Each time a prominent awards ceremony approaches, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would strategy board titles, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal stands as crucial and significant. This is the request: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains a necessary evil in the world of gaming, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, intense tile-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games rank among most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these include experiences that otherwise have no home in important events. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay generations.
