Tetris Wouldn't Win at The Game Awards — A New Category May Address This Issue
Each time a prominent honors show draws close, one notices an outcry to include fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and satisfy the spirits of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing above others. This is the request: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Think about these this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked for anything in 2014
- Another imaginative release received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked in 2021
- Just some puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games in the world and have been for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and engaging across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.