As any significant prize-giving event nears, there’s always a clamor to include of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of fans dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, this being someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types actually cover many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to 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, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles globally continuing this trend for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification in important events. Brain-teaser creators are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait generations.
