As any major prize-giving event approaches, you'll find an outcry for the addition fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and delight the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why cinema institutions don’t do it. But it is a necessary evil in the world of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards offer these classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, each quite distinct: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- A different innovative game was excluded during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some brain-teasers barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're small games, yet the craft in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games globally continuing this trend for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with well-known building titles competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary interactive creation, creating some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
