Each time a prominent prize-giving event approaches, you'll find an outcry to include fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. So would tabletop games, this being someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize since similar to single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and important of all. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why movie academies avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession for the industry of gaming, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles of one title, intense tile-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything that year
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- Popular arranging title got ignored that year
- Limited numbers of puzzle games managed to sneak into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most engaged experiences worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games claiming status as most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge interactive creation, producing among most fundamental forms of the video game form. Comparable to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
