Whenever a major awards ceremony nears, one notices an outcry for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge unsung work and fill the hearts of enthusiasts with niche passions.
A fellow writer made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are board games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front just as with other blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification backing this proposal remains most pressing and important of all. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types effectively encompass many game types, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything that year
- Another creative title was excluded that year
- A beloved organization game got ignored that year
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent compact experiences, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these represent titles without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers function at the challenging frontier interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Just like film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay generations.
