Each time a major honors show approaches, there’s always a clamor for the addition of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. 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 since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial and important of all. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked completely in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're small games, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most engaged experiences globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier game development, producing among most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
