Veteran game designer Lori Cole is celebrating thirty years of publishing video games with a brand new, crowdfunded project, Summer Daze At Hero-U, the follow up to 2018’s Hero-U: Rogue To Redemption.
Summer Daze is a departure for Lori, since it’s her first purely narrative-driven game. Her debut game with husband Corey, 1989’s Quest For Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero, combined parser adventure games with combat and role-playing elements. The Coles have come full circle now, creating a story-driven companion for the 2018 tactics and combat-driven Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption.
“Players should feel like they just entered another world and forget they are playing a game.” – Lori
Play Like A Girl… If You Choose!
Hero-U is a school like Harry’s Potter’s Hogwarts with bards, rogues and paladins alongside wizards. Players take on the role of rogue Tilly Appleberry – whose humor and wits are her greatest weapons – or the studious wizard Ifeyo Kinah and his meerbat familiar Jafafa. The adventure leads up to Hero-U’s end-of-Summer harvest festival… which has to be a success or Tilly or Ifeyo could be in serious trouble!
With a diverse cast, and narrative-driven gameplay, Summer Daze is part visual novel, part adventure game. Players of all skill and experience levels can enjoy the friendly point-and-click interactions and lighthearted humor. More experienced players will dig into the nuanced puzzles and masterful game design by one of gaming’s longest-tenured designers.
“I want my games to touch the heart and awaken the imagination of every player. Summer Daze is about relationships and quiet heroism.” – Lori Cole
Game Genres Popular With Women Are No Longer Niche
Branching narrative adventure games have long been a popular game genre in Japan, but in the west, they’re often stigmatized as “girl games” or “not really games”. With Summer Daze At Hero U, The Coles see this as an asset – “This style of game distills the user experience to its very essence – everything the player does advances the story. No more wandering endless hallways or fighting countless foes… it’s just pure fun.”
Players can befriend magical creatures, solve puzzles, explore the secrets of the castle, and replay the game as both characters for a completely different experience each time. Lori Cole’s expert grasp of interactive narrative design will be on full display. A new generation of players can discover why Lori is one of the most popular female game designers.
