As any prominent awards ceremony approaches, one notices an outcry to include fresh award types to acknowledge unsung work and delight the spirits of enthusiasts with niche passions.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand is the most urgent and significant. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise for the industry of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories successfully include numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated in any category that year
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- A beloved organization game was overlooked in 2021
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent small games, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences globally continuing this trend for many years.
The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
