Each time a major awards ceremony approaches, one notices a clamor for introducing of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent above others. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents a necessary evil within the realm of video games, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Consider three of outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: structural challenges in a particular game, intense tile-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as the most-played games worldwide and have been for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. You could fill a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these include experiences that otherwise have no home in important events. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
