Each time a major prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a demand for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the spirits of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. Here's the proposal: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains a necessary evil in the world of gaming, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Think about these outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated for anything in 2014
- A different innovative game received no nominations during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few puzzle games managed to sneak into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games claiming status as most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these include experiences without proper classification in important events. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
