Whenever a prominent prize-giving event draws close, you'll find an outcry to include additional classifications to acknowledge overlooked contributions and satisfy the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. Equally deserving are tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Consider three of recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment that year
- Only a few brain-teasers managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often small games, however the design of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. You could fill a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the hard edge game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait generations.
