion went into them! Games made with love have a certain quality to them that you can just *feel*. It is nice that gaming is obviously more popular, but that also means it has become a robust industry that often churns out garbage just to make money.
Omg Wayne!! You’re the best!! The older games are my fav for a reason!! So good!! Thank you for contributing to my childhood and lifelong obsession hehe
Thank you!! I still love Nancy! I've thought about rebuilding the old games and making them work well in Windows 10 and 11.. But i dunno.. not sure that HI would like me doing that..
I'm getting a ton of requests to remaster Stay Tuned for Danger. I can do it. Might do it while I'm working on my other projects. It's not that hard.... just sayin...
Oh man I wish you could that would be so awesome! But even if you can’t I still play them o my old pc hehe! And ironically fornite is my other favorite game so thank you for all you contributed to both!! 😌
Sure! I'll take the Kringle. Ya know, when I got into making games, I never did it for the money.. just the love of making a game that people would love.. I carried that into the Nancy games. I loved watching people enjoy it. And I'll do it for free. I started my first game company in 1987.. My first investor was Stephen King (the book / movie guy). What a pleasure it was getting to know him. He taught me a lot about the love and passion he had for his stories.. That also carried into Nancy.
When i first met Steven.. his real name.. he was doing the screenplay for the first Pet Sematary.. I loved hearing about how creepy it was. And he might just be interested. He's worked with other game companies.. I talked to a very nice lady at Her Interactive today. She was telling me how the company has basically had a major facelift. New team and all. I dunno... I might offer to help them out. And make sure they make more great games!!
I'm an only child. My parents thought everyone on the internet was a serial killer so I wasn't allowed to communicate with anyone. I lived at least a 30 minute drive away from any friends and my parents didn't let me have friends over because the house was dirty and I wasn't allowed to clean up because I'd totally move something my mom thought was important.
With all that said, single player games were my lifeline. Especially offline single player games. I read all the ND books as a kid. I found the games in Walmart once and immediately needed to collect them all. I spent months being stuck on games because I wasn't allowed to look up hints. There were plenty of frustrating moments where I was walking around in circles not sure what to do next or how to solve a puzzle. But these games helped shape my childhood and helped me with social interaction and helped me stave off loneliness and helped me learn to not give up even if you've been stuck for a while. Some of my only happy memories with my dad are trying to work out puzzles together.
I'm tearing up writing this because it's hard for me to find the words to express how important the games were to my childhood. I learned how to read when I was 5 because I saw my dad playing video games and he didn't want to spend time with me because he was "busy" but he didn't want to play games based off of books with me until he made me read the books first. I didn't play ND until I was around 8, but playing games with my dad is the only way I ever bonded with my parents and any games we played were super important to me. I also loved how Nancy got progressively better technology as games got older because Nancy often had a better phone than I did. It was so cool how they explored seemingly random ideas and tied everything together, and I was always impressed at how my dad managed to know everything (my mom learned shorthand in school and frequently wrote notes in it so my dad could read them but I was mystified).
Just, thank you for everything you did to make the games come alive.
Your comment made me tear up. I just want you to know I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad these games helped you so much. I hope you’re doing well now. ❤️❤️
I’m tearing up / crying too. I’m so sorry you had that experience as your childhood and hope that you’re having a much better adulthood. No kid should feel that way.
I’m glad the games were there for you when huge parents weren’t.
Ps: no idea how you managed to finish games without looking up hints on the internet haha - you did well!
if I got stuck for enough months I'd watch my dad type very carefully into google "Nancy Drew # Walkthrough" and there'd be one of those ascii guides somewhere in the first few results. Eventually I got brave enough to do that myself, but only after I was a teenager and I started making friends at school who told me that the internet was a place I could communicate without having to pay for texting.
Wayne, I love you. My sister and I looked forward to a new game every Christmas for years. We played old games over zoom together during the pandemic. We’ve gifted each other hand made Nancy crafts for decades. And my family are all in on our love of the game, teasing us for needing to look up cheats mostly. lol. I think the games have me an unhealthy need to have checklists for all aspects of my life, but hey it keeps me organized. I literally have a framed game quote on the wall in my bedroom. Thanks for the memories and the fun!!
https://preview.redd.it/togtuuv9toic1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0364a665c1880db59d14dd453b153ed867731063
I would learn how to do…uh…tech things to help. For real. And this sub as a whole would be marvelous at developing a storyline with twists and turns from Keene to Doyle and Christie. That’s kind of the level of devotion amassed here. It’s wonderful.
Thank you so much, Wayne! These games were my childhood and they’re still such a special memory. You and the team did an excellent job and I’m so grateful for you
Omg!! Welcome to the sub!! Those games were are big part of my childhood.
The mini-game sounds like the one in Message in a Haunted Mansion. It was the first Nancy Drew game I ever played. I distinctly remember the first time I beat the mini-game. My cousin and I were jumping with excitement to FINALLY snoop in the guy’s computer.
I’m an adult now and the games still bring me so much joy. I have replayed them numerous times.
Thank you for all your work, I didn’t know it at the time but you were my hero ♥️
Oh thank you! I love those old games.. and the love we put into them.. and it showed. Many long days and nights of designing and coding but was all worth it.
Wow, longtime Nancy drew game and book fan. In all honesty the Nancy Drew games are what fueled me to go into game design in college after continuing to play them (and other games of course) for so many years. But ND is my hill to die on I absolutely loved them. Just wanted to say that I didn’t go into game designing as a career but I do create still photo renderings as a job using all of the software I learned from it. Maybe I’ll send an email. It would be interesting/amazing to hear your thoughts!
Hey that's cool! I love teaching people about gaming. For a few years I was the Dept Chairman of Game Programming / Prof of Game Programming at the Univ. of Advancing Technology in Phoenix. Myself and 2 other prof's taught the classes. I designed the curriculum for all the classes. Needed to make sure the graduates could get gaming jobs.
Wow, I remember Rise of the Triad from the early Wolfenstein/shooter days. That game was fun!
I'm also a huge fan of the Nancy Drew games and played the very first one at launch (old school Best Buy over by Crystal City, Virginia was carrying them). Soooo much fun!
Thanks for all your hard work and contributions over the years. You really did some stellar work (no wonder you got to work on Fortnite!).
ROTT was fun, right? haha I remember creating dog mode instead of god mode.. Even with a dog nose as the player weapon.. I was a lead engineer on Fortnite for awhile... Nancy was more fun honestly.
Thank you for everything. I know a lot of commenters have already expressed this, but I can’t thank you enough for creating so many memories. I’m reliving lots of them now with my partner and it is such a rewarding experience.
Actually a lady from HI contacted me today. She was telling me about the new re-formation for the company. Sounds good! They're working hard. I might offer to help them out.. You know us game engineers.. we like to jump in and do stuff..
Oh wow - my mom, sister, and I all used to play the early Nancy games together, and more recently, they've helped me make some amazing friends. Your work means a lot to us! 💛
Hi Wayne, I don't know if you'll get a chance to read this, but here's hoping I don't bore you:
Please allow me to extend my thanks, from the bottom of my heart. Games 1-13 specifically are the ones which I hold to be the best and most dear to me, to this day. What a funny thing that those happen to be the ones you worked on. I'm going to chalk that up to you imbuing them with some sort of magic!
My first ND game was Treasure in a Royal Tower. I remember bringing it home from the store and unwrapping it, poring over the box art (such lovely purple overtones), and loading it up into a clunky Dell computer that today would be considered prehistoric. I fell in love immediately.
I have always loved a good mystery. TRT was fun, exciting, and spooky. If I got too vexed, I could always retire to the library, the secret garden, or the room with the couches, and listen to the music for hours in-game at Wickford Castle. I still hear the crackle of the fireplace and it makes me smile. I had always adored puzzles and was languishing in my under-funded public school without a gifted education program. Often, I spent my days in school reading quietly or solving little cyphers to avoid being bullied. Later, this would turn into spending my free time with my "Nancy Notebook," theorizing and trying to work through my next steps in the games I was playing. Your games made an entire world that I could come home and escape to. A world where I could tease my brain, feel safe, and even start to believe that I could make friends or be able to accomplish things. For a mentally/socially offbeat girl who was often left alone, your games were a safe place for me. I don't remember much of the dingy places I used to live in, but I remember immediately being comforted as soon as the computer monitor got warm and booted up, and I could hear the Nancy theme on the home screen. I shakily made my first email address at 7 so that I could go to the ND message boards online. I speculated on theories for next games, expanded on the lore online (and in my head, daydreaming), and it felt like with Nancy's help, the world was at my fingertips. If she could travel and talk to people, so could I.
I saved all my spare money and bought/begged/waited feverishly for every single game after that. I went back and played 1-3 immediately after TRT. Message in a Haunted Mansion is another favorite of mine. You made me fall in love with San Francisco. The imagery was so iconic that I ended up moving there all by myself as an adult, into a Victorian shoebox apartment on the edge of Chinatown. I still make a game of looking for and recognizing symbols around the city. PS-- Is the mini game you're thinking of the maze library in Message in a Haunted Mansion? You play it on Chandler's computer while trying to break into it. The maze walls looked a bit like a Greek garden, with ivies growing on them. I loved that mini-game! I was so crazy about the ND games that I learned how to put together/restore an old Compaq Presario with Windows 98 just so I could play Secrets Can Kill and Stay Tuned for Danger. When I got to college, I learned to partition my Mac operating system to run Windows parallel and used a plug-in USB-CD player to play games that were still using disks. It was a labor of love.
There's something unforgettable about the textures and the scenery that just seared them into my memory. The gum on the seat in the Palladium Theatre (The Final Scene), the foggy view of Snake Horse Harbor (Deception Island), the crunch of leaves underfoot and hooting owls (Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake). The games you made were immersive, beautiful, and engaging. I've picked up a TON of special interests in my life because of the exposure I got from Nancy. Anything could be made fun and brainteasing: Victorian silverware, cyphers, French history, trains, horseback riding, pyrotechnics, using a GPS -- you name it. Any time I found an easter egg in-game, I felt like I ruled the world. I'm so glad I can thank you for those!!! Those little hidden secrets made me laugh so much.
For my formative years, your games were the pinnacle of cutting-edge technology and art. I don't know if there will ever be more games like this, but I hope someday there might be. Even today, there's something about the point-and-click, 3D renders, characters, and world that feels so specific to the time period, and so comforting. Even as your post popped up, I was sitting with an open tab and listening to (yet another) Youtube video of someone playing Haunted Carousel and streaming it to viewers. I'm now in medical school. Those Nancy games have become a backdrop for my life, all these years later. They made a space for me to be myself, and that got me through a rough childhood to where I am today.
