Telltale let it be known that the Director’s Cut editions of the first two episodes of its Bone series are now available. Both Out from Boneville and The Great Cow Race can be purchased together for $20 until January 7, with those who have already purchased the games getting upgraded to the new versions at no additional charge.

The Director’s Cuts were created in close collaboration with Jeff Smith, creator of the Bone graphic novels, and include updates to the core game engine as well as new content. New features include a new animated prologue at the beginning of Out from Boneville, providing backstory; updated voice acting and character model for female protagonist Thorn in Out of Boneville; added dialogue lines; and technical improvements, such as scalable resolutions and better game stability.

Vanbrio has announced that it has released Bone Act 1: Out from Boneville for the Macintosh platform. Already available for the PC, Out of Boneville is the first installment of an episodic interactive adventure based on Jeff Smith’s acclaimed Bone series.

The adventure begins with three cousins - Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone - who become separated in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures and new mysteries that await them. The Bone books have been hailed by reviewers and educators alike as engaging for all ages.

A free Mac demo is available from Vanbrio’s website; it can be unlocked to the full version for $13 without any additional downloads.

The release date for Bone: The Great Cow Race has been announced by Telltale Games: the next installment in the episodic series will be available starting next month.

The Great Cow Race is the continuation of a new breed of episodic interactive entertainment that Telltale began last fall. The company released Bone: Out from Boneville as the first episode in this series to wide acclaim in September. Hailed by reviewers and educators alike as engaging for all ages, the Bone books on which these games are based have become the anchor for a line of graphic novels from Scholastic’s new Graphix imprint. In an un-paralleled feat in the games industry, Telltale is distributing this follow-up to its first title in the series within a six month period, in order to match Scholastic’s book publishing schedule.