The Iconic Puzzle Game Didn't Succeed at This Gaming Ceremony — A New Category Could Fix That
As any significant awards ceremony approaches, one notices an outcry to include fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of followers with niche passions.
A fellow writer made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial above others. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and typically generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum 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
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: building puzzles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category that year
- Another imaginative release was excluded during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title got ignored in 2021
- Only a few puzzle games scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games globally and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. You could fill a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these represent titles that otherwise have no home in important events. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait generations.