Whenever a major awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a demand for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. The same goes for board games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification supporting my request remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. However, it represents a necessary evil within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything that year
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Just some puzzle games scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles is of massive significance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the challenging frontier game development, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
