Each time a major awards ceremony approaches, there’s always a clamor for the addition additional classifications to recognize underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. So would tabletop games, this being someone's personal cause. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. This is the request: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types actually cover many game types, making space possible for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles released every year that have no home in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game was overlooked that year
- Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles count as the most-played games worldwide continuing this trend for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience challenges popular creative games for the title of best-selling game of all time; it also contends for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these represent titles without proper classification in important events. Puzzle game makers operate at the hard edge game development, producing among the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
