As any prominent prize-giving event draws close, one notices a clamor for the addition of new categories to honor unsung work and delight the passions of enthusiasts with niche passions.
My colleague made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. So would board games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards offer these classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these classifications effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything that year
- Another creative title missed out during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Just some puzzle games scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're small games, yet the craft in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games in the world maintaining this status for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait decades.
