Community
October 2011
Alibi in Ashes: Interview with Kevin and Keller on the Making of the Music
Thu, 2011-10-27 10:26 — HerInteractiveWe interviewed Kevin Manthei and his daughter, Keller, on their collaboration of creating the soundtrack “Tension” for Alibi in Ashes!
Her Interactive: What were your inspirations for creating spooky music?
Keller: Every time I play the piano it just comes out spooky and scary. I like to play in minor keys. I just start playing until something really good comes out.
Kevin: I like to imagine where the piece would play and I focus on the adjectives Her Interactive gives me like: unsure, anxious, edgy. These adjectives really help!
Her Interactive: How did Keller contribute to the making of "Tension"?
Keller: I wrote a little piece on the piano and then my Dad based "Tension" on my piece. I asked my Dad if he could use the song on one of his projects and he said yes and thought the Nancy Drew game would be perfect. In my Dad's studio he sat in front of the computer and I stood on the side and watched how he did everything. The first part of the piece was my music played in pizzicato strings. Then my Dad made lots of variations and added other things to it. I stayed and listened and gave my opinion on the piece as he worked on it.
Her Interactive: What sounds did you use? (Instruments, effects, etc)
Keller: Pizzicato Strings, Piano, Bass Drum, Flute, Strings, Harp
Kevin: We used live violin in this piece - I love working with real musicians!
Her Interactive: What can you imagine is happening when this music plays?
Keller: Someone is getting chased!
Kevin: Knowing how smart the people are at Her Interactive, they will find plenty of great places for this piece in the game. I just think of many tense moments in the game where this can play.
Her Interactive: What thoughts and steps did it take to get the final piece?
Keller: About 500!
Kevin: :) With this piece there was some added effort of working with Keller - getting her idea into the computer and transforming it from a piano song into an orchestral song and then working on the variations of her ideas.
Her Interactive: What is your favorite part of making "Tension"?
Keller: All the different beautiful sounding instruments. I like spending time with my Dad too!
Kevin: Working with Keller and having fun hearing her ideas and thoughts as we worked on it.
Thanks Kevin and Keller for taking the time to talk to us about the music you have created for Alibi in Ashes! The music is suspenseful and adds intensity and urgency to the story and game play, which makes it a lot of fun.
Alibi in Ashes is available to purchase in our shop. Get the game with Kevin and Keller’s music playing in the background as you try to solve the arson case and save Nancy’s reputation.
Alibi in Ashes: Pre-orders Update
Tue, 2011-10-11 15:51 — HerInteractiveAll –
Although we are still working diligently on the issues surrounding the downloading of our newest title, Alibi in Ashes, we believe that we have made some progress and want to encourage you to once again attempt to download your game. Again, this issue is not completely solved and we are still trying to determine exact causes but we do have a reasonable expectation that you will be able to successfully download your game at this time.
Please follow this procedure to help ensure a successful download:
1) Please download the game with the provided link. Once the download is finished, install the game.
2) If you encounter an error, please try to download and install the game a second time with the same link.
3) If after your second attempt, it will still not download, please send an email to techsupport@herinteractive.com
4) In the email, please let us know the following: Your computer’s operating system (MacOSX, Vista, XP, Windows 7) and the browser you are using (Chrome, IE, Firefox, etc…). Also, please tell us about your internet connection (dial-up, Cable, 3g-tethered phone, etc…) and whether you have a wired or wireless connection.
5) We will respond as soon as possible with further details on how to download your game successfully.
Again, thank you for your patience while we address this matter. It's times like this that remind us how lucky we are to have such passionate fans.
Temporary Delay: Alibi in Ashes Download
Mon, 2011-10-10 15:34 — HerInteractiveUnfortunately, we find it necessary at this time to suspend all downloads of Nancy Drew: Alibi in Ashes until we solve the download issues surrounding the game. As soon as this issue is resolved we will notify you immediately. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Thank you in advance for your patience.
--The Her Interactive Team
Nancy Drew Central
Mon, 2011-10-10 11:59 — HerInteractiveDear Fans of Her Interactive,
Beginning with Alibi in Ashes, Nancy Drew Central (NDC) will no longer be added to future games.
This means you won’t be able to start installed games from one location anymore. You’ll need to launch the game from the usual installed program locations: (a) game shortcut icon on your desktop or (b) from “Start menu – All Programs – Nancy Drew – Alibi in Ashes – Play Alibi in Ashes” or (c) from the.exe file in the installed game folder location.
Alibi in Ashes will not uninstall your NDC from your desktop, it just won’t add any new titles to your game directory. Previously installed games in NDC will still be available through NDC. If you delete NDC from your machine, you’ll need to reinstall the most recent game disc you have for titles from The White Wolf of Icicle Creek through The Captive Curse to reinstall NDC, if you still want to use it.
This doesn’t affect the older games which still need a disc to play, and any games you currently have installed can still be launched and played from your computer.
If you have any questions or concerns, email us at techsupport@herinteractive.com.
Thank you for your continuous enthusiasm and support for Her Interactive and Nancy Drew games.
Sincerely,
The Her Interactive Team
