As any prominent awards ceremony approaches, one notices a demand to include fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the passions of fans with niche passions.
A fellow writer has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward just as with other single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing above others. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types successfully include a lot of ground, and you can find room for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: structural challenges from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition in any category during that awards season
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
- Just some puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design behind logic titles is of massive significance. Well-known matching games stand as most engaged experiences globally and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
Restating the point, these are games without proper classification in important events. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Just like cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
