Whenever a significant prize-giving event nears, there’s always a clamor for the addition additional classifications to honor underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of enthusiasts with niche passions.
A fellow writer made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, this being a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers published annually that have no home during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another creative title was excluded during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some puzzle games barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most engaged experiences in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. You could fill a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these represent titles that otherwise have no home in important events. Logic title developers function at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
