As any prominent awards ceremony approaches, you'll find a demand for the addition of new categories to recognize unsung work and delight the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist 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. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why movie academies avoid this approach. However, it represents a necessary evil within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles published annually lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals popular creative games claiming status as most purchased experience; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. You could fill a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories in important events. Logic title developers operate at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait decades.
