Puzzle Agent is the newest game from Telltale Games, makers of hit episode adventure games like Sam & Max, Strong Bad, Wallace & Gromit and Tales of Monkey Island. It will be released this June for PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and WiiWare. This marks the developers first iPhone/iPad title. Although the game will hit all those platforms, exact dates for each may vary.
Puzzle Agent will be the first game in a new line of titles called the “Telltale Pilot Program”, these games will be one-off “pilots” that will be further proceeded by a full or expanded series if the pilot game does well, just like with TV shows. This will allow Telltale to experiment with unique content and new IP in a way that allows them to avoid the risk of being tied to a long-term project that isn’t successful.
“We really want to do unusual properties and interesting things outside of what the rest of the industry is willing to take on…Now we’re going to do even weirder things, and put them out as pilots.” Very smart.
Puzzle Agent takes the witty humor that the developer is known for, mixes it with their unique storytelling methods, and applies it to a Professor Layton-style framework. In the game you will play as the “Agent”, who is summoned to a snowy, rural town in “Skoggins, Minnesota” where he is given the task of investigating some mysterious occurrences. As you might expect, the ‘sleepy town’ hides some dark secrets . . . secrets that the townsfolk are hiding but seem to know about.
Although the game plays similarly to most other Telltale adventure games (roam around the various town scenes talking to folks), the title will focus on numerous self-contained puzzles/brain-teasers, not unlike that of Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. These puzzles will be woven into the game’s story and be revealed as you talk to characters and investigate the environment, and they come complete with an intro scene and performance evaluation for each puzzle you encounter (again, like the Professor Layton series).
A hint system will appear in the game in the form of . . . chewing gum. You see, the Agent thinks his hardest when he is chewing some nicely flavored gum, and thus you will find pieces of gum scattered around. Stick one in your mouth to have the game help you with the puzzles.
Handling art duties on the project is cartoonist Graham Annable, a former member of Telltale who currently works as a storyboard artist for studio Laika, creator of movies like Coraline. Graham Annable also has a popular youtube channel called Grickle. His simplistic, distinct art style promises to meld with the game nicely and will appeal to fans of his other work and the graphic-novel style in general. His dark sense of humor (one that the Coen Brothers cite as an influence) will also be on hand in the game.
Here is a gameplay video of the game in action, showing off it’s unique artwork and style thanks to Annable.