Each time a significant awards ceremony approaches, you'll find a clamor to include of new categories to honor unsung work and delight the passions of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, representing someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories actually cover many game types, and you can find room for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these outstanding current releases, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely that year
- Another imaginative release missed out during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
- Only a few brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles count as most engaged experiences in the world and have been for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these are games lacking appropriate categories in important events. Puzzle game makers operate at the demanding boundary interactive creation, producing among the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Just like cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait 35 years.