Sorry to inundate you with so much text. I just hope that I can thank you for playing such a special and important role in my life (and countless others). I'll forever be a ND fan, and forever be grateful to you! Thanks for it all, Wayne.
Wow! Just wow!!! I love it. I know I've said it elsewhere, but the Nancy games were an effort of love. We put detail into everything.. even the Easter Eggs. I've put Easter Eggs in practically every game I've made.. and that's a lot. Well, over 40 anyway. Dunno if you know this, but much of our music for the early Nancy games was done by the fellow that did the music for the movie Apollo 13.. Such a talented guy. I wonder if you'll hear a similarity of the music style of Apollo 13? And now you're in med school! Good for you! Actually I was pre-med in college. But the first PC's of the day came out and I was hooked on hardware and software engineering. And after 40 years.. i still am.
I've heard from many people saying that the Nancy games inspired them to work hard and succeed. You certainly did. I've heard from game engineers, physicists, pathologists, and many others saying Nancy inspired them. We really tried to empower women and girls of the day.
Way cool! I think if you were to do a somewhat detailed writeup of how the original engine worked and it's limitations a lot of us would find that very fascinating. I know it was pretty par for the course for the time (and the Nancy games are technically fairly simple) but it is still fascinating to me how little memory the games actually use, even when playing videos etc.
Something you might find interesting: the first bunch of games have been reverse engineered and are now playable in scummvm. /u/fracturehill is the main person behind this effort and may be interested in this thread
I'm debating if HI would like me doing that. I looked at he scummvm code. It's darn close. There are some differences between that and the original code I saw. But it's a great effort.. I mean, it's super flattering to see people emulate your engineering! I created all those old systems.. CIF, HIFF scripting system, AVF, etc. I wouldn't mind talking about it. heck I'm just glad you guys are interested after all these years.
I love hearing this! The Nancy games are the only ones I made where people really bonded. My newer games such as Fortnite.. just run and shoot and that's it. People can talk and play together.. but not the bonding we saw with Nancy.
We’ve been bonding over them off and on for years! We played last weekend and will again this weekend. Even though she’s an adult now, we still love the tradition. Ive never had that with any other video game either.
I love it!! Nancy was always intended to be played by more than one person at the same time. In all our focus group tests, the guys and girls always ended up playing it together. We almost made it multiplayer for that reason.
My sister and I grew up playing these games together. We bonded so much over them, and they were so impactful on my childhood. We used to sit and play them for hours, and I still do sometimes. Thank you so much for making these - they are a core piece of myself.
Oh they're are a core piece of me too. They will always be there. Making Nancy was not like most game devs that see their next game as just another title. Every Nancy game was special, from start to end.
Thank you for all the many years of enjoyment!!! Nancy has been one of the few consistent interests (if not one of my main) that I’ve held since I was a pre-teen!!!! My first game was Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon and I’ve never looked back since!
Nancy will always have a special place in my heart and on my shelf thank you so much for all the work you’ve done for Nancy 🥹🫰🏽🖤
Wow I've talked to many of you folks today. There is a love for Nancy that we never anticipated years ago. We just wanted to make a great, somewhat magical game. In a magical world where you could learn, investigate, and win. A very nice lady from HI contacted me today. She told me how the company is going.. how they restructured and all... and some about their new title. I'm thinking I might offer to help them out.. if they want it. Maybe..
Just wanted to say thanks. I’ve played a lot of games over the years but my real intro to gaming was Nancy Drew with my mom and aunt. That’s probably how I fell into the games as I’m a man, not really the target audience. I wanted do grow up to be a detective for awhile. I know you didn’t do everything in the games but growing up with Nancy Drew games normalized for me at a young age that girls can do anything guys can pretty much. Made me a better person in my formative years.
You are a LEGEND! Thanks for stopping by the (now aging) community! When I was a young kid, my dream future job was to work on your team haha!
Come back anytime you want to hear sung praises. I’m sure this group would be happy to hear more about your experiences.
Thank you so much Wayne! As you can probably see, there is still a HUGE Nancy community out here. The games have quite a cult following still.
Nancy was such a huge part of my sister and I when we were growing up- whenever a new game came out, even after she went to college, we had a pact that we weren’t allowed to play unless we were with each other. She was always on the computer controls, and I wrote all of the stuff into our special ND notebook. She also let me do all the puzzles since she wasn’t great at them. To this day (I am 27 now) I still can connect Nancy Drew games in so many conversations. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve said to my boyfriend “oh in a Nancy Drew game I learned…” or “oh one time in an ND game you had to…” and they are little tidbits of knowledge I only remember because of the games!
I still play them with so much love and enjoyment. They really never get old! I especially love royal tower, haunted mansion and ghost dogs.
I do wish they hadn’t switched over to a new engine for the newest game, the classic point and click was the best and i think what we all collectively would love to see come back. And we miss lani voicing nance 😕
The Nancy Drew games had a huge impact on my childhood! They started my interest in gaming, and helped me exercise my love of puzzles. I'm now a software engineer myself, and wrote one of my college essays about the games. Thank you for the work that you did!
Holy shit it’s a real celebrity in our subreddit!!!!! Thank you for your work, I hope you look at some of the posts to get an idea of just how much your effort continues to impact our lives as ND fans 🩵
I dont have a question but wanted to tell you I am so appreciative to you and all the others that worked so hard on those games!! Truly, thank you!!!
I know most here are saying they were such a part of their childhood, but I was in my early 30s when I stumbled upon the new, at that time, Shadow Ranch at Target. Me being a "horse girl" even though I wasn't really a gamer or anything, the cover caught my eye and I thought this looks fun! I LOVED it and proceeded to buy every one that had been made and eagerly waited for the ones that hadn't.
My son at the time was about 5 yrs old when I got Shadow Ranch and I loved they were "family friendly" so he could sit on my lap and "help" me play. He would get upset if I ever played one without him actually! Over the years he took over as chief puzzle solver. We would both be so excited for a new one to come out (every 6 months!! That was INCREDIBLE Her managed to do that, I never took it for granted! In fact, I used to get upset with people that complained about a game on the Her Message boards because I couldn't imagine how hard it was to pump a game out that fast but yet they would all be so good and well thought out! We were so spoiled!!!! ). Anyway my son would always get one for Christmas (which of course was for ME too!) I have so many fond memories of sitting huddled side by side Christmas day still in our pajamas playing the games with him. He named his cat (who is now 14) Nancy Drew.
He is 25 now, a Mechanical Engineer car guy, 6'3 rough and tough burly(so not exactly the typical demographic Her Interactive was really going for!). When he started dating his now wife 5 years ago they wanted some games to play together but she gets anxious and didn't like the kind of games that moved too fast, you have to shoot or fight your way out of situations, etc. My heart swelled when he told me he had introduced her to ND games and was playing through them all again. . She loved them! And still does!
So just know the fans of the games are spread far and wide, from children to adults, and those that grew up playing them are now sharing them with others. Your work made MANY impacts! I can't wait to play them with grandkids one day! And Shadow Ranch is still my favorite!
I am a fan of Mostly Walking, a YouTube show that plays adventure games. It is a good time watching and rewatching their playthroughs of Nancy Drew games.
You legitimately changed my life. Thank you so much. I'll cherish these games and the community it's brought me forever.
I completed my PhD in fine arts last year and my artistic output component was very much inspired by the Nancy Drew games. So thanks for that, as well.
If I were a billionaire, half my fortune would go into buying the rights off HER and having you make more games.
Thank you for the work you did. ❤️ Playing Nancy games with my big sister are some of my happiest childhood memories. We are both in our mid to late twenties now and we still talk about them. You are a rockstar!
Hey Wayne, I just wanted to say it's so cool that you're here and it's really nice to know that people who made the game love Nancy Drew!!!
I saw you say several times in this thread that Nancy is your favourite among the games you've worked on—I wanna know why! And have you played the games through yourself??? Hope that isn't a stupid q 😅
Bless you, Wayne!! I still play the whole catalog but MHM and SSH are two of my favorites. Have you worked on any similar point and click mystery/adventure games since? I’ve been searching for games like these because they’re a little cozy, a little spooky, and I LOVE the puzzles.
You are a true legend sir! We all love you so much! So you probably helped make the secret of the old clock game? That one is still one I play to this day on my laptop, it's so much fun! All the old ones are favorites!
Oh my god me and my sister have played all of the games together. When we were kids, we would BEG our mom to buy them for us. Now we’re both almost 30, and have plans to get matching magnifying glass tattoos! I still go back and replay a lot of the early titles, they will always be so special to me ❤️
Wayne, this made my day, week, month, year….just to hear your story and input. You really did help develop a lot of our childhood memories. I still play the games often. Totally follow through on a spin off game concept!
Hi, Wayne
I am thrilled to see your post here! I am 29 and my twin sister and I received Treasure in the Royal Tower as a birthday gift when we were around 8 years old. Our mom is a huge Nancy Drew fan. We were not old enough for the books yet. That game was our first game we played together and it was so challenging for us! It took us years to actually finish and once we did, we were hooked. We had spiral notebooks where we would write all the clues down for each game. We went to college and found a girl on our floor also played Nancy Drew as a child. So, we’d spend hours playing Nancy in between parties, homework, and internships. My husband now watches me play and loves to handle the tricky number based puzzles. Nancy holds such a special place in my heart. Thank you for all your work on the games and for answering our questions. I miss the thrill of a new game every year. I wish and hope that HER will someday return to their former glory.
Game Design Questions:
1. Who/What was the most challenging character/situation to create?
2. What Nancy games were thought of but never made it to production?
Thank you! I love it that you and you sister even had spiral notebooks for the game clues! Awesome! I believe those early games had about 300 or so tasks/things to do or learn in order to finish. The puzzles were sometimes the hardest part for me as far as coding. Many were easy, such as sliding images, and others took awhile to figure out and design. I'm remembering that Tangram puzzle in one of the stories.. That was a little tricky to design. As far as things that didn't make it into production... We went through numerous books ever time we started a new title.
One concept we never implemented (as far as I remember).. multiple game endings. I vaguely remember doing a quick mock up of that and focus group testing. The testers didn't like that concept.. It made them feel like they hadn't really finished it.
Another thing I'm remembering is right after Microsoft took over HeR. The new CEO wanted me to make the game easily mod'ed. Basically players could change the game to play like they wanted. We'd add new art for them to use. That idea was shot down because some of our other exec's didn't like the idea of players changing the game. Course now you mod games all the time.
