Whenever a major honors show nears, one notices a clamor for the addition additional classifications to recognize unsung work and fill the passions of fans dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, which is someone's personal cause. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent above others. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications actually cover many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated for anything during that awards season
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- Popular arranging title got ignored that year
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent compact experiences, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games count as the most-played games worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with popular creative games claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it also contends as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification in important events. Puzzle game makers are working at the challenging frontier game development, creating some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
