As any prominent honors show nears, there’s always a clamor to include fresh award types to recognize unsung work and delight the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would board games, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually that have no home in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked completely during that awards season
- A different innovative game missed out in 2019
- Popular arranging title got ignored recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're small games, however the design of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, while interacting with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these represent titles without proper classification in important events. Brain-teaser creators are working at the challenging frontier game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait decades.
