14 DAY TRIAL // Telltale Games is introducing its new Pilot Program by releasing Puzzle Agent for the PC and Mac. The Pilot Programs is meant to mimic the television broadcast industry's way of testing the market potential of new concepts. Telltale will out an episode of a game online and if it reaches a certain standard of success, it will be turned into a series.
Telltale Games is the company that first came up with the business model of releasing a series of episodes over time instead of full fledged retail releases. This has proved to be a successful endeavor, as episodes cost less and customer feedback is easier to implement in the development process.
“Puzzle Agent is a great way to launch our Pilot Program, effectively illustrating how Telltale can quickly bring high quality games to market,” said Dan Connors, Telltale's chief executive officer. “The Pilot Program games allow us to innovate, take risks and evolve our games so that successful pilots can become Telltale game series in the future.”
Puzzle Agent is a dark and funny puzzle adventure game in which the player fills in the role of Nelson Tethers, a member of the FBI Department of Puzzle Investigation. He is tasked with uncovering the mystery that haunts the town of Scoggins. The title will mix various brainteasers like mazes, logic riddles and others with what the developers are promising to be an engrossing story.
The game is developed in collaboration by Telltale and Graham Annable, an independent cartoonist and ex-creative director at Telltale Games. In the press release accompanying the announcement, he said that “It's been a great experience working with the talented team at Telltale, fleshing out the world of Nelson Tethers in Puzzle Agent. The collaborative process that's resulted in the formation of the US Department of Puzzle Research and Scoggins, Minnesota has surpassed even my loftiest aspirations.”