Each time a major awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a clamor for the addition additional classifications to recognize overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. The same goes for board games, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me 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 and significant. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains a necessary evil for the industry of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked in any category that year
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it also contends as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. You could fill five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait 35 years.
