Nancy Drew is one of the most beloved role models for young sleuths, especially young girls, so it makes sense that the iconic detective is getting an upgrade.
Her Interactive is adding a new mobile game to its suite of Nancy Drew gaming products. Called “Nancy Drew Codes & Clues,” it will integrate coding and STEM skills into the character’s mystery-solving process.
“Nancy has been a role model for young women for more than 85 years,” Her Interactive CEO Penny Milliken told us via email. “While many of her skills are timeless, we felt weaving in more STEM-related subjects would be a powerful and effective way to empower younger players, especially girls, to take an interest in a skill that is so very relevant to the 21st century.”
In the new game designed for kids ages 5 to 8, Nancy and her colleagues, the “Clue Crew,” are tweens, which Milliken says will appeal to a younger audience.
The game takes place during a tech fair at school and unravels over six story-driven chapters. Nancy still has to solve mysteries, but now she uses coding to help chase the cases with her “Clue Crew.” At the end of every chapter, players will have to program a robot puppy to help them out of a sticky situation. Programming difficulty increases as the game progresses.
“Throughout the game, players are introduced to logical thinking, loops, pattern recognition, sequences, reading skills, algorithmic thinking and problem solving techniques,” Milliken said in the email.
To bring Nancy Drew to mobile, the company has also created a new division called HI Kids to focus on gaming for a younger audience. Milliken says this game is the first of a series.
Bellevue-based Her Interactive has been making Nancy Drew games for PC and Mac for more than 18 years. Last spring, we reported on layoffs at the headquarters, the company citing those to “changing market conditions in the game industry and shifting priorities at Her Interactive.”
“We are extremely excited about the company’s future. And, as you can see with today’s announcement, that includes a new division focused on younger audiences and a new product line,” Milliken said via email about the changes this year. “We remain very focused on continuing to be the undisputed leader in creating high quality, fun and inspiring games for women of all ages regardless of platform.”
The company told GeekWire that it has sold over 9 million Nancy Drew games and apps to date.
“Nancy Drew: Codes & Clues” will launch sometime next spring on both iOS and Android.
