hardyfrank

[hardyfrank]

Distant Dimensions on Instagram posted this video in celebration of 30 years of HerInteractive and Nancy Drew’s 95th Anniversary

The account page:

https://www.instagram.com/distantdimensions?igsh=MXhlOHRtdWVtMG1ldw==

[hardyfrank]

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! You make such good points, and I totally agree with your review of the game.

SEA really was such a great game. I wasn't really a fan of games 26 to 31 (haven't played any of those in many years though so maybe my mind would change on a replay). So when I played SEA for the first time, I was so happy because I think it's a great game (I replayed it not too long ago, and it still holds up), and I was happy thinking that finally the games were starting to get good again (in my opinion). But alas... 😅

I'm so behind lol, but I finally finished playing KEY a few days ago. What's the general Clue Crew consensus on this game?

I thought it was mid (but definitely better than MID! lol). I'm kind of just ambivalent about it. A lot of the triggers and puzzles don't seem intuitive, and the plot was a little convoluted and silly at points. Though granted, I didn't pay as much attention as I usually would to all of the dialogue and readings since I was playing with a friend and chatted a lot with her. Did not really enjoy the 3 plot/culprit twists lol (was way too much) + how dragged out the ending was. Some of the puzzles were fun though, and I think a lot of the character models looked pretty good. I wish the characters were a little more interesting/engaging? Though it's kind of hard to do that when you have as many characters as this one had, which I do commend it for.

I did like Radek though haha.

I feel that the charm of a lot of the classic Nancy Drew games is the atmosphere. KEY does have atmosphere, but it's not as consistent or distinct as a lot of the other games. I actually feel like KEY has atmospheric whiplash sometimes because the more intense scenes seem to come out of nowhere (CUR is a great example of balancing both fright and comedy because both are almost always present while in KEY, a lot of the game is just a very neutral, kind of chill atmosphere, but then there will be suddenly very intense scenes that come out of nowhere). And on that note, I felt that the ending sequence was weirdly campy when the rest of the game was nothing like that at all, so I was just weirded out by the culprit confrontations more than anything lol.

I also wish the phone contacts were better! I miss just being able to call characters and chat and not being restricted only to triggered/required phone convos.

So yeah, to be honest, I didn't find the game actually super fun to play? Because of both how easy it was to get stuck + how complicated the plot was. But it's still definitely an improvement from MID.

[hardyfrank]

Here’s the full Frosty video where he whips it like it’s nothing

[hardyfrank]

Dance party on the train

[hardyfrank]

Mel Corbalis has MAJOR performance anxiety issues. Every time Nancy walks in to her room she stops playing whatever it is she was playing to fiddle with the tuning. Nancy the Observant somehow manages to stand and stare at her while she pretends (and FAILS) to tune her (already in tune) instrument bc she’s so stressed from being watched. Poor girl plays an open C-string (bottom string on the cello) and then fiddles with the A-string (highest string) tuning peg. Girl is making her A-string more and more out of tune bc she’s forgotten how tuning works. Next time she picks up the Bach she’s gonna be playing with an A-string that’s sharper than a double edged sword. Give her a break Nancy she’s panicking

[hardyfrank]

I'm so behind lol, but I finally finished playing KEY a few days ago. What's the general Clue Crew consensus on this game?

I thought it was mid (but definitely better than MID! lol). I'm kind of just ambivalent about it. A lot of the triggers and puzzles don't seem intuitive, and the plot was a little convoluted and silly at points. Though granted, I didn't pay as much attention as I usually would to all of the dialogue and readings since I was playing with a friend and chatted a lot with her. Did not really enjoy the 3 plot/culprit twists lol (was way too much) + how dragged out the ending was. Some of the puzzles were fun though, and I think a lot of the character models looked pretty good. I wish the characters were a little more interesting/engaging? Though it's kind of hard to do that when you have as many characters as this one had, which I do commend it for.

I did like Radek though haha.

I feel that the charm of a lot of the classic Nancy Drew games is the atmosphere. KEY does have atmosphere, but it's not as consistent or distinct as a lot of the other games. I actually feel like KEY has atmospheric whiplash sometimes because the more intense scenes seem to come out of nowhere (CUR is a great example of balancing both fright and comedy because both are almost always present while in KEY, a lot of the game is just a very neutral, kind of chill atmosphere, but then there will be suddenly very intense scenes that come out of nowhere). And on that note, I felt that the ending sequence was weirdly campy when the rest of the game was nothing like that at all, so I was just weirded out by the culprit confrontations more than anything lol.

I also wish the phone contacts were better! I miss just being able to call characters and chat and not being restricted only to triggered/required phone convos.

So yeah, to be honest, I didn't find the game actually super fun to play? Because of both how easy it was to get stuck + how complicated the plot was. But it's still definitely an improvement from MID.

[hardyfrank]

This blog is now dedicated to absolutely roasting Shorty every chance I get.

[hardyfrank]

I find it hard to read this blog because of how small the font is. I don't have vision issues but I find tiny font frustrating to read. I don't mean that to sound rude!

I haven't looked at my blog theme in a long time, so I've just had it that way for a while and hadn't thought about it. I've always liked small font and still do. But on my Disney history blog, I got some notes on one popular post that pointed out that the font was too tiny. It wasn't a problem I had thought about before, but I realize now that a lot of people do struggle with reading small font and that it's something I should be aware/considerate of.

I'm not 100% sure if you're referring to my blog theme or my post captions. I won't go back to all my old posts and change the font for time's sake, but if I ever post anything new, I'll keep the font the normal size. I went ahead and increased the font size on the blog theme, but the theme I'm using only has a max font size of 13px. So it's still kinda small, but it's bigger than before. Hopefully it's easier to read at the very least.

Have a blessed day! 🌻

[hardyfrank]

Film rec for the Clue Crew: The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

A murder mystery screwball comedy where Barbara Stanwyck and her pack of funny socialite girlfriends solve most of the mystery, and she constantly butts heads with the police lieutenant and has an enemies-to-lovers romance with a newspaper reporter played by Henry Fonda. Something about it felt very Nancy Drew-esque to me, maybe the whole "private female citizen investigates a mystery on her own without permission because no one believes her" bit haha. Omg also, her getting anonymous death threats is also so Nancycore.

[hardyfrank]

ladies, if he:

✓ is rock solid

✓ has no barriers

✓ is easy to fall for

he’s not your man. he’s the stairs leading up to the Mayan temple puzzle at the Beech Kill Museum

[hardyfrank]

Some threatening letters in Stay Tuned for Danger

[hardyfrank]

[hardyfrank]

stfd is one of my favorite night wandering games. i love wandering around wwb and using my lil guest pass to pop open locks on the doors! i love bothering everyone in dwayne's building so i can get buzzed in by a grump whose pizza is fifteen minutes late! and at the end of the night, stepping into a cozy brownstone with a roaring fireplace? perfect.

[hardyfrank]

I never noticed this before, but in Stay Tuned For Danger, in the lobby of WWB you can click on these magazines and see the spaces where the letters were cut out for Rick's threat letters.

[hardyfrank]

What did Minette mean by this?

[hardyfrank]

Nancy Drew games from Her Interactive were some of my wife's favorite activities from childhood, so I made her this piece inspired by Treasure in the Royal Tower as a birthday gift.

[hardyfrank]

Nancy memes are my fave 😎