Whenever a significant honors show draws close, one notices an outcry to include fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and satisfy the passions of fans with niche passions.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. So would strategy board titles, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these this year’s best games, all very different: building puzzles in a particular game, intense tile-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything that year
- A different innovative game missed out during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent compact experiences, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most popular titles in the world continuing this trend for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges 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 within interactive entertainment, and engaging with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the hard edge game development, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
