Whenever a major prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a demand to include fresh award types to honor overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist when I prioritize just as with other single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand remains most pressing above others. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. But it is an essential concession for the industry of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they barely qualify a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards currently feature classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications actually cover many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles of one title, intense tile-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked completely in 2014
- Another imaginative release was excluded in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles count as the most-played games worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these are games that otherwise have no home in important events. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge game development, producing among most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
