Telltale Games announced Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent today. Telltale, the developers of the recent Sam and Max games, is working with cartoonist Graham Annable to create a game inspired by the Professor Layton series. This title focuses on Nelson Tethers, the only FBI agent in the puzzle division, trying to figure out a mystery concerning the White House’s eraser supplier and encounters with the “ultra-natural” – the term supernatural doesn’t properly explain just how extraordinary these encounters will be, it seems! – as he solves a series of puzzles. The game’s art style is quite different from the standard Telltales affair; instead of 3D graphics inspired by 2D cartoons and comics we are treated to hand animated 2D graphics. This seems like a fitting departure for Telltale’s first original adventure game property.

Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent is part of a new program that Telltale Games is calling a “Game Pilot Program” in which the released game is comparable to a TV pilot.  Presumably this just means that the games have very little commitment behind them, with their continued development being tied to the success of the first title. This could allow for the developers to experiment with the typical adventure game tropes. It could also mean this first title could be a truly self-contained story, unlike the typical Telltale release which tends to have a nice little cliffhanger to get you excited about the next episode.

The game will hit Windows, OS X, the iPhone, the iPad, and the Wii this June. Those who pre-order the game get a coupon to order either the newest Sam and Max episode or a t-shirt featuring a wolf in space for 50% off! I’m tempted to pre-order just to have the chance to get a cheap t-shirt that feature both the wonders of space travel and a majestic wolf.