Each time a significant prize-giving event draws close, one notices a clamor for the addition additional classifications to recognize underappreciated efforts and delight the passions of fans with niche passions.
My colleague has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. The same goes for board games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications successfully include numerous genres, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated for anything in 2014
- Another imaginative release received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Only a few logic titles scraped into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, yet the craft in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles stand as the most-played games in the world continuing this trend for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges well-known building titles for the title of most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers function at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait generations.
