As any significant prize-giving event nears, there’s always a demand for introducing additional classifications to acknowledge overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of fans who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, this being someone's personal cause. 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: We need a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason movie academies avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications successfully include many game types, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Think about these outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- A beloved organization game got ignored recently
- Just some logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often small games, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games worldwide and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games claiming status as most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
