As any prominent awards ceremony nears, you'll find an outcry to include of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the passions of followers dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer previously argued supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front just as with other single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. The demand is this: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise in the world of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Think about these outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked completely in 2014
- Another creative title was excluded in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers scraped into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're small games, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles globally and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the challenging frontier of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay generations.
