Whenever a prominent awards ceremony approaches, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the passions of enthusiasts with niche passions.
Another commentator previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize since similar to single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents a necessary evil in the world of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these award types effectively encompass many game types, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these outstanding current releases, all very different: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated in any category that year
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Just some puzzle games scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent small games, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as the most-played games globally maintaining this status for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these are games lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, creating some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
