Whenever a major prize-giving event nears, you'll find a clamor for the addition of new categories to recognize unsung work and satisfy the hearts of fans with niche passions.
My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. So would strategy board titles, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification supporting my request remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents a necessary evil within the realm of video games, which are so diverse they hardly constitute one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards presently include genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles from a specific release, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated in any category during that awards season
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title was overlooked in 2021
- Just some puzzle games managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often modest productions, however the design of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most engaged experiences in the world maintaining this status for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience challenges well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. You could fill multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these represent titles without proper classification in important events. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
