Whenever a major honors show draws close, there’s always an outcry for the addition fresh award types to honor unsung work and delight the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator made the case supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. But it is a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards presently include award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens outstanding logic titles released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- A beloved organization game got ignored that year
- Just some puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're small games, yet the craft in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these are games lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait 35 years.