As any major honors show approaches, there’s always a clamor for introducing of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and satisfy the passions of enthusiasts with niche passions.
My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession within the realm of video games, which are so diverse they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types effectively encompass many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Think about these this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few puzzle games scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent small games, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games rank among most popular titles globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games for the title of best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, while interacting with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