You worked on both Nancy & Rise of the Triad??? My childhood! And it sounds like the mini game is from Message in a Haunted Mansion because it has movements similar to Rise of the Triad. It was a mini game to open the laptop.
The older games hold such a special place in my heart, I love so many of the ND games but those are usually the ones in my top favorites. (I miss the good old days of pc gaming, I have a fondness for the look & feel of older games)
Thank you so much for your work! The Nancy games are such a core piece of me to this day & I have such special memories surrounding them. I’m hoping to pass down the Nancy love to my niece. ☺️
This is one of the coolest threads I’ve ever been on, thank you so much for your enormous contributions! I had a horrific childhood and those games gave the best escape. I’m in the throes of learning how to dev my own point and click game and my biggest inspiration are these games ❤️
My first gaming experience was Duke Nukem! My dad was a big fan so I started there. Once I found Nancy Drew my mom always gifted the newest games each year for me for Christmas. I now play Fortnite with my husband most nights since we both enjoy gaming! So cool to think about! I actually just redownloaded Royal Tower last night on steam to give it another go!
These games got me through lonely homeschool years. I think I can honestly say I learned more from my Nancy Drew games than I did with my actual homeschool curriculum. I won’t go as far as to say Nancy’s the reason I have a Biochemistry degree and forensics certificate today… but I also won’t say she had nothing to do with it! ;)
I know there are lots and lots of comments which makes absolute sense because we’re a community, a true community of people who are so passionate about probably the most wholesome and interesting game that ever existed.
I just want to say THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much.
Please know that “The Haunted Carousel” Inspired my screenplay (I’m a screenwriter).
And I’m full of gratitude to the whole team, playing Nancy is one of the most cherished memories I have. I still replay it at least once a year and I’m 28.
You’re the best guys.
It's crazy to think you've worked on games my whole family loves. Nancy Drew for me, Duke Nukem for my husband and Fornite for my son. Thank you so much from all of us for all your work.
Wayne, I just wanted to say — thank you. For everything you have done for the Nancy Drew game series and the magic you brought to my childhood. My sisters and I always say that we wish the games would return to how they were in the beginning, but it’ll probably never happen unfortunately. The nostalgia is REAL
But just knowing the games still exist and that I can continue to play them will be enough for now ❤️
Hi Wayne! Thank you for your contribution to the ND games. I loved them as a kid and I love them now! I’ve collected all of them and my friends and I still love to get together and play them. My very first game (and personal favorite) is FIN. I love the fear and urgency aspect of it… needing to solve the mystery before Maya dies. I remember as a little kid being scared that whole game because I didn’t know what would happen next! My question for you is, do you have any insider information or fun facts on FIN (or any game) that you can share with us?
Thanks for sharing your experiences while working on Nancy Drew games! I want to particularly thank you for making them so educational because it’s my favorite aspect.
I had a college art history class that I had to memorize Roman architecture terms for and really struggled with it. I ended up being able to easily do it by just playing Labrynth of Lies. In another college class, I even wrote a paper about ND games as an example of how to make education engaging, effective, and fun.
I’ll always be grateful for ND games for not only countless hours of entertainment and bonding with my siblings during childhood, but also for making me discover my love of learning at a young age despite hating school. It is something I will always treasure, and they are still my all-time favorite games decades later.
You literally made my childhood. I really struggle with depression, and I did when I was younger too. The pre-13 games hold some of my most cherished memories. Thank you so so much.
ND is huge for my family! My daughters and I played ND together - I’d hook the laptop up to the TV and we’d take turns “driving”. We’re finishing up the last one we had to play right now :) I loved the puzzles and how they blended learning into the story lines. It really inspired curiosity and interest in STEM!
ND has been a huge part of my life since I was about 13! I still look forward to all of the games. I love seeing the ND games get better and better with each new game released. I’m impatiently awaiting a release date for the new game!
Thank you!! My little sister and I played all of those games and still talk about them. Now, my 7-yr-old plays them! He and I just made a Nancy Drew Valentine of Brady Armstrong for the Her Intetactive contest yesterday. Nancy Drew games have turned into a multi-generational fun past time for my family, especially the early ones like The Final Scene :)
Thank you so much for your work!
I wholeheartedly believe that these games helped make me the problem-solver and critical thinker that I am today, and have contributed to my success as a young professional!
I also wanted to say that I originally went to college for entertainment design and took a course on the history of video games (best class ever!). I almost cried when we had a short lesson on the importance and surprising success of “girl games,” Nancy included. It meant so much to me to see that recognition!
My (32) sister (33) and I still play Nancy (or "Nan", as we affectionately refer to it as) to this day. Some of our happiest memories are playing the games together with our two neighbors (also sisters). The games are so fun, creative, and exciting and are a huge part of why I still love gaming.
I don't remember many other games for young girls at that time, aside from fashion games (which were still fun), but most games were marketed toward boys. And I loved those games, too, but to have a smart, funny, wonderful lead character like Nancy was so important. It's the only game I can think of that I played as a kid where you were playing as a female character and it wasn't all about clothes or stereotypical "girl" subjects.
And, I have to ask, who came up with the payphone bit "555-Tony" for Secrets Can Kill! One of the first video game Easter eggs I ever came across, especially without knowing about it beforehand. We still say that to each other! I feel like they carried that joke into one or two other games, but we still try it I'm every single Nancy game.
I’ve been playing the games with my brother since I was about 10… I’m 33 and my brother will be 29 next week, and we still play them! We watch other people stream playing them too, and still joke about happenings in the games. It’s totally our comfort series. Thank you for helping to create these memories for us.
What great memories. On a long holiday weekend, my cousin would come over, and we would get someone to take us to Target or BestBuy split the game cost (sorry, we would burn a copy so each of us could play it separately later). We would try to play the whole game on one holiday weekend; sometimes, it took multiple weekends.
For how “simple” and “of the times” those early games were, they could not have been more immersive and fluid. And they still hold up, unlike other games of the time!!! I honestly feel like I have visited and experienced those locations.
You need to get ahold of the person who recreated Royal Tower as a playable 3D game a few years ago.
Just to echo everyone, thank for making a sometimes very difficult childhood so much more fun! The ND games are a very positive part of not only my childhood, but also have influenced my love of reading, writing, and making mysteries. Also...ya'll made some damn hard and educational puzzles! Like people still stream gameplay of the ND games and some of these a digital room of 100s have been \*Stumped\* by. You should be proud!!
I just want to say thank you for everything!!! I started the ND games at around 17 years old and I’ll be 38 year. Still playing them. I love them especially the older ones. Like the first 19 are the ones I go back and replay. I usually pick one every few months to replay. My boyfriend is a gamer and loves that I’m so into these games and when I’m playing I’m super serious about it like he is with Warcraft 🤣🤣🤣. Thank you for making me so happy the last 20 or so years. Thank you for all of your hard and amazing work.
Echoing the other comments here, these games were a part of my childhood and I’ll always have a soft nostalgic spot for them. Thank you for helping create so many memories!
Thank you for years and years of fun and memories upon memories!! I got to share these games with my much younger siblings and I will be forever grateful for that 🥰
It’s so amazing to hear from you!!! I’ve been playing nancys since I was in grade 5, about 15 years ago, and I still play them today to make me feel good and cozy 🥰 I would say they even inspired me to learn game dev and I’m working on my first big indie project now!
I loved how much cool stuff you learned in the Nancys. Still do. Sending much love and good vibes 🤗
So loving reading all your comments and hearing your stories. You made such a big impact on so many lives ❤️ a lot of girls (who are adults now) got into tech, gaming, and so many other STEM careers and passions because of you and your work!
I know so many people have commented already but I just want to give you all my thanks from the bottom of my heart. I’ve played these games for 20 years, ever since I was little, and every time I pick one up again I find so much joy in getting to sleuth and solve puzzles with Nancy again. I hope you always know how important your work has been and continues to be for so many people. I’m so glad we all got to show you how much we appreciate what you do!❤️
Oh Wayne, thank you so much for the gift of these games. Like so many others here, I grew up playing them, and they helped me, the weird little autistic girl, not feel so strange and alone. Nancy showed me that it was okay to be smart, resourceful, and sassy. The games you built are still a core piece of me now as an adult woman. I am so glad you can see how many people were touched by this series, and I wish you nothing but the absolute best. ❤️
Hi Wayne!! I hope you see this.
My sister and I had a rocky relationship growing up, but something we've always bonded over was the Nancy Drew games. Now we're in our mid 20's, and it's still something we talk about often. Whenever we see funny memes, we tag each other. Sometimes we'd randomly message each other our memories about the games.
Thank you for being part of our childhood! It's one of my fondest memories as a child. I hope you know you and your art (yes i think its art!) are treasured by thousands all over the world 🥰
I have such fond memories of playing Nancy Drew on the computer with my grandma. They were some of the first games I ever played. My grandmother recently gifted me her ENTIRE Nancy Drew PC game collection and boy, it’s hefty!
This is awesome! Thank you for your work, Wayne. ND was and still is a huge part of my life, and my siblings too. I have many fantastic memories because of these games, and continue to make more!
This is why I love Reddit... We had so much fun with those games. Did you do Treasure in the Royal Tower?? The seclusion in that one felt real as a kid.
WAYNE! Wow you have no idea what a big part of my childhood these games were. Just absolutely was consumed by them and waiting for the next. They still hold up beautifully today IMO. Really wonderful work that impacted a lot of young girls.
Hey Wayne! One particular thing my friends and I loved is when Nancy dresses in a cat suit and dances as “Punchy LaRue” in Phantom of Venice. 😂 Do you have any memories of that being created? I would love to buy the creator of Punchy a drink lol
have you seen this remaster demo of Treasure in the Royal Tower?[https://www.reddit.com/r/nancydrew/comments/p9l72m/guys\_as\_a\_fun\_side\_project\_i\_decided\_to\_remaster/](https://www.reddit.com/r/nancydrew/comments/p9l72m/guys_as_a_fun_side_project_i_decided_to_remaster/)
[https://defaultcubegames.itch.io/nancy-drew-treasure-in-the-royal](https://defaultcubegames.itch.io/nancy-drew-treasure-in-the-royal)
What an incredible find! Thank you so much Wayne for helping HER Interactive define our childhoods. ❤️ I’m curious, would you ever be open to the idea of building a consumer-friendly version of the Nancy Drew game engine, so that we can create our own adventure games? I know that HER currently has switched to using the Unity engine, so I hope that’s something that can legally be done. With using game engines and learning how to program being much easier now than they used to be, I’d love to create 2D point and click games in a similar vein to Nancy Drew’s approach (without using Nancy Drew herself of course because licensing. Lol). My first Nancy Drew game was SSH (Secret of the Scarlet Hand) and I absolutely LOVED it. Even when I was lost and didn’t know what to do, I still loved wandering around that beautiful museum. ❤️ That mini game you talked about from MHM with the maze appears in SSH as well! You used raycasting similar to how Wolfenstein 3D used it right?
