As any major awards ceremony draws close, you'll find a clamor for introducing of new categories to honor overlooked contributions and delight the hearts of followers with niche passions.
My colleague made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. So would board games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing and significant. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works is not a science; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why cinema institutions avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types effectively encompass many game types, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens outstanding logic titles launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked for anything that year
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often modest productions, yet the craft in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games worldwide and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it also contends as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these represent titles without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
