Each time a major honors show approaches, one notices a clamor for the addition of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. The same goes for board games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front because like all blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents an essential concession for the industry of video games, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications actually cover numerous genres, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Consider three of this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated completely that year
- Another imaginative release missed out during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're small games, but the art in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games worldwide maintaining this status for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers function at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait generations.