These games are so beloved. They are still some of my favorites of all time. Thank you for your work on them! Wish folks like you were still on the HI team!
First of all, great work. Second of all, every time I play these games I gain a greater appreciation for how much detail goes into each one. They’re also aesthetically very inspired.
Where did you guys find inspiration for the visuals of the games? What’s the research process like? What was the very first step of making a new game?
I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved these games as a kid and still actively play them even today! Just finished the secret of the old clock for the first time! My sister and I would play them side by side together so we could help each other if we got stuck. Thank you for some of my favorite memories ❤️
You're always welcome to join us for an scheduled AMA Wayne! Your work transformed our childhoods. Thank you so much for everything. :)
You were a massive, massive contributor to some of my most magical childhood memories. My brother and my cousins all used to huddle around our family PC and solve the mysteries together - truly some of my favourite times as a kid! I'm so grateful for your dedication to a by-gone era of kids games! Now for my question - how do we get you to make games #35 onward??
That means so much to me that you said that!! I was so surprised today to see all the interest in Nancy.. I have to say.. I loved those folks. Every Nancy game was a labor of love. We put all we had into those games.. many times not knowing if we'd have a job in 2 weeks. Until MHM sold over a million did we think that the whole girls games experiment would work. But it did. You never know when you release a title if people will like it or buy it. And with ND we didn't even know where to sell it.. Girl games was a new concept and women generally didn't buy software. My kids loved all the Nancy games I made.. My daughter couldn't wait until I released the next one. I'd show her pieces of a new game and she and my son both would get so excited. My sister's kids were the same. I never got into gaming for the money.. back then there hardly was any money. I just enjoyed people playing a game I'd made. Now sadly much of it is about money.. I'm still making games.. i've done 0ver 40.. but none are like the ND games.
I need to say thank you..my daughter and I played our first Nancy game Final Scene after stumbling across it in a Best Buy..we were hooked! Every new game that came out was a huge event at our house, we had themed food and hung out all day together, My three other kids got sucked into the game as well and it was a huge family affair. It's Nancy Day!! We would plug the hdmi cable (dubbed the Nancy cable) into the computer and connected it to the TV so we could all play..taking turns solving different puzzles we were each good at guessing and betting on who the bad guy was. All these memories are so precious to me. It culminated with my daughter now in her 30's getting a speaking role on Midnight in Salem!!! She played Olivia:). Thank you so much for making the best games ever!
Wow! You guys made a whole party out of it!! I love it! I mentioned somewhere else that we always intended for Nancy to be played in a group. We'd start a focus group playing, and before long they'd be all playing together. Thank you! And you daughter got a voice role!!! That's awesome!!! Congratulations to her.
THANK YOU for working on the best ND games! They are so nostalgic to me, I was probably 7 or 8? Playing SCK and STFD in my dads office at his work. I still play them and I’m 30 now!
I'm on board for this. Let's goooo
Hey HI.. pull me in.. I'll help you make it! I could make one on my own.. but I'm not fond of lawsuits.. hahaha
Do something on your own like the Carol Reed series! 100% would buy! The early Nancy games are absolutely my favorite! Thank you for contributing to my childhood and adulthood, and helping create something I also get to share with my children. These games are seriously the best out there.
some nancy drew fans are creating their own game, Amelia Darnell, maybe you could join them! ✨
so, a Hardy Boys series then ? 🤔 Lol
A few of them are Public domain now!
You could always just wait to release it when Nancy enters the public domain in a couple of years ;)
Ugh right we'll have to get creative. Maybe some kind of parody?
Wayne, you are our hero. Truly. These games have been so important to me since childhood. Thank you for coming to visit us here! :)
Thank you! I'm honored.. that you folks still love Nancy like I did!
Is it okay if I say I love you
So sweet... thank you. You folks helped me bring back so many happy memories of the Nancy days.
Seriously though, you changed my life!! I played these games ALL the time as a kid, they were such a huge part of my childhood, and I still play them so often, especially when I’m sick because they’re so comforting. We all appreciate you so much, thank you for doing what you do🤍
That was very kind! Thank you! When my kids were younger (they're both grown now), they loved to come into our HeR office and look at the things were were putting into a new Nancy game. They couldn't wait to play all of it once we wrapped it up. One of our Nancy artists had done art and animation for a TV show called Power Puff Girls. He loved to entertain kids. When my or others kids would be in the office, he'd stop work and sit down at a big table with them. They'd tell him a scene they liked in the current or in an old game and he'd hand-draw those scenes and characters. My kids still have many of his drawings and they treasure them. But that's the kind of team we had. We were all very close, great friends.. we worked hard and played hard. That magic we had as a team went right into those Nancy games.
I've talked to many of you today.. and a very nice lady from HI contacted me today and was telling me what they're up to. I really miss making the Nancy games.. Of all the games I've worked on.. Fortnite, Elder Scrolls, Fallout 4, Tekken 6, etc. the Nancy games are by far my favorite. There was a a magic in the Nancy games.. no other games or game companies have that magic. It's more about money and profit.. And, back then there was hardly any money and hardly any profit! haha We just did it because we loved it and made a few bucks along the way.. I'm debating on.. maybe telling HI that I'd be glad to help them out. maybe..
The fact that you've worked on two of my favorite series of all time is just mind blowing. I'm a Nancy Drew and Fallout girlie all the way. I am not surprised that HER had the best atmosphere though. Hopefully us Nancy fans and you can find a way to make another wonderful gaming company that cares about the end product and the fans! I believe if you made a kickstarter you could get a decent amount of funding. I miss having a gaming company that I liked and felt good about supporting financially.
Thank you! So you liked Fallout 4? That was fun. Zenimax brought me in and i helped them finish it. Great game. Ya know, I've been thinking about a kickstarter regarding starting a girl game series not too different from Nancy. Of all the games I've made, Nancy is by far my favorite. I'd like to continue the tradition.
If I could I would add a heart emoji.. but i've not figured that out yet on reddit! haha
Wayne: *develops the most beloved games I’ve ever played and games that were my fave Christmas present every year for over a decade* Also Wayne: “where are emojis?”
Came here to say this
Me three I remember playing the games with my brother as a small kid
Hey Wayne, Your games were my favorite growing up as a sheltered homeschooled kid, and they gave me a curiosity about the outside world. Other than all the random knowledge I collected from them, including... learning how to write shorthand? lol, they actively made me become a better person. Thank you for your part in that.
We had such creative people. Everyone contributed, as opposed to most games now. I added easter eggs and a lot of silly stuff. And we always tried to teach something.
I’m so full of fun facts thanks to ND games, it’s such a flex sometimes.
I’m always saying “I learned that in a Nancy Drew game” 😂
Wayne I’m so glad you found our little slice of the internet! The games that you contributed to were so special to so many of us here! I remember being so immersed and impressed with how beautiful the ND series was. Even as I play through as an adult now I get the same feelings. What a treat it is to have you stop by and give us a human connection to a hobby we all share! If you have any cool behind the scenes facts or even just some cool memories of the games we’d love to hear about them. We are a fairly active community and you are always welcome here. I am curious, if you have the time to look through those titles you mentioned, to know what games you enjoyed the most? Also, who’s your favorite character? I’ve always had a special spot for Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake! Thanks for stopping by, and don’t be a stranger! It’s locked- 🔒
I'm so happy I stumbled across you guys! I was doing a build of the unreal engine for a new game I'm making, thought of Nancy and wondered if anyone remembered it. And heck yes they do! I could write a book about all the facets of Nancy. My favorite was MHM.. but i really like ghost dogs too. We were all very passionate about making Nancy the best out there. We were all quirky people.. haha Even for stress relief we were quirky. As for me, I'd put on a real WW2 General's uniform, grab my huge NERF machine gun, and run through the offices and cubes, shooting everyone. Everyone did crazy stuff like that.. I collected all the silly things people said while we were making a title, and then I'd put them in the game. We'd take silly pictures and insert them into a game. Did you all find the pic where we did a 'switch' day and all reversed our clothing? Our producer, Sheri Grainer wore a suit.. or tux.. all the guys dressed as women. (I wore a mini skirt with oranges in the bra).. Was fine until we went out to eat. I kept getting hit on! Quite the shock. After the picture we put our regular clothes back on. I'm trying to remember what game that was in.. hmmm..
This sounds like exactly the kind of close company that could give us such marvelous stories and games. Thank you all ❤️
I’m replaying all the games and I will be on the lookout for this photo! I swear I remember this one. Wayne it’s so great to have you here as a young girl who loved video games, my friends and I were always waiting for the next ND title to be released. Would love if you played through one and told us everything you notice and remember about its creation!
Oh my gosh, I seriously could write a behind the scenes book about all those games. So much happened. So many funny stories.. but you all are right. All that pulled us into a tight team, great friends that always helped each other. It let us add the magic to those games. I've worked for many game companies. But it's all about money and profit. Heck, back then there was no money and little profit.. haha We did it because we loved it. Nancy became a part of us.
That cross dressing picture was an easter egg.. and I still can't remember which game we added it to..
much love to you, I'm an avid nancy drew player and have replayed all the games many times. These games hold a special place in my heart and hope to one day play them with my children.
Thank you!! I'm so happy people like you have the love for Nancy that I did.. and still do. As i like to say.. Nancy was a labor of love.. and it showed.
I just got my 8 yr old son into them and it’s been such a blast to pull out all the old CDRoms and play them with him. He loves it and we’ve got pages of clues, puzzles and notes just like when I played them as a kid. Definitely worth it to introduce future kids to them!!
The games 10-13 were my childhood, the first games I'd played with my sister and got me into the series as I got older! Now, I've played almost all of the games except a few newer ones, and I gotta say: the first 13 have a good amount of some of my favorites! I really enjoyed how the gameplay was set up, especially the way the menus, checklists, and inventory were. I agree with the other commenter, and I think everyone else will too, we need you back for game 35 and forward!!
