Whenever a significant prize-giving event draws close, there’s always an outcry to include additional classifications to acknowledge overlooked contributions and fill the passions of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist when I prioritize just as with other blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety 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 receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types effectively encompass a lot of ground, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: structural challenges of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated completely in 2014
- Another creative title was excluded that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Only a few puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent modest productions, yet the craft in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles count as most engaged experiences worldwide continuing this trend for many years.
The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
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 — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the challenging frontier of video game design, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay decades.
