As any prominent honors show draws close, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, this being someone's personal cause. However, I must insist when I prioritize just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing above others. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and it will always generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Consider three of recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: building puzzles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game was excluded in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers function at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait decades.
