Whenever a major honors show approaches, there’s always a clamor to include of new categories to recognize overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of fans dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made for a horror game category. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial above others. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards offer these classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications effectively encompass a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers published annually that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely during that awards season
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- Popular arranging title got ignored recently
- Only a few logic titles scraped into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games stand as most popular titles globally continuing this trend for many years.
The famous puzzle experience rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. One could readily select multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories in important events. Puzzle game makers operate at the challenging frontier of video game design, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
