As any prominent prize-giving event nears, there’s always a clamor for introducing of new categories to honor unsung work and delight the passions of followers dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. The same goes for tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case supporting my request remains most pressing and important of all. The demand is this: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. But it is an essential concession in the world of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, making space possible for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens outstanding logic titles published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
- Just some logic titles scraped into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the challenging frontier of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay decades.
