Whenever a significant honors show nears, one notices a demand to include of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and satisfy the spirits of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game received no nominations that year
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent small games, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, while interacting with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge interactive creation, producing among most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait generations.