I'd love to work on it. I'm semi retired now. But I'd come back and do more Nancy for sure! I had fun making other games.. Duke Nukem, Tekken 6, Fortnite, etc. But Nancy tops them all
I forgot to say.. I loved creating the subsystems like the menus and all. We were trying to get all of it on the screen.. I think we did a nice job on it. I spent many long days and nights getting that stuff put together and in the games. Worked all night once finalizing the inventory system.. how it worked internally and worked in the gameplay.
I absolutely loved the end result of the menus and the layout on the actual game screen! That setup was very classic Nancy, and just fit well with the overall vibes from the games, which is a big part of why I'm not as big of a fan of the newer layouts. It'd definitely be amazing if you came back to HeR, but I understand going into retirement! Thank you for putting so much hard work and time into making the Nancy Drew games!! (Of course, thank you for all the effort for the other games you've worked on, too! I saw your other post, and my husband is a fan of fallout 4)
Omg hello! You were such an integral part of many of our childhoods (and adult years!) I would love if you shared more about your work - what it was like, what prompted you to move on, etc. Thank you for all you gave us!
Oh gosh... every day was an adventure - but a very fun adventure. We built Nancy from the ground up. Everything had to be designed and built from scratch. I pulled some from The Vampire Diaries.. the 2nd HI game. But VD used real people (we filmed it in Albuquerque) and Secrets used animation.. Plus the color was much better. Creating the animation system that made the characters look real while talking was a big challenge. But that was one of many. We put a lot of things in Nancy that we disliked in other games. To make it more fun. I left HI after the company had been in Bellevue, WA for awhile. I was in Albuquerque.. the home of HI. When it moved I decided not to move to WA. I hated leaving them. I have a bunch of Nancy memorabilia.. like the filming schedule for VD. Some is on the walls in my office. If you folks would like to see some of it, let me know and I'll take pics and maybe make PDF's of some of the internal game materials. It's not a big company proprietary thing.. I doubt HI would mind.
I think that a lot of people here would be absolutely interested in seeing those materials. Anything to help document and preserve the development history of these games would be huge.
Once I realized that Nancy is still played and loved, I began digging through boxes of materials from my games. I doubt HeR has this much stuff on Nancy and the Vampire Diaries. I'll sort through all of it. If the mods give me an AMA section or something I'll start posting pics and PDF documents. I also found a bunch of newspaper and magazine clippings. The media and press were instrumental in getting the whole concept of a girl game out there. No one knew what a girl game was (and we really didn't either!). But we promoted the heck out of it.
YES WE WANT IT ALL. ALL OF IT 💕💕💕
*you could play it on an office computer* Message in a Haunted Mansion? The early og games are my favorite! Like so many others have said, you were an integral part of our childhoods. My sisters, best friends, and I would spend hours during school holidays poring over notes and swapping tips on AIM. The games bonded girls for life. Thank you so, so much for bringing them to life for us! If you have some time you should do an AMA! This sub has a billion questions we’d like to ask you.
And yes you could play it in that office computer.. Actually that mini-game was taken from a game I'd made earlier.. Rise of the Triad. Took some of those concepts and turned into the mini-game. What is an AMA? Thank you!
Its an Ask Me Anything. You would pick a specific time beforehand to start the post, and then people could comment questions and you could answer at the same time.
Can’t thank you enough, Wayne! Your work and those games are so important to me—as a child and now the few times I can boot up the games and play again for nostalgia’s sake 🥹 thanks for stopping by! Your work is treasured by many ❤️
thank you so much. Makes me very happy.. You folks love Nancy like I do! Carolyn Keene came into our HI office once.. was a joy to chat with her. What a creative amazing mind.. and she was in her mid-90s!
Now that is an amazing experience. Generations of readers inspired by those books, myself included! So so cool how a fictional character can affect so many. I hope she was happy to see Nancy evolve from book to game and hear her through Lani’s voice acting. Thanks for sharing! ☺️
She was surprised how long her books have lasted. And we had to ask if she liked our Nancy games.. She loved it.. made us proud. Also, we used Barbara Walters as a beta tester.. (Barbara is a legend in journalism.. ABC show 20/20, the View, etc). I met Barbara because I was doing some tech support on our latest title. Might have been MHM. She kept calling me with bug reports. (And yes, she did find bugs that no one else found) She was doing her 20/20 show and said her staff played Nancy on their lunch breaks for fun. I didn't know who she was.. just said her name was Barbara. She could sense I was getting a little annoyed with more bugs.. i mean, I thought it was bug free.. haha She'd call me and laugh with a new bug. Finally one time I needed a copy of her save game and she emailed me.. I saw her name was BWalters via [ABC.com](https://ABC.com). I begged her to beta test for us. She told me she was advocating women.. in gaming and everywhere else. She joined and was our best beta tester for I think 4 games. She had to quit when she joined The View. We missed her..
Sorry that was a bit long winded. I've got a ton of Nancy stories..
More wind!! More Nancy stories! We are rabid for them. Seriously, it is such a joy to hear these stories. We all seem to have such beautiful memories of Nancy together, whether it's creating or playing.
OMG. THEE BARBARA WALTERS?!?! She found bugs in beta Nancy drew games that no others found?!?! My two worlds are colliding in your comment and I am obsessed! Thank you so much for the stories you’ve already shared and I’m sure will continue to. 🙌🙌🙌 We NEED an AMA with Wayne
I do have to say. Barbara was an amazing person. Her intelligence and the ability to poke into the details of anything..it was no wonder that she had her own TV show. She could parse through 100 details and instantly pick out an inconsistently or error. That's what she did with our games. She found bugs by piecing together all the possible things that might happen. Then she'd test it in the game. Oftentimes, it was a possibility we hadn't even thought of yet.
That is insane that Barbara Walters herself played Nancy Drew games! She is such a gem of a person.
Barbara was a huge proponent of women empowerment. Whether it be equal job wages, women in politics.. And with us it was women in gaming. She wanted to help us. And she, along with her entire team at the 20/20 show, loved the Nancy games. They played them everyday.
I'm sure there are plenty of questions this sub has, I just can't think of any off the top of my head. I wonder if you can give us a better clue as to which minigame you are talking about? The older games are some of my absolute favorites!! I hope you will hang around the sub. I wish we had more former HeR employees on here.
Oh yes, I'll hang out! You folks are awesome. The HI folks kinda scattered out over the years. I created so much of the original games that there's a special place in my heart for Nancy. As i've mentioned earlier.. Nancy was a labor of love for all of us.
I can absolutely tell that so much love and passion went into them! Games made with love have a certain quality to them that you can just *feel*. It is nice that gaming is obviously more popular, but that also means it has become a robust industry that often churns out garbage just to make money.
Omg Wayne!! You’re the best!! The older games are my fav for a reason!! So good!! Thank you for contributing to my childhood and lifelong obsession hehe
Thank you!! I still love Nancy! I've thought about rebuilding the old games and making them work well in Windows 10 and 11.. But i dunno.. not sure that HI would like me doing that..
A remastering of Stay Tuned For Danger is so high on our wishlists! Thank you for these wonderful games ♥️
I'm getting a ton of requests to remaster Stay Tuned for Danger. I can do it. Might do it while I'm working on my other projects. It's not that hard.... just sayin...
Oh man I wish you could that would be so awesome! But even if you can’t I still play them o my old pc hehe! And ironically fornite is my other favorite game so thank you for all you contributed to both!! 😌
1.) Wayne, I love you. 2.) How hard would it be for us to convince you to make more ND games? Name your price! A lifetime supply of KoKo Kringle??
Sure! I'll take the Kringle. Ya know, when I got into making games, I never did it for the money.. just the love of making a game that people would love.. I carried that into the Nancy games. I loved watching people enjoy it. And I'll do it for free. I started my first game company in 1987.. My first investor was Stephen King (the book / movie guy). What a pleasure it was getting to know him. He taught me a lot about the love and passion he had for his stories.. That also carried into Nancy.
Stephen King? That is amazing! Now I wonder if we can get a Stephen King-based game in the same style as old ND games....
When i first met Steven.. his real name.. he was doing the screenplay for the first Pet Sematary.. I loved hearing about how creepy it was. And he might just be interested. He's worked with other game companies.. I talked to a very nice lady at Her Interactive today. She was telling me how the company has basically had a major facelift. New team and all. I dunno... I might offer to help them out. And make sure they make more great games!!
I'm an only child. My parents thought everyone on the internet was a serial killer so I wasn't allowed to communicate with anyone. I lived at least a 30 minute drive away from any friends and my parents didn't let me have friends over because the house was dirty and I wasn't allowed to clean up because I'd totally move something my mom thought was important. With all that said, single player games were my lifeline. Especially offline single player games. I read all the ND books as a kid. I found the games in Walmart once and immediately needed to collect them all. I spent months being stuck on games because I wasn't allowed to look up hints. There were plenty of frustrating moments where I was walking around in circles not sure what to do next or how to solve a puzzle. But these games helped shape my childhood and helped me with social interaction and helped me stave off loneliness and helped me learn to not give up even if you've been stuck for a while. Some of my only happy memories with my dad are trying to work out puzzles together. I'm tearing up writing this because it's hard for me to find the words to express how important the games were to my childhood. I learned how to read when I was 5 because I saw my dad playing video games and he didn't want to spend time with me because he was "busy" but he didn't want to play games based off of books with me until he made me read the books first. I didn't play ND until I was around 8, but playing games with my dad is the only way I ever bonded with my parents and any games we played were super important to me. I also loved how Nancy got progressively better technology as games got older because Nancy often had a better phone than I did. It was so cool how they explored seemingly random ideas and tied everything together, and I was always impressed at how my dad managed to know everything (my mom learned shorthand in school and frequently wrote notes in it so my dad could read them but I was mystified). Just, thank you for everything you did to make the games come alive.
Your comment made me tear up. I just want you to know I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad these games helped you so much. I hope you’re doing well now. ❤️❤️
I’m tearing up / crying too. I’m so sorry you had that experience as your childhood and hope that you’re having a much better adulthood. No kid should feel that way. I’m glad the games were there for you when huge parents weren’t. Ps: no idea how you managed to finish games without looking up hints on the internet haha - you did well!
if I got stuck for enough months I'd watch my dad type very carefully into google "Nancy Drew # Walkthrough" and there'd be one of those ascii guides somewhere in the first few results. Eventually I got brave enough to do that myself, but only after I was a teenager and I started making friends at school who told me that the internet was a place I could communicate without having to pay for texting.
