Whenever a significant awards ceremony approaches, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to honor underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal is the most urgent and important of all. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why cinema institutions avoid this approach. Yet it remains a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to put them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles released every year that have no home in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated for anything during that awards season
- A different innovative game received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored that year
- Only a few brain-teasers managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences globally and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles claiming status as most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the challenging frontier of video game design, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
