Whenever a significant awards ceremony nears, you'll find an outcry to include fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of followers dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why movie academies avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually that have no home during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition completely during that awards season
- A different innovative game missed out during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of puzzle games managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most popular titles in the world and have been for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. 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 every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers operate at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
