Each time a major prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a demand for the addition additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and satisfy the passions of fans who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise for the industry of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they hardly constitute a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards offer these classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types successfully include many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, intense tile-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few puzzle games barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often compact experiences, yet the craft of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges well-known building titles competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait generations.
