Whenever a significant prize-giving event nears, one notices a clamor to include of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and delight the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. Here's the proposal: We need an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil within the realm of gaming, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Think about these this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- A beloved organization game was overlooked that year
- Only a few puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're small games, yet the craft in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most popular titles globally continuing this trend for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification in important events. Puzzle game makers operate at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
