Each time a prominent prize-giving event nears, there’s always a clamor to include additional classifications to honor underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
My colleague previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an essential concession in the world of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards presently include award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything in 2014
- A different innovative game missed out in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games globally maintaining this status for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Just like film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
