Whenever a significant prize-giving event nears, you'll find a demand for the addition fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the passions of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, representing a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification backing this proposal is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles published annually lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another creative title was excluded in 2019
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles count as the most-played games globally continuing this trend for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge game development, developing some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay generations.
