As any significant awards ceremony approaches, one notices a demand for the addition of new categories to honor unsung work and satisfy the passions of fans who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why movie academies don’t do it. But it is an essential concession within the realm of gaming, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to put them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, all very different: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated in any category that year
- Another imaginative release was excluded in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of puzzle games scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the hard edge game development, developing some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Just like movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
