Each time a significant awards ceremony nears, you'll find an outcry to include fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of followers dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal is the most urgent above others. This is the request: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise within the realm of video games, which are so diverse they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types successfully include numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles in a particular game, intense tile-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly 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.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything that year
- Another creative title missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games globally maintaining this status for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience rivals famous sandbox experiences competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. You could fill five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Comparable to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait generations.
