Each time a major awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a demand for introducing fresh award types to acknowledge unsung work and satisfy the passions of followers dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession within the realm of video games, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range 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
Leading game ceremonies presently include genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Think about these this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely that year
- Another creative title missed out that year
- A beloved organization game got ignored in 2021
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most engaged experiences in the world and have been for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers function at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
