As any prominent awards ceremony nears, one notices a clamor to include additional classifications to recognize overlooked contributions and delight the passions of fans with niche passions.
My colleague previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are board games, representing someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front just as with other single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal is the most urgent and significant. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise in the world of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these classifications actually cover many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated for anything in 2014
- Another imaginative release was excluded that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent compact experiences, however the design of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games worldwide continuing this trend for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these represent titles without proper classification in important events. Logic title developers function at the challenging frontier game development, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
