Whenever a significant awards ceremony draws close, there’s always an outcry for introducing fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents a necessary evil in the world of video games, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game got ignored in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're small games, but the art in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Comparable to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay generations.