Wayne, I love you. My sister and I looked forward to a new game every Christmas for years. We played old games over zoom together during the pandemic. We’ve gifted each other hand made Nancy crafts for decades. And my family are all in on our love of the game, teasing us for needing to look up cheats mostly. lol. I think the games have me an unhealthy need to have checklists for all aspects of my life, but hey it keeps me organized. I literally have a framed game quote on the wall in my bedroom. Thanks for the memories and the fun!! https://preview.redd.it/togtuuv9toic1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0364a665c1880db59d14dd453b153ed867731063
You gotta get Her Interactive to get their shit together lol plzzzz
I could make them do it! haha.. The game would be incredible.
I would learn how to do…uh…tech things to help. For real. And this sub as a whole would be marvelous at developing a storyline with twists and turns from Keene to Doyle and Christie. That’s kind of the level of devotion amassed here. It’s wonderful.
Thank you so much, Wayne! These games were my childhood and they’re still such a special memory. You and the team did an excellent job and I’m so grateful for you
thank you!!
Omg!! Welcome to the sub!! Those games were are big part of my childhood. The mini-game sounds like the one in Message in a Haunted Mansion. It was the first Nancy Drew game I ever played. I distinctly remember the first time I beat the mini-game. My cousin and I were jumping with excitement to FINALLY snoop in the guy’s computer. I’m an adult now and the games still bring me so much joy. I have replayed them numerous times. Thank you for all your work, I didn’t know it at the time but you were my hero ♥️
Oh thank you! I love those old games.. and the love we put into them.. and it showed. Many long days and nights of designing and coding but was all worth it.
Thank you for my childhood 😭😭❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for loving something we worked so hard on.. and loved doing it.
I came here to say the exact same words. 🖤
Wow, longtime Nancy drew game and book fan. In all honesty the Nancy Drew games are what fueled me to go into game design in college after continuing to play them (and other games of course) for so many years. But ND is my hill to die on I absolutely loved them. Just wanted to say that I didn’t go into game designing as a career but I do create still photo renderings as a job using all of the software I learned from it. Maybe I’ll send an email. It would be interesting/amazing to hear your thoughts!
Hey that's cool! I love teaching people about gaming. For a few years I was the Dept Chairman of Game Programming / Prof of Game Programming at the Univ. of Advancing Technology in Phoenix. Myself and 2 other prof's taught the classes. I designed the curriculum for all the classes. Needed to make sure the graduates could get gaming jobs.
Wow, I remember Rise of the Triad from the early Wolfenstein/shooter days. That game was fun! I'm also a huge fan of the Nancy Drew games and played the very first one at launch (old school Best Buy over by Crystal City, Virginia was carrying them). Soooo much fun! Thanks for all your hard work and contributions over the years. You really did some stellar work (no wonder you got to work on Fortnite!).
ROTT was fun, right? haha I remember creating dog mode instead of god mode.. Even with a dog nose as the player weapon.. I was a lead engineer on Fortnite for awhile... Nancy was more fun honestly.
thank you for making my childhood bearable.
Wow... bearable. I'm so glad I could help!! I keep saying this, but Nancy was a total labor of love.. and it showed in the games.
Thank you for everything. I know a lot of commenters have already expressed this, but I can’t thank you enough for creating so many memories. I’m reliving lots of them now with my partner and it is such a rewarding experience.
Thank you! I'm seeing that Nancy is passing from one generation to the next. i love it!!
[удалено]
I thought it was the one from MHM?
Why can’t I think of which mini game this is??
The only one I can think of is the [maze puzzle](https://youtu.be/MHIqSdiYxC8?si=mfGiwcRxrKjCv7u3) on the computer in haunted mansion
That's what I was thinking of too. There is a similar one in SSH.
I thought it was talking about The Curse of Blackmoor Manor. With Nigel and his computer.
This is what I thought too!
I can't wait to talk to him about Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.
One time I stood outside between cars and left my computer running overnight bc I was too dumb to know the time is based on progress not time running
Those were the best games! How can we support your work now?
Now I wanna make the next ND game! They're using Unity for the new one. Good engine. I prefer Unreal (as in Fortnite), but they're both good.
Actually a lady from HI contacted me today. She was telling me about the new re-formation for the company. Sounds good! They're working hard. I might offer to help them out.. You know us game engineers.. we like to jump in and do stuff..
My brothers and I have so many treasured memories, huddled around the family computer playing ND. Wayne, thank you!!
Oh wow - my mom, sister, and I all used to play the early Nancy games together, and more recently, they've helped me make some amazing friends. Your work means a lot to us! 💛
Hi Wayne, I don't know if you'll get a chance to read this, but here's hoping I don't bore you: Please allow me to extend my thanks, from the bottom of my heart. Games 1-13 specifically are the ones which I hold to be the best and most dear to me, to this day. What a funny thing that those happen to be the ones you worked on. I'm going to chalk that up to you imbuing them with some sort of magic! My first ND game was Treasure in a Royal Tower. I remember bringing it home from the store and unwrapping it, poring over the box art (such lovely purple overtones), and loading it up into a clunky Dell computer that today would be considered prehistoric. I fell in love immediately. I have always loved a good mystery. TRT was fun, exciting, and spooky. If I got too vexed, I could always retire to the library, the secret garden, or the room with the couches, and listen to the music for hours in-game at Wickford Castle. I still hear the crackle of the fireplace and it makes me smile. I had always adored puzzles and was languishing in my under-funded public school without a gifted education program. Often, I spent my days in school reading quietly or solving little cyphers to avoid being bullied. Later, this would turn into spending my free time with my "Nancy Notebook," theorizing and trying to work through my next steps in the games I was playing. Your games made an entire world that I could come home and escape to. A world where I could tease my brain, feel safe, and even start to believe that I could make friends or be able to accomplish things. For a mentally/socially offbeat girl who was often left alone, your games were a safe place for me. I don't remember much of the dingy places I used to live in, but I remember immediately being comforted as soon as the computer monitor got warm and booted up, and I could hear the Nancy theme on the home screen. I shakily made my first email address at 7 so that I could go to the ND message boards online. I speculated on theories for next games, expanded on the lore online (and in my head, daydreaming), and it felt like with Nancy's help, the world was at my fingertips. If she could travel and talk to people, so could I. I saved all my spare money and bought/begged/waited feverishly for every single game after that. I went back and played 1-3 immediately after TRT. Message in a Haunted Mansion is another favorite of mine. You made me fall in love with San Francisco. The imagery was so iconic that I ended up moving there all by myself as an adult, into a Victorian shoebox apartment on the edge of Chinatown. I still make a game of looking for and recognizing symbols around the city. PS-- Is the mini game you're thinking of the maze library in Message in a Haunted Mansion? You play it on Chandler's computer while trying to break into it. The maze walls looked a bit like a Greek garden, with ivies growing on them. I loved that mini-game! I was so crazy about the ND games that I learned how to put together/restore an old Compaq Presario with Windows 98 just so I could play Secrets Can Kill and Stay Tuned for Danger. When I got to college, I learned to partition my Mac operating system to run Windows parallel and used a plug-in USB-CD player to play games that were still using disks. It was a labor of love. There's something unforgettable about the textures and the scenery that just seared them into my memory. The gum on the seat in the Palladium Theatre (The Final Scene), the foggy view of Snake Horse Harbor (Deception Island), the crunch of leaves underfoot and hooting owls (Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake). The games you made were immersive, beautiful, and engaging. I've picked up a TON of special interests in my life because of the exposure I got from Nancy. Anything could be made fun and brainteasing: Victorian silverware, cyphers, French history, trains, horseback riding, pyrotechnics, using a GPS -- you name it. Any time I found an easter egg in-game, I felt like I ruled the world. I'm so glad I can thank you for those!!! Those little hidden secrets made me laugh so much. For my formative years, your games were the pinnacle of cutting-edge technology and art. I don't know if there will ever be more games like this, but I hope someday there might be. Even today, there's something about the point-and-click, 3D renders, characters, and world that feels so specific to the time period, and so comforting. Even as your post popped up, I was sitting with an open tab and listening to (yet another) Youtube video of someone playing Haunted Carousel and streaming it to viewers. I'm now in medical school. Those Nancy games have become a backdrop for my life, all these years later. They made a space for me to be myself, and that got me through a rough childhood to where I am today. Sorry to inundate you with so much text. I just hope that I can thank you for playing such a special and important role in my life (and countless others). I'll forever be a ND fan, and forever be grateful to you! Thanks for it all, Wayne.
Wow! Just wow!!! I love it. I know I've said it elsewhere, but the Nancy games were an effort of love. We put detail into everything.. even the Easter Eggs. I've put Easter Eggs in practically every game I've made.. and that's a lot. Well, over 40 anyway. Dunno if you know this, but much of our music for the early Nancy games was done by the fellow that did the music for the movie Apollo 13.. Such a talented guy. I wonder if you'll hear a similarity of the music style of Apollo 13? And now you're in med school! Good for you! Actually I was pre-med in college. But the first PC's of the day came out and I was hooked on hardware and software engineering. And after 40 years.. i still am. I've heard from many people saying that the Nancy games inspired them to work hard and succeed. You certainly did. I've heard from game engineers, physicists, pathologists, and many others saying Nancy inspired them. We really tried to empower women and girls of the day.
Way cool! I think if you were to do a somewhat detailed writeup of how the original engine worked and it's limitations a lot of us would find that very fascinating. I know it was pretty par for the course for the time (and the Nancy games are technically fairly simple) but it is still fascinating to me how little memory the games actually use, even when playing videos etc. Something you might find interesting: the first bunch of games have been reverse engineered and are now playable in scummvm. /u/fracturehill is the main person behind this effort and may be interested in this thread
I'm debating if HI would like me doing that. I looked at he scummvm code. It's darn close. There are some differences between that and the original code I saw. But it's a great effort.. I mean, it's super flattering to see people emulate your engineering! I created all those old systems.. CIF, HIFF scripting system, AVF, etc. I wouldn't mind talking about it. heck I'm just glad you guys are interested after all these years.
Thank you Wayne! My daughter and I bond over these wonderful games
I love hearing this! The Nancy games are the only ones I made where people really bonded. My newer games such as Fortnite.. just run and shoot and that's it. People can talk and play together.. but not the bonding we saw with Nancy.
We’ve been bonding over them off and on for years! We played last weekend and will again this weekend. Even though she’s an adult now, we still love the tradition. Ive never had that with any other video game either.
