Whenever a prominent honors show approaches, one notices an outcry for introducing fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would board games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why movie academies don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies offer these classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything during that awards season
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're small games, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most engaged experiences in the world maintaining this status for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with popular creative games claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers operate at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
