Each time a significant prize-giving event nears, you'll find an outcry to include of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and satisfy the spirits of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. So would board games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. This is the request: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, making space possible for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Consider three of this year’s best games, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers launched regularly without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as the most-played games worldwide and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, creating some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
