As any prominent awards ceremony draws close, one notices an outcry to include additional classifications to honor unsung work and fill the hearts of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications actually cover numerous genres, making space possible for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're small games, but the art behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles stand as the most-played games worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these represent titles without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers function at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
