The Iconic Puzzle Game Didn't Triumph at The Game Awards — A New Category May Address This Issue
As any significant prize-giving event draws close, there’s always a clamor for introducing fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. So would strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification supporting my request remains most pressing above others. This is the request: There should be a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why film award organizations 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 as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies offer these award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
Not so for puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. What category would fit them between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals 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 within interactive entertainment, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among the purest expressions of the video game form. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.