Each time a prominent awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a clamor for the addition of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications effectively encompass a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles in a particular game, intense tile-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. 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 without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated completely that year
- Another creative title missed out that year
- Popular arranging title got ignored that year
- Just some logic titles scraped into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent compact experiences, however the design of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it also contends for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the challenging frontier interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay generations.
