Each time a significant prize-giving event nears, one notices a demand for the addition fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for 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 important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of video games, which are so diverse they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types actually cover numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition completely during that awards season
- Another creative title was excluded during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers scraped into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most engaged experiences globally maintaining this status for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these are games lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait 35 years.
