Each time a prominent honors show nears, there’s always a clamor for introducing of new categories to honor overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand stands as crucial and significant. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- A beloved organization game got ignored recently
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences in the world and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers function at the hard edge game development, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
