Each time a significant honors show draws close, there’s always a demand for introducing of new categories to honor unsung work and fill the passions of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize just as with other blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, and you can find room for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition for anything that year
- Another creative title received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles globally and have been for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals famous sandbox experiences competing to become best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, while interacting across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these represent titles without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers are working at the hard edge of video game design, producing among the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
