As any major awards ceremony approaches, there’s always a demand for introducing fresh award types to acknowledge overlooked contributions and delight the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. So would board games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification backing this proposal remains most pressing above others. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents an essential concession in the world of video games, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition completely during that awards season
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent modest productions, yet the craft in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Well-known matching games rank among the most-played games in the world and have been for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience rivals famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and engaging across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter 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 many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators operate at the hard edge game development, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
