Whenever a significant awards ceremony nears, there’s always an outcry to include of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and satisfy the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, this being a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing and significant. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an essential concession for the industry of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, intense tile-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers released every year 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.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything in 2014
- A different innovative game was excluded in 2019
- A beloved organization game got ignored in 2021
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often small games, yet the craft of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games stand as most engaged experiences in the world continuing this trend for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers function at the demanding boundary interactive creation, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
