Whenever a major prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a clamor to include of new categories to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request stands as crucial above others. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why cinema institutions don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of video games, which are so diverse they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards currently feature classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications successfully include numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked for anything that year
- Another imaginative release was excluded that year
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Just some brain-teasers barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles in the world continuing this trend for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience rivals popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification in important events. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay decades.