As any major awards ceremony approaches, there’s always a demand for the addition fresh award types to honor overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. So would tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies presently include genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these award types actually cover numerous genres, allowing placement for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're small games, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most engaged experiences globally maintaining this status for many years.
The famous puzzle experience competes with famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it also contends as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers function at the demanding boundary game development, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait generations.
