As any significant awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a clamor for introducing of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and delight the spirits of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification backing this proposal remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents an essential concession for the industry of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated for anything that year
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- Popular arranging title was overlooked that year
- Just some brain-teasers barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often compact experiences, yet the craft in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most engaged experiences worldwide maintaining this status for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