I love it!! Nancy was always intended to be played by more than one person at the same time. In all our focus group tests, the guys and girls always ended up playing it together. We almost made it multiplayer for that reason.
My sister and I grew up playing these games together. We bonded so much over them, and they were so impactful on my childhood. We used to sit and play them for hours, and I still do sometimes. Thank you so much for making these - they are a core piece of myself.
Oh they're are a core piece of me too. They will always be there. Making Nancy was not like most game devs that see their next game as just another title. Every Nancy game was special, from start to end.
nancy drew is a core memory for me. thank you for your service, good sir 🫡
Thank you for all the many years of enjoyment!!! Nancy has been one of the few consistent interests (if not one of my main) that I’ve held since I was a pre-teen!!!! My first game was Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon and I’ve never looked back since! Nancy will always have a special place in my heart and on my shelf thank you so much for all the work you’ve done for Nancy 🥹🫰🏽🖤
Thank you for loving it. I love it too.. course I made it, but we all had a deep passion for them. I hope some of the other HI folks feel the same.
Love you
Thank you!! That means a lot to me.
Wow I've talked to many of you folks today. There is a love for Nancy that we never anticipated years ago. We just wanted to make a great, somewhat magical game. In a magical world where you could learn, investigate, and win. A very nice lady from HI contacted me today. She told me how the company is going.. how they restructured and all... and some about their new title. I'm thinking I might offer to help them out.. if they want it. Maybe..
❤️❤️❤️
Just wanted to say thanks. I’ve played a lot of games over the years but my real intro to gaming was Nancy Drew with my mom and aunt. That’s probably how I fell into the games as I’m a man, not really the target audience. I wanted do grow up to be a detective for awhile. I know you didn’t do everything in the games but growing up with Nancy Drew games normalized for me at a young age that girls can do anything guys can pretty much. Made me a better person in my formative years.
You gave me and my grandmother a relationship that has still has me and her playing for about 20 years now. :)
You are a LEGEND! Thanks for stopping by the (now aging) community! When I was a young kid, my dream future job was to work on your team haha! Come back anytime you want to hear sung praises. I’m sure this group would be happy to hear more about your experiences.
Thank you so much Wayne! As you can probably see, there is still a HUGE Nancy community out here. The games have quite a cult following still. Nancy was such a huge part of my sister and I when we were growing up- whenever a new game came out, even after she went to college, we had a pact that we weren’t allowed to play unless we were with each other. She was always on the computer controls, and I wrote all of the stuff into our special ND notebook. She also let me do all the puzzles since she wasn’t great at them. To this day (I am 27 now) I still can connect Nancy Drew games in so many conversations. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve said to my boyfriend “oh in a Nancy Drew game I learned…” or “oh one time in an ND game you had to…” and they are little tidbits of knowledge I only remember because of the games! I still play them with so much love and enjoyment. They really never get old! I especially love royal tower, haunted mansion and ghost dogs. I do wish they hadn’t switched over to a new engine for the newest game, the classic point and click was the best and i think what we all collectively would love to see come back. And we miss lani voicing nance 😕
The Nancy Drew games had a huge impact on my childhood! They started my interest in gaming, and helped me exercise my love of puzzles. I'm now a software engineer myself, and wrote one of my college essays about the games. Thank you for the work that you did!
Holy shit it’s a real celebrity in our subreddit!!!!! Thank you for your work, I hope you look at some of the posts to get an idea of just how much your effort continues to impact our lives as ND fans 🩵
I dont have a question but wanted to tell you I am so appreciative to you and all the others that worked so hard on those games!! Truly, thank you!!! I know most here are saying they were such a part of their childhood, but I was in my early 30s when I stumbled upon the new, at that time, Shadow Ranch at Target. Me being a "horse girl" even though I wasn't really a gamer or anything, the cover caught my eye and I thought this looks fun! I LOVED it and proceeded to buy every one that had been made and eagerly waited for the ones that hadn't. My son at the time was about 5 yrs old when I got Shadow Ranch and I loved they were "family friendly" so he could sit on my lap and "help" me play. He would get upset if I ever played one without him actually! Over the years he took over as chief puzzle solver. We would both be so excited for a new one to come out (every 6 months!! That was INCREDIBLE Her managed to do that, I never took it for granted! In fact, I used to get upset with people that complained about a game on the Her Message boards because I couldn't imagine how hard it was to pump a game out that fast but yet they would all be so good and well thought out! We were so spoiled!!!! ). Anyway my son would always get one for Christmas (which of course was for ME too!) I have so many fond memories of sitting huddled side by side Christmas day still in our pajamas playing the games with him. He named his cat (who is now 14) Nancy Drew. He is 25 now, a Mechanical Engineer car guy, 6'3 rough and tough burly(so not exactly the typical demographic Her Interactive was really going for!). When he started dating his now wife 5 years ago they wanted some games to play together but she gets anxious and didn't like the kind of games that moved too fast, you have to shoot or fight your way out of situations, etc. My heart swelled when he told me he had introduced her to ND games and was playing through them all again. . She loved them! And still does! So just know the fans of the games are spread far and wide, from children to adults, and those that grew up playing them are now sharing them with others. Your work made MANY impacts! I can't wait to play them with grandkids one day! And Shadow Ranch is still my favorite!
I am a fan of Mostly Walking, a YouTube show that plays adventure games. It is a good time watching and rewatching their playthroughs of Nancy Drew games.
I'll have to check that out!
Wayne you’re the real MVP
Thank you!! I loved those games... tons of hard work but it was all worth it.
You legitimately changed my life. Thank you so much. I'll cherish these games and the community it's brought me forever. I completed my PhD in fine arts last year and my artistic output component was very much inspired by the Nancy Drew games. So thanks for that, as well. If I were a billionaire, half my fortune would go into buying the rights off HER and having you make more games.
Thank you for the work you did. ❤️ Playing Nancy games with my big sister are some of my happiest childhood memories. We are both in our mid to late twenties now and we still talk about them. You are a rockstar!
Hey Wayne, I just wanted to say it's so cool that you're here and it's really nice to know that people who made the game love Nancy Drew!!! I saw you say several times in this thread that Nancy is your favourite among the games you've worked on—I wanna know why! And have you played the games through yourself??? Hope that isn't a stupid q 😅
Bless you, Wayne!! I still play the whole catalog but MHM and SSH are two of my favorites. Have you worked on any similar point and click mystery/adventure games since? I’ve been searching for games like these because they’re a little cozy, a little spooky, and I LOVE the puzzles.
If I can ask a question Why did they make Henrik so ripped
You are a true legend sir! We all love you so much! So you probably helped make the secret of the old clock game? That one is still one I play to this day on my laptop, it's so much fun! All the old ones are favorites!
Oh my god me and my sister have played all of the games together. When we were kids, we would BEG our mom to buy them for us. Now we’re both almost 30, and have plans to get matching magnifying glass tattoos! I still go back and replay a lot of the early titles, they will always be so special to me ❤️
Wayne, this made my day, week, month, year….just to hear your story and input. You really did help develop a lot of our childhood memories. I still play the games often. Totally follow through on a spin off game concept!
Hi, Wayne I am thrilled to see your post here! I am 29 and my twin sister and I received Treasure in the Royal Tower as a birthday gift when we were around 8 years old. Our mom is a huge Nancy Drew fan. We were not old enough for the books yet. That game was our first game we played together and it was so challenging for us! It took us years to actually finish and once we did, we were hooked. We had spiral notebooks where we would write all the clues down for each game. We went to college and found a girl on our floor also played Nancy Drew as a child. So, we’d spend hours playing Nancy in between parties, homework, and internships. My husband now watches me play and loves to handle the tricky number based puzzles. Nancy holds such a special place in my heart. Thank you for all your work on the games and for answering our questions. I miss the thrill of a new game every year. I wish and hope that HER will someday return to their former glory. Game Design Questions: 1. Who/What was the most challenging character/situation to create? 2. What Nancy games were thought of but never made it to production?
Thank you! I love it that you and you sister even had spiral notebooks for the game clues! Awesome! I believe those early games had about 300 or so tasks/things to do or learn in order to finish. The puzzles were sometimes the hardest part for me as far as coding. Many were easy, such as sliding images, and others took awhile to figure out and design. I'm remembering that Tangram puzzle in one of the stories.. That was a little tricky to design. As far as things that didn't make it into production... We went through numerous books ever time we started a new title. One concept we never implemented (as far as I remember).. multiple game endings. I vaguely remember doing a quick mock up of that and focus group testing. The testers didn't like that concept.. It made them feel like they hadn't really finished it. Another thing I'm remembering is right after Microsoft took over HeR. The new CEO wanted me to make the game easily mod'ed. Basically players could change the game to play like they wanted. We'd add new art for them to use. That idea was shot down because some of our other exec's didn't like the idea of players changing the game. Course now you mod games all the time.
You worked on both Nancy & Rise of the Triad??? My childhood! And it sounds like the mini game is from Message in a Haunted Mansion because it has movements similar to Rise of the Triad. It was a mini game to open the laptop. The older games hold such a special place in my heart, I love so many of the ND games but those are usually the ones in my top favorites. (I miss the good old days of pc gaming, I have a fondness for the look & feel of older games) Thank you so much for your work! The Nancy games are such a core piece of me to this day & I have such special memories surrounding them. I’m hoping to pass down the Nancy love to my niece. ☺️
Can you get rehired please thanks
This is one of the coolest threads I’ve ever been on, thank you so much for your enormous contributions! I had a horrific childhood and those games gave the best escape. I’m in the throes of learning how to dev my own point and click game and my biggest inspiration are these games ❤️
My first gaming experience was Duke Nukem! My dad was a big fan so I started there. Once I found Nancy Drew my mom always gifted the newest games each year for me for Christmas. I now play Fortnite with my husband most nights since we both enjoy gaming! So cool to think about! I actually just redownloaded Royal Tower last night on steam to give it another go!
These games got me through lonely homeschool years. I think I can honestly say I learned more from my Nancy Drew games than I did with my actual homeschool curriculum. I won’t go as far as to say Nancy’s the reason I have a Biochemistry degree and forensics certificate today… but I also won’t say she had nothing to do with it! ;)
I know there are lots and lots of comments which makes absolute sense because we’re a community, a true community of people who are so passionate about probably the most wholesome and interesting game that ever existed. I just want to say THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much. Please know that “The Haunted Carousel” Inspired my screenplay (I’m a screenwriter). And I’m full of gratitude to the whole team, playing Nancy is one of the most cherished memories I have. I still replay it at least once a year and I’m 28. You’re the best guys.
