Tetris Didn't Succeed at This Gaming Ceremony — A New Category Could Fix That

As any significant honors show approaches, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to honor overlooked contributions and delight the passions of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.

My colleague made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. 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 dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal is the most urgent and significant. Here's the proposal: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.

The Genre Classification Challenge

Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.

For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.

Existing Game Classification System

Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.

Different situation exists for puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.

Acknowledgment Issues

Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.

  • One classic puzzle game got overlooked in any category that year
  • A different innovative game was excluded in 2019
  • Popular arranging title was overlooked recently
  • Only a few brain-teasers scraped into small studio or handheld classifications

Value of Brain-Teasers

Commonly they're modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences worldwide maintaining this status for many years.

The famous puzzle experience competes with famous sandbox experiences competing to become highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging with almost every other genre.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.

Restating the point, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the challenging frontier game development, producing among the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay decades.

Shane Maldonado
Shane Maldonado

A technology strategist and writer with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and business consulting.

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