As any prominent prize-giving event draws close, there’s always a demand to include of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. The same goes for strategy board titles, this being a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents an essential concession in the world of video games, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types successfully include numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles published annually that have no home during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated for anything during that awards season
- Another creative title received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few puzzle games managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become best-selling game of all time; it also contends as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the challenging frontier game development, developing some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait generations.
