Whenever a significant awards ceremony approaches, one notices a clamor for the addition fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. The same goes for strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise for the industry of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to put them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges of one title, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers launched regularly without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent compact experiences, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among the most-played games globally and have been for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience rivals popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
