Each time a major honors show draws close, there’s always a clamor to include additional classifications to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial and significant. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession for the industry of video games, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated in any category that year
- Another creative title received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Just some brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with popular creative games for the title of best-selling game of all time; it also contends for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and engaging with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these represent titles without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary game development, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay generations.
