As any significant prize-giving event draws close, you'll find a demand to include of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the spirits of enthusiasts with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial above others. The demand is this: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why movie academies avoid this approach. However, it represents an essential concession for the industry of gaming, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications successfully include many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game missed out in 2019
- A beloved organization game got ignored recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles in the world and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. You could fill five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers operate at the challenging frontier game development, producing among the purest expressions of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
