Whenever a prominent awards ceremony approaches, there’s always a clamor to include fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the spirits of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial above others. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. However, it represents a necessary evil in the world of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens outstanding logic titles launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything that year
- A different innovative game missed out during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game was overlooked that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent small games, however the design of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games rank among most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these are games without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay generations.
