Whenever a prominent awards ceremony draws close, there’s always an outcry for introducing of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and fill the passions of followers who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. So would board games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification supporting my request remains most pressing above others. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and typically start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards presently include genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges of one title, intense tile-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Which classification works within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category during that awards season
- A different innovative game received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored that year
- Just some puzzle games scraped into niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're compact experiences, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games rank among the most-played games worldwide and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience competes with famous sandbox experiences competing to become highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
