Whenever a major prize-giving event draws close, one notices an outcry to include of new categories to recognize overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. The same goes for board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why cinema institutions don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession in the world of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, if they accidentally match classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked for anything that year
- Another creative title received no nominations that year
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of puzzle games barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're small games, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games count as most popular titles in the world and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience challenges popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the demanding boundary of video game design, creating some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait generations.
