Whenever a significant prize-giving event nears, you'll find a demand for introducing of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of fans dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are board games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist for pushing forward just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal is the most urgent and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works is not a science; it remains highly personal, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types successfully include many game types, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category during that awards season
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Just some puzzle games barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're modest productions, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games rank among most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. You could fill multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Just like film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait generations.