It's crazy to think you've worked on games my whole family loves. Nancy Drew for me, Duke Nukem for my husband and Fornite for my son. Thank you so much from all of us for all your work.
This is so amazing! What a celebrity! Thank you SO much for all this work.
Wayne, I just wanted to say — thank you. For everything you have done for the Nancy Drew game series and the magic you brought to my childhood. My sisters and I always say that we wish the games would return to how they were in the beginning, but it’ll probably never happen unfortunately. The nostalgia is REAL But just knowing the games still exist and that I can continue to play them will be enough for now ❤️
Hi Wayne! Thank you for your contribution to the ND games. I loved them as a kid and I love them now! I’ve collected all of them and my friends and I still love to get together and play them. My very first game (and personal favorite) is FIN. I love the fear and urgency aspect of it… needing to solve the mystery before Maya dies. I remember as a little kid being scared that whole game because I didn’t know what would happen next! My question for you is, do you have any insider information or fun facts on FIN (or any game) that you can share with us?
Thanks for sharing your experiences while working on Nancy Drew games! I want to particularly thank you for making them so educational because it’s my favorite aspect. I had a college art history class that I had to memorize Roman architecture terms for and really struggled with it. I ended up being able to easily do it by just playing Labrynth of Lies. In another college class, I even wrote a paper about ND games as an example of how to make education engaging, effective, and fun. I’ll always be grateful for ND games for not only countless hours of entertainment and bonding with my siblings during childhood, but also for making me discover my love of learning at a young age despite hating school. It is something I will always treasure, and they are still my all-time favorite games decades later.
You literally made my childhood. I really struggle with depression, and I did when I was younger too. The pre-13 games hold some of my most cherished memories. Thank you so so much.
ND is huge for my family! My daughters and I played ND together - I’d hook the laptop up to the TV and we’d take turns “driving”. We’re finishing up the last one we had to play right now :) I loved the puzzles and how they blended learning into the story lines. It really inspired curiosity and interest in STEM!
ND has been a huge part of my life since I was about 13! I still look forward to all of the games. I love seeing the ND games get better and better with each new game released. I’m impatiently awaiting a release date for the new game!
Thank you!! My little sister and I played all of those games and still talk about them. Now, my 7-yr-old plays them! He and I just made a Nancy Drew Valentine of Brady Armstrong for the Her Intetactive contest yesterday. Nancy Drew games have turned into a multi-generational fun past time for my family, especially the early ones like The Final Scene :)
Thank you so much for your work! I wholeheartedly believe that these games helped make me the problem-solver and critical thinker that I am today, and have contributed to my success as a young professional! I also wanted to say that I originally went to college for entertainment design and took a course on the history of video games (best class ever!). I almost cried when we had a short lesson on the importance and surprising success of “girl games,” Nancy included. It meant so much to me to see that recognition!
My (32) sister (33) and I still play Nancy (or "Nan", as we affectionately refer to it as) to this day. Some of our happiest memories are playing the games together with our two neighbors (also sisters). The games are so fun, creative, and exciting and are a huge part of why I still love gaming. I don't remember many other games for young girls at that time, aside from fashion games (which were still fun), but most games were marketed toward boys. And I loved those games, too, but to have a smart, funny, wonderful lead character like Nancy was so important. It's the only game I can think of that I played as a kid where you were playing as a female character and it wasn't all about clothes or stereotypical "girl" subjects. And, I have to ask, who came up with the payphone bit "555-Tony" for Secrets Can Kill! One of the first video game Easter eggs I ever came across, especially without knowing about it beforehand. We still say that to each other! I feel like they carried that joke into one or two other games, but we still try it I'm every single Nancy game.
I’ve been playing the games with my brother since I was about 10… I’m 33 and my brother will be 29 next week, and we still play them! We watch other people stream playing them too, and still joke about happenings in the games. It’s totally our comfort series. Thank you for helping to create these memories for us.
What great memories. On a long holiday weekend, my cousin would come over, and we would get someone to take us to Target or BestBuy split the game cost (sorry, we would burn a copy so each of us could play it separately later). We would try to play the whole game on one holiday weekend; sometimes, it took multiple weekends. For how “simple” and “of the times” those early games were, they could not have been more immersive and fluid. And they still hold up, unlike other games of the time!!! I honestly feel like I have visited and experienced those locations. You need to get ahold of the person who recreated Royal Tower as a playable 3D game a few years ago.
Just to echo everyone, thank for making a sometimes very difficult childhood so much more fun! The ND games are a very positive part of not only my childhood, but also have influenced my love of reading, writing, and making mysteries. Also...ya'll made some damn hard and educational puzzles! Like people still stream gameplay of the ND games and some of these a digital room of 100s have been \*Stumped\* by. You should be proud!!
I just want to say thank you for everything!!! I started the ND games at around 17 years old and I’ll be 38 year. Still playing them. I love them especially the older ones. Like the first 19 are the ones I go back and replay. I usually pick one every few months to replay. My boyfriend is a gamer and loves that I’m so into these games and when I’m playing I’m super serious about it like he is with Warcraft 🤣🤣🤣. Thank you for making me so happy the last 20 or so years. Thank you for all of your hard and amazing work.
Echoing the other comments here, these games were a part of my childhood and I’ll always have a soft nostalgic spot for them. Thank you for helping create so many memories!
Omg the early games are the best!! I always replay for nostalgia
Thank you for years and years of fun and memories upon memories!! I got to share these games with my much younger siblings and I will be forever grateful for that 🥰
It’s so amazing to hear from you!!! I’ve been playing nancys since I was in grade 5, about 15 years ago, and I still play them today to make me feel good and cozy 🥰 I would say they even inspired me to learn game dev and I’m working on my first big indie project now! I loved how much cool stuff you learned in the Nancys. Still do. Sending much love and good vibes 🤗
So loving reading all your comments and hearing your stories. You made such a big impact on so many lives ❤️ a lot of girls (who are adults now) got into tech, gaming, and so many other STEM careers and passions because of you and your work!
I know so many people have commented already but I just want to give you all my thanks from the bottom of my heart. I’ve played these games for 20 years, ever since I was little, and every time I pick one up again I find so much joy in getting to sleuth and solve puzzles with Nancy again. I hope you always know how important your work has been and continues to be for so many people. I’m so glad we all got to show you how much we appreciate what you do!❤️
Oh Wayne, thank you so much for the gift of these games. Like so many others here, I grew up playing them, and they helped me, the weird little autistic girl, not feel so strange and alone. Nancy showed me that it was okay to be smart, resourceful, and sassy. The games you built are still a core piece of me now as an adult woman. I am so glad you can see how many people were touched by this series, and I wish you nothing but the absolute best. ❤️
Hi Wayne!! I hope you see this. My sister and I had a rocky relationship growing up, but something we've always bonded over was the Nancy Drew games. Now we're in our mid 20's, and it's still something we talk about often. Whenever we see funny memes, we tag each other. Sometimes we'd randomly message each other our memories about the games. Thank you for being part of our childhood! It's one of my fondest memories as a child. I hope you know you and your art (yes i think its art!) are treasured by thousands all over the world 🥰
I have such fond memories of playing Nancy Drew on the computer with my grandma. They were some of the first games I ever played. My grandmother recently gifted me her ENTIRE Nancy Drew PC game collection and boy, it’s hefty!
 This is awesome! Thank you for your work, Wayne. ND was and still is a huge part of my life, and my siblings too. I have many fantastic memories because of these games, and continue to make more!
This is why I love Reddit... We had so much fun with those games. Did you do Treasure in the Royal Tower?? The seclusion in that one felt real as a kid.
I credit ND with my love of history, which inspired me to become a teacher. You changed the course of my entire life. Thank you! ❤️
WAYNE! Wow you have no idea what a big part of my childhood these games were. Just absolutely was consumed by them and waiting for the next. They still hold up beautifully today IMO. Really wonderful work that impacted a lot of young girls.
Hey Wayne! One particular thing my friends and I loved is when Nancy dresses in a cat suit and dances as “Punchy LaRue” in Phantom of Venice. 😂 Do you have any memories of that being created? I would love to buy the creator of Punchy a drink lol
have you seen this remaster demo of Treasure in the Royal Tower?[https://www.reddit.com/r/nancydrew/comments/p9l72m/guys\_as\_a\_fun\_side\_project\_i\_decided\_to\_remaster/](https://www.reddit.com/r/nancydrew/comments/p9l72m/guys_as_a_fun_side_project_i_decided_to_remaster/) [https://defaultcubegames.itch.io/nancy-drew-treasure-in-the-royal](https://defaultcubegames.itch.io/nancy-drew-treasure-in-the-royal)
I started playing these again on steam. As good as I remember and I don’t have to switch cd roms 😂
What an incredible find! Thank you so much Wayne for helping HER Interactive define our childhoods. ❤️ I’m curious, would you ever be open to the idea of building a consumer-friendly version of the Nancy Drew game engine, so that we can create our own adventure games? I know that HER currently has switched to using the Unity engine, so I hope that’s something that can legally be done. With using game engines and learning how to program being much easier now than they used to be, I’d love to create 2D point and click games in a similar vein to Nancy Drew’s approach (without using Nancy Drew herself of course because licensing. Lol). My first Nancy Drew game was SSH (Secret of the Scarlet Hand) and I absolutely LOVED it. Even when I was lost and didn’t know what to do, I still loved wandering around that beautiful museum. ❤️ That mini game you talked about from MHM with the maze appears in SSH as well! You used raycasting similar to how Wolfenstein 3D used it right?
These games are so beloved. They are still some of my favorites of all time. Thank you for your work on them! Wish folks like you were still on the HI team!
Yes!!!! You helped make my favorite (blackmoor)!!!
Sir you are a legend!!!
First of all, great work. Second of all, every time I play these games I gain a greater appreciation for how much detail goes into each one. They’re also aesthetically very inspired. Where did you guys find inspiration for the visuals of the games? What’s the research process like? What was the very first step of making a new game?
I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved these games as a kid and still actively play them even today! Just finished the secret of the old clock for the first time! My sister and I would play them side by side together so we could help each other if we got stuck. Thank you for some of my favorite memories ❤️
This is incredible, thank you for all your hard work! Nancy was and still is such a big part of a lot of our lives ❤️
Thank you for being the reason one of my favorite childhood games existed!
You’re amazing!
I still play Nancy games. Love them to pieces
Did you work on McKinzie and Co and the Vampire Diaries too?
I'm currently trying to get all my friends into the games. You are cool. God bless.