As any prominent honors show nears, there’s always an outcry for introducing of new categories to recognize unsung work and satisfy the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.
My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would board games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why movie academies avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards presently include classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types actually cover numerous genres, making space possible for most games within them.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: structural challenges in a particular game, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category that year
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent compact experiences, but the art behind logic titles is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most popular titles globally continuing this trend for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience challenges popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories in important events. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge game development, creating some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.