Whenever a major awards ceremony nears, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and satisfy the hearts of fans with niche passions.
A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would tabletop games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often modest productions, however the design behind logic titles is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it also contends for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
