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Tetris Couldn't Win at The Game Awards — Another Award Type Could Fix That

As any prominent prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a clamor for introducing fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of enthusiasts with niche passions.

My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand stands as crucial and significant. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.

Categorizing Game Types

Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that cinema institutions avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of video games, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.

For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.

Existing Game Classification System

The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories successfully include many game types, making space possible for numerous titles.

Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: building puzzles from a specific release, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.

Recognition Challenges

There are dozens excellent brain-teasers launched regularly lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.

  • One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely in 2014
  • Another creative title was excluded that year
  • Popular arranging title was overlooked recently
  • Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into small studio or handheld classifications

Value of Brain-Teasers

These are often compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as most popular titles worldwide and have been for many years.

The famous puzzle experience rivals famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and engaging with almost every other genre.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. You could fill multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.

Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification in important events. Puzzle game makers function at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.

DC
By

Dana Carney

Renewable energy consultant with over a decade of experience in solar technology and sustainable project management.

Solar Club Studio

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