Danger By Design

ND 14 — The cover of the 14th installment of the Nancy Drew series

Danger By Design is the fourteenth installment in the Nancy Drew computer game series, made solely by Her Interactive. It is based on the Carolyn Keene book, Death By Design.

Plot[]

Nancy Drew is an intern undercover in a fashion design studio in Paris. The lead designer, Minette, hasn't quite been herself lately. She hides behind a white mask, often throwing tantrums, hurling heavy objects and irrationally firing several employees in the process. Mysterious threats arrive at the old windmill-turned-studio while older troubles lurk in the underbelly of the City of Lights. Nancy Drew also discovers an old wartime plot orchestrated by a French revolutionary named Noisette Tornade, who was rumored to have stolen valuable pieces of artwork during World War II in order to protect them from being destroyed in the course of battle.

Characters[]

Minette -- A famous couture designer, Minette has been acting strangely, including her impulsive decision to suddenly don a mask. Threatening notes and looming deadlines cause her to throw tantrums and fire employees.

Heather McKay -- Minette's friendly assistant, Heather herself has dreams of making it big in the fashion world. She has a crush on Dieter, but he couldn't care less about her.

Dieter von Schwesterkrank -- As a famed photographer, Dieter once dated Minette, but the relationship didn't work out. Dieter also obsessively searches for his great uncle's lost treasure.

Jing-Jing Ling -- A perfect size 12 with a taste for mint chocolate chip cookies, JJ was tricked into signing an exclusive fitting model contract for Minette.

Jean-Michel Traquenard -- A review writer for "Glam-Glam" Magazine, Jean-Michel's job is to review the fashions of the top designers.

Hugo Butterly -- Hugo is a snobby fashion designer who dreams of having a better fashion line than Minette. You may briefly speak to him over the phone.

Zu -- Zu is an expert on Paris's catacombs, and is an extremely devoted fan of JJ's. He is only a phone character.

Lynn Manrique -- Lynn is a historian who persistently attempts to contact Minette about Noisette Tornade, the previous owner of the moulin where Minette's fashion studio is located. You may only speak to her over the phone.

Prudence Rutherford -- A returning character from Secret of the Scarlet Hand. You may only speak to her on the phone when she calls you about her designs. You must finish Prudence's designs for Heather.

Cast[]

Nancy Drew -- Lani Minella
Jing Jing Ling -- Amy Broomhall
Heather McKay/Monique -- Megan Hill
Minette/Malika -- Shawnmarie Yates
Jean-Michel Traquenard -- Guy Nelson
Dieter von Schwesterkrank/Zu/Ernest Schmeck -- Stephen Hando
Lynn Manrique -- Dana Cali
Hugo Butterly/Monsieur Marchand/Gunther Schmeck -- Tim Moore
Prudence Rutherford -- Simone Choule
Bess Marvin -- Alisa Murray
George Fayne -- Patty Pomplun
Frank Hardy -- Jonah von Spreecken
Joe Hardy -- Rob Jones
Waiter/Police -- Mathias Jangla

Deaths[]

Not answering the phone in time and getting fired.
After the German accent guy calls and you knock on Minette's door again.
Getting caught by the catacomb cops in the tunnels.
Not disarming the paint bomb in time.
Knocking down the chemicals while making photos.
Not finding an air pocket in time and drowning.
Getting caught in the water fan.
Not blocking enough of the culprit's punches.

Trivia[]

References to Sonny Joon, Krolmeister, and Koko Kringles are all in this game. All of them are frequently mentioned in the Nancy Drew game series.
Jean Michel's last name, Traquenard, means "trap" in French.
Noisette Tornade's name means "hazelnut tornado" in French.
The Vert Galant park actually exists on the Île de la Cité.
When you are playing Model Match in Jane Penvellyn's(Character from Curse of Blackmoor Manor) Game Portal, at first you see that the person who currently has the highest score is LettyD. That is a reference to Leticia Drake (Mrs. Drake) from the Curse of Blackmoor Manor.
The woman who sends Noisette information on the M380 machine is Rose Penvellyn from Curse of Blackmoor Manor.
Two names on Jean Michel's PDA are references to Lost: Anne Lucie Croix is Ana Lucia Cortez translated from French and Pace Carroll is Charlie Pace translated from Latin.
Sonny Joon, one of Minette's last assistants, was also featured in Secret of the Scarlet Hand along with Prudence Rutherford.
Players can get an Easter egg in this game by flushing the toilet in Dieter's dark room ten times. During the tenth "flush" the toilet will make a clucking sound instead of a flushing sound. When the player turns back around to face the developing trays, they will find that they have already completed the development of the photos, skipping the entire process, and decreasing the second chance possibility.
The Lost numbers "4 8 15 16 23 42" are given as a phone number.
When Minette is obsessed with a game in "Jane's Game Portal" and you must defeat her in order to speak to her, it is implied that "Jane's Game Portal" was originally designed by Jane Penvellyn from Curse of Blackmoor Manor because of the fact that it has a picture of her dead guinea pig, a picture of Brady Armstrong (her favorite actor that she has a crush on, who also appears in The Final Scene), and the fact the she says that she "... loves games. I want to make computer games when I grow up." Also, if you log in before you find Sonny's notebook with the username and password, you get a cut scene of Loulou the parrot and Jane's voice saying, "Isn't Brady Armstrong cute?".
M. Marchand wants a bottle of Mouton Fouetté, which means "whipped sheep" in French.
One of the parfaits you can make is a L'Enfer, which means "hell" in French.
In the fish tanks at Dieter's, you can see two fishes that resemble Dory and Marlin from Finding Nemo.
The picture with the obituary Dieter left behind is a picture of the original Carolyn Keene, Mildred Wirt Benson. So Noisette Tornade is "portrayed" by Mildred Benson.
While at the park if you go to one of the vendors, you can find the sundae spoon and the blue arm from the haunted house found in The Haunted Carousel. You can also see the Jade Pacal carving from Secret of the Scarlet Hand and the gnome from Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake.
If you dial the numbers from Jean-Michel's cell phone, music can be heard on the phone.
The 'Zippy' logo found on Nancy's calling card is the same as Zippy's Gas Station in the Secret of the Old Clock.
Emily Griffen of Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake sends Minette an e-mail.
In the game "Model Match" in Jane's Game Portal, one of the faces is Ranger Akers from Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake. Another is Brady Armstrong from The Final Scene. Also, Jane from Curse of Blackmoor Manor, can be seen in the "Model Match game."
In the main office of Minette's studio, the Dodo box can be seen, where Minette stores her threatening letters. Next to this box is a small, flowery black box, which was also in the game, Message in a Haunted Mansion.
After you take the pictures, Dieter will come out of his darkroom. If you try to go back into the darkroom, Dieter will answer, even though he came out.
While getting on the metro after visiting Dieter's office , there are posters advertising Nancy Drew and Koko Kringles.
This is the first Nancy Drew computer game that offers two possible endings. If Nancy tells Minette that Heather wrote one of the threatening letters, the designer will fire Heather. If you choose not to tell, Nancy is rewarded-she gets to appear in a fashion show at the end of the game!
When you call the first number on Jean Michelle Traquenard's PDA, a string of Morse code sounds will appear instead of an answering machine message. When decoded properly, the message "some of us are sleeping" is spelled out.
This is the last Nancy Drew game to use the 1998 logo.
When designing the fashion outfits, the cowboy boots are described, saying that they will remind the client of "Shadow Ranch" from The Secret of Shadow Ranch.
The UtNe magazine that can be found in JJ's house near the phone can also be found in Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon in the taffy shop.