Whenever a prominent honors show draws close, you'll find a clamor for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge overlooked contributions and delight the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. So would tabletop games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works is not a science; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an essential concession in the world of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types actually cover many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything that year
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're small games, yet the craft behind logic titles is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most engaged experiences worldwide continuing this trend for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with popular creative games competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the demanding boundary game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay decades.
