Each time a prominent awards ceremony draws close, one notices an outcry for the addition additional classifications to recognize overlooked contributions and delight the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. The same goes for tabletop games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. The demand is this: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year that have no home in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition for anything in 2014
- A different innovative game received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Just some logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often small games, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences globally and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers function at the challenging frontier game development, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
