Whenever a prominent honors show draws close, one notices a demand for the addition of new categories to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of fans who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of video games, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these classifications actually cover many game types, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: structural challenges 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 within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're modest productions, however the design of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and engaging across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait decades.
