As any major prize-giving event draws close, one notices a clamor for the addition of new categories to honor overlooked contributions and fill the spirits of followers with niche passions.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification supporting my request remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why film award organizations avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories actually cover many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely during that awards season
- Another creative title received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games rank among most engaged experiences globally and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — actually, with challenge, 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 hard edge interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
