As any significant honors show nears, there’s always a demand for introducing additional classifications to acknowledge unsung work and fill the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case for why my demand stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains a necessary evil for the industry of gaming, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types effectively encompass many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges of one title, intense tile-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely that year
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment recently
- Just some logic titles scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it also contends for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these include experiences that otherwise have no home in important events. Puzzle game makers are working at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
