Each time a major prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a demand to include fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent above others. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and typically spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why cinema institutions don’t do it. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, which are so diverse they hardly constitute as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category that year
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game was overlooked in 2021
- Just some puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, yet the craft in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences in the world and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. You could fill multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
