As any major awards ceremony draws close, one notices a demand for the addition of new categories to honor unsung work and fill the spirits of enthusiasts with niche passions.
A fellow writer made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and important of all. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession for the industry of video games, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories effectively encompass many game types, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: building puzzles of one title, intense tile-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually that have no home in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition in any category that year
- A different innovative game was excluded during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game got ignored recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, however the design behind logic titles is of massive significance. Well-known matching games stand as most popular titles globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. One could readily select multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers function at the demanding boundary of video game design, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay decades.
