Each time a prominent awards ceremony draws close, one notices a demand to include fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. The same goes for strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that movie academies avoid this approach. However, it represents an essential concession within the realm of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications successfully include many game types, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Which classification works within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition in any category during that awards season
- A different innovative game missed out during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game got ignored that year
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent small games, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games count as the most-played games in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The famous puzzle experience challenges popular creative games claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these represent titles without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the challenging frontier game development, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
