As any prominent awards ceremony nears, you'll find a demand for the addition additional classifications to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the passions of enthusiasts with niche passions.
My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. So would tabletop games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing above others. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise in the world of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
Not so for puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: building puzzles of one title, intense tile-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually without proper recognition in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated completely that year
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- Popular arranging title got ignored recently
- Only a few puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most popular titles in the world maintaining this status for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals well-known building titles for the title of 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.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function 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 decades.
