Whenever a major awards ceremony approaches, you'll find a demand for the addition of new categories to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the spirits of enthusiasts with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and significant. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why cinema institutions don’t do it. But it is an essential concession for the industry of gaming, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these award types effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Which classification works within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers scraped into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. You could fill a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these represent titles without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers function at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
