Whenever a major prize-giving event nears, there’s always a demand for the addition of new categories to recognize unsung work and delight the spirits of followers with niche passions.
My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial above others. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions don’t do it. But it is a necessary evil in the world of gaming, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Think about these this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, intense tile-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually without proper recognition in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated in any category in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
- Just some logic titles barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences in the world and have been for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, while interacting with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. You could fill five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers operate at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
