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Telltale Creates New Game Pilot Program

Posted May 5, 2010 by M.H. Williams

Today, Telltale Games announced the creation of their brand-new Pilot Program. With the advent of the program, Telltale can bring new and innovative game designs to the retail market in the form of “pilots,” not unlike television pilots. This program will allow Telltale’s internal studios the chance to experiment with existing concepts and blaze new trails in gaming. These new pilot games will complement the publisher’s current slate of episodic titles, such as Sam & Max, Wallace & Gromit, and Monkey Island. Pilots will be rewarded with a move over to Telltale’s thriving episodic business model if successful.

“The Pilot Program is an excellent way to expand the boundaries of interactive entertainment and gaming by bringing audiences unique and interesting content they might not see otherwise,” said Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale. “Our internal teams are filled with incredibly talented and creative people, and the Pilot Program will foster the exploration of ideas that will help us evolve Telltale’s product offerings.”

The Pilot Program’s first title will be Puzzle Agent, a title created by Graham Annable, a former creative director at Telltale. Puzzle Agent will be released in June for PC, Mac, Nintendo Wii, and the Apple App Store. “It’s been great re-uniting with Telltale,” says Annable. “It’s amazing to see how they’ve faithfully captured my art style and mood in the game. Working with the team to bring Nelson Tethers and Puzzle Agent to life has been amazing. Combining the original story and characters with one of my favorite gameplay styles is like a dream come true.”

Puzzle Agent combines a Professor Layton-style puzzle game with an engrossing David Lynch-style mystery. Players will become Nelson Tethers, the only agent in the US Department of Puzzle Investigation. Tethers is sent to Scoggins, Minnesota to determine why the town’s eraser factory has suddenly stopped. Puzzle Agent is currently available for pre-order on PC and Mac for $9.95, with an additional coupon for 50% off any product in the Telltale Games Store.

M.H. Williams has been writing in some form or another for ten years and has been a hardcore gamer since the NES first graced American shores.  You can catch him on Twitter as @AutomaticZen, Google+ as himself, or on his personal Facebook page.