As any major awards ceremony draws close, one notices an outcry to include of new categories to honor overlooked contributions and satisfy the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would board games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. The demand is this: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why cinema institutions don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry 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 gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, intense tile-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated for anything in 2014
- Another creative title missed out during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games scraped into independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, yet the craft in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most engaged experiences in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers operate at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
