Nancy Drew: Danger by Design

Danger by Design is the 14th game in the series and was the first game to release in the year of 2006. It introduced many changes to the series.

Game Description

Go Undercover in Paris and Unravel a Case in Style!
You, as Nancy Drew, intern undercover in a prestigious fashion design studio in Paris. The lead designer, Minette, hasn’t quite been herself lately. She hides behind a white mask and often throws tantrums, even firing several employees. Mysterious threats arrive at the old windmill studio and other troubles lurk in the underbelly of the City of Lights. Can you help Minette release her latest clothing line on time? Or will your sleuthing abroad meet an unfashionable end in Nancy Drew: Danger by Design?

Game Information

Available on: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10
ESRB: E for Everyone
PC Release Date: July 11, 2006
Release MSRP: $19.99 USD
Current MSRP: $9.99 USD
Number of Discs: 2
Game Abbreviation: DAN
Game Color Code: F23F2C
Inspired by/Based on: The Nancy Drew Files #30: Death by Design

Game Specs

PC System Requirements:

1 GHz or greater Pentium or equivalent class CPU
128 MB of RAM
650MB or more of hard drive space
32MB DirectX compatible graphics video card
16-bit DirectX compatible sound card
24x CD-ROM drive
Mouse and Speakers

Fun Facts:

There were a bunch of changes implemented with this game. The biggest change was the fact that the logo had a new style and silhouette. Nancy was now standing up and looking over her shoulder instead of leaning over and looking at the ground. The letters in the logo had a different typeface than the previous version, but had a similar style and color palette. The box design and layout was now cleaner and got rid of a few things from the past games. There was no longer the black strip on the side with some small game-related graphics. The game title was now directly below the Nancy Drew logo instead of a bright and colorful arrangement of the title. The game number typeface got changed. The sides of the box no longer had a black strip with the game color below it. Now, the game's logo was on the side with a segment of the game's cover art below it and the game logo over the gradient. There was also a color strip on the very bottom of the front and sides of the case.
This game introduced a new difficulty selection area. When you pressed new game, it loaded a cutscene of Nancy introducing herself in her room. Her desk became the new interactive menu for the next 11 games.
The game startup logo was the exact same as the teaser trailer logo at the end of Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.
Prudence Rutherford, initially introduced in Secret of the Scarlet Hand, makes a return in this game as a phone character.
There's a mini game on the computer called Model Match. It was made by Jane Penvellyn from Curse of Blackmoor Manor. Some of the heads in the game are from past characters such as Ranger Aikers from Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake and Brady Armstrong from The Final Scene.
Sonny Joon references appear again after showing up at Beech Hill Museum.
The ending of this game doesn't explain how Jing Jing Ling and Dieter von Schwesterkrank's stories ended.
Danger by Design was the first game to have a downloadable demo you could play before you buy the game.
This game had an online mini game based on the puzzle where you need to put costumes together for Heather.
Before the game actually released, HeR used the old silver silhouette of Nancy leaning over in between the words 'Nancy' and 'Drew'. When the game officially released, the silhouette was changed to the current silhouette of Nancy standing up and looking back.
The UI for this game was changed slightly from Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon. The UI before this had teal borders on all sides of the screen. Danger by Design introduced a new, almost border-less frame. HeR removed the borders from the top, left, and right sides of the screen.
The Square du Vert-Galant park is based off of a real place that can be visited in France.
When playing in Jane's Game Portal, the person with the highest score in Model Match is LettyD which is a reference to Leticia Drake from Curse of Blackmoor Manor.
The two fish in the fish tank at Dieter's resemble Dory and Marlin from Pixar's Finding Nemo.
It is mentioned a few times that Dieter has a pet boa constrictor that is roaming his apartment, but you never actually encounter it.
Some of the vendors in the game are selling items from past games such as the spoon and blue spook arm from The Haunted Carousel and the jade Pacal key from Secret of the Scarlet Hand.
Zippy, the gas station from Secret of the Old Clock, is the creator of the international calling card that is used.
Emily Griffen from Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake sent Minette some fan mail which can be viewed on Nancy's computer.
The Metropolitain sign seen in game is an image of the real sign from Paris. The same thing goes for the red Metro signs.
In the background of the metro stations, there are posters for Nancy Drew and Koko Kringles.
Originally, Minette was supposed to be called Tammy Burns. It was in the game notes, but the developers decided to change the name later.
This is the first game where Frank Hardy is voiced by Jonah von Spreecken. Spreecken has voiced many characters in the Nancy Drew series including Andy Jason and Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine. He would go on to voice Frank from this game onward.

Image Gallery
Characters
Walkthrough
Soundtrack
Extra

Image Gallery

Characters

Minette

Why is this famous couture designer acting strangely and wearing a mask? Unwelcome surprises and looming deadlines cause Minette to throw tantrums and fire employees. She’s your boss, so watch out, or else you’ll blow your cover!

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. A little revenge could go a long way to satisfy someone who deserves her just desserts.

Dieter Von Schwesterkrank

As a famed photographer, Dieter dated Minette, but the romance fizzled. He also obsessively searches for his great uncle’s lost treasure. Is he trying to get revenge for his broken heart or does he know the secrets of the moulin?

Jean-Michel Traquenard

THE critical voice when it comes to fashion. A writer of nasty reviews for Glam Glam magazine, this author is unpopular and scorned as a “conceited Nichtsnutz” by some. Having the power to shape the fashion industry can corrupt and lead to some reckless behavior!

Heather McKay

She endures the nightmare that is Minette to gain a foothold in the fashion industry. After all, the quickest way to the top is to steal trade secrets, dethrone the reigning queen, and appoint yourself as the successor.