Each time a significant awards ceremony nears, you'll find a clamor for the addition additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing and important of all. The demand is this: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies offer these award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications actually cover many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely that year
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
- Just some logic titles barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. You could fill multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the challenging frontier interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Just like movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait decades.
