Tetris Couldn't Triumph at The Game Awards — A New Category Could Fix That

As any major prize-giving event draws close, one notices a demand for the addition fresh award types to honor overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of fans with niche passions.

Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case for why my demand remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: There should be a category for puzzle games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they hardly constitute as a single art form.

To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.

Present Award Structure

The major gaming awards presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these award types successfully include many game types, making space possible for most games within them.

This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Which classification works within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.

Recognition Challenges

There are dozens excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.

• One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated in any category during that awards season
• Another creative title received no nominations that year
• Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment recently
• Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories

Value of Brain-Teasers

These are often modest productions, however the design of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles globally and have been for an extended period.

The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.

Proposal and Rationale

Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.

To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification in important events. Logic title developers function at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.