Whenever a major honors show approaches, there’s always a clamor to include of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and delight the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for board games, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front just as with other blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of video games, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens outstanding logic titles released every year lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some puzzle games managed to sneak into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often small games, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most popular titles globally continuing this trend for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers are working at the hard edge game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
