As any prominent awards ceremony nears, you'll find an outcry for introducing additional classifications to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. The same goes for board games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case supporting my request remains most pressing and significant. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and inevitably spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is a necessary evil within the realm of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories successfully include numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Think about these outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens outstanding logic titles launched regularly that have no home during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely in 2014
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals well-known building titles for the title of most purchased experience; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait 35 years.
