Each time a prominent prize-giving event nears, one notices a clamor for introducing of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of fans with niche passions.
My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize just as with other single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions don’t do it. However, it represents a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles in a particular game, intense tile-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely during that awards season
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art behind logic titles is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most popular titles in the world and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it also contends for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. One could readily select a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these are games lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait generations.
