Whenever a prominent awards ceremony approaches, there’s always a demand for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge unsung work and delight the passions of fans dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. So would board games, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: structural challenges from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked completely in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games in the world maintaining this status for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games competing to become most purchased experience; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Just like film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
