As any significant prize-giving event draws close, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing above others. Here's the proposal: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Think about these recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles in a particular game, intense tile-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked for anything that year
- Another imaginative release was excluded during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some logic titles scraped into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these are games that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers function at the challenging frontier game development, producing among most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
