Each time a significant awards ceremony nears, there’s always an outcry to include of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of fans with niche passions.
A fellow writer made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist when I prioritize just as with other single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing and significant. This is the request: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types actually cover many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Think about these recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: structural challenges from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything that year
- A different innovative game was excluded during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Just some puzzle games managed to sneak into niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most engaged experiences worldwide maintaining this status for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
