Whenever a major prize-giving event nears, there’s always an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and satisfy the passions of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: We need a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies offer these award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment recently
- Just some logic titles managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often modest productions, yet the craft behind logic titles is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games globally maintaining this status for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers operate at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
