Whenever a significant awards ceremony nears, there’s always an outcry for introducing fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why cinema institutions don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types effectively encompass a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, intense tile-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year that have no home during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game was excluded in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Just some puzzle games barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games globally maintaining this status for many years.
The famous puzzle experience competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. You could fill five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home in important events. Puzzle game makers are working at the challenging frontier game development, producing among essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
