Whenever a major honors show nears, one notices an outcry for the addition additional classifications to recognize underappreciated efforts and delight the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer has already made supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist when I prioritize because like all blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why cinema institutions avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil for the industry of video games, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely that year
- Another creative title received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most engaged experiences worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the challenging frontier game development, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
