As any major awards ceremony nears, there’s always a clamor for the addition of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and delight the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would board games, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal stands as crucial above others. This is the request: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents an essential concession within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications effectively encompass numerous genres, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, intense tile-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated for anything during that awards season
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles globally continuing this trend for many years.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games for the title of best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the hard edge game development, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait 35 years.
