Each time a major awards ceremony draws close, one notices a clamor for the addition fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the passions of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. The same goes for strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case 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.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains a necessary evil in the world of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories actually cover many game types, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Consider three of recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Which classification works within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers released every year that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely in 2014
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game was overlooked in 2021
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're small games, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers operate at the challenging frontier interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
