Each time a major prize-giving event draws close, one notices a clamor for introducing of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why film award organizations don’t do it. But it is a necessary evil within the realm of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition in any category that year
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of puzzle games managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games in the world maintaining this status for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with popular creative games competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers operate at the challenging frontier game development, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
