As any prominent honors show draws close, one notices a clamor for the addition of new categories to recognize unsung work and delight the spirits of fans dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front since similar to blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents an essential concession in the world of video games, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types actually cover numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, intense tile-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely that year
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games rank among most engaged experiences in the world continuing this trend for many years.
The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles claiming status as most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers operate at the challenging frontier game development, creating some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Just like movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait generations.
