When the first teaser video was released last weekend, no details were given beyond a silhouetted Team Fortress 2 Heavy, Strongbad, Max of Sam and Max fame, and Tycho from Penny Arcade Adventures. With no common thread between the franchises, it had seemed that the most telling feature of the video was the cards they were holding.

Well, the mystery is over: the next title from TellTale Games will be Poker Night At The Inventory, described by the studio as "a new style of poker." And for those of you who are worrying that your desires for uncensored, no-holds-barred, smack talk-filled poker between these strong personalities would be just too much to ask for, TellTale's CEO Dan Connors has some good news:

"We've had the idea for some time of exploring the idea of what video characters do when they're not ‘on the clock' in the games we play,...

"We pitched the idea to friends in the industry and it really resonated. We all had a great time imagining what these guys would banter about while slinging cards — from there Poker Night at The Inventory was born."

I for one am relieved to hear that the studio's goal seems to be a modest one, focused more on giving fans of the franchises' characters a laugh than an "immersive" experience. With the recent announcements around TellTale's Back to The Future series and their interest in a Jurassic Park game, TellTale is really racking up points with the nerd community, and this won't hurt one bit. Considering that they're only asking players to ante up $4.99 for the SteamWorks-powered game, it's safe to assume that the game is meant to deliver a casual experience that will hopefully offer some good poker, and some quality gags.

To get an idea of what to expect from the design style, check out the screenshots below:

For me, this is a definite purchase. I'm always a fan of poker, and spent more than a few hours doing nothing but in Red Dead Redemption, so a game built a bit smoother with these characters sounds like money well spent. Expect to find me searching eBay for announcement posters, and play a hand or two with me when Night At The Inventory is released for PC and Mac this fall.

How about you guys? Are you disappointed that the game turned out to be just what we thought it would, or already looking forward to the next treasured childhood property TellTale acquires the rights to?

Source: Kotaku