Whenever a prominent awards ceremony approaches, there’s always a demand for introducing additional classifications to recognize underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and important of all. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil for the industry of gaming, which are so diverse they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies presently include genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Think about these recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers launched regularly without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most popular titles worldwide and have been for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges famous sandbox experiences claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it also contends for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these include experiences that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, producing among most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay decades.
