Each time a prominent prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a demand to include fresh award types to acknowledge unsung work and satisfy the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. It would be amazing. The same goes for tabletop games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types successfully include many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges of one title, intense tile-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated for anything in 2014
- Another creative title missed out during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment recently
- Just some logic titles managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as the most-played games worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and engaging across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these are games that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Just like film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait 35 years.
