Whenever a major honors show approaches, there’s always an outcry to include fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing and important of all. The demand is this: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents an essential concession within the realm of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, making space possible for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens outstanding logic titles released every year that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- Another creative title was excluded in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked in 2021
- Just some brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent small games, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games count as most popular titles globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the challenging frontier of video game design, creating some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
