As any major honors show approaches, one notices a clamor for the addition of new categories to honor underappreciated efforts and delight the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. So would tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist for pushing forward just as with other single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: structural challenges of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated in any category that year
- Another imaginative release was excluded in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games scraped into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, yet the craft in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most engaged experiences worldwide maintaining this status for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of 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.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles without proper classification in important events. Puzzle game makers are working at the challenging frontier of video game design, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Just like cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
