As any significant awards ceremony approaches, you'll find an outcry for introducing fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the passions of fans who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. Equally deserving are tabletop games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, 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 excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match classification types such as Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment that year
- Just some logic titles managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences in the world and have been for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
