Whenever a major honors show approaches, you'll find a demand for introducing fresh award types to honor unsung work and fill the passions of fans with niche passions.
A fellow writer has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. So would tabletop games, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession in the world of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications effectively encompass numerous genres, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens outstanding logic titles launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated in any category during that awards season
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some logic titles barely qualified for niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as the most-played games globally and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals well-known building titles claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. It would be easy to populate five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these are games without proper classification in important events. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
