Each time a significant honors show nears, there’s always an outcry for introducing fresh award types to recognize unsung work and fill the passions of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification backing this proposal stands as crucial above others. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types actually cover many game types, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated in any category that year
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored that year
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent small games, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles 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, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the challenging frontier interactive creation, producing among most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
