Whenever a major awards ceremony nears, there’s always an outcry for introducing fresh award types to recognize unsung work and satisfy the passions of enthusiasts with niche passions.
Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case supporting my request remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents a necessary evil in the world of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these classifications actually cover many game types, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges of one title, intense tile-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything in 2014
- Another creative title was excluded that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent small games, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most engaged experiences worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. You could fill five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these include experiences that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge of video game design, producing among the purest expressions of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait generations.
