As any major honors show approaches, there’s always a clamor for the addition of new categories to honor underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. The same goes for board games, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent above others. This is the request: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that cinema institutions don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications actually cover many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Think about these this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly without proper recognition in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything that year
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification in important events. Brain-teaser creators operate at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Just like cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
