Whenever a significant prize-giving event approaches, there’s always a clamor for the addition of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and fill the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would strategy board titles, this being a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is a necessary evil in the world of gaming, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens outstanding logic titles published annually that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated for anything in 2014
- Another imaginative release was excluded in 2019
- A beloved organization game got ignored that year
- Just some puzzle games managed to sneak into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. You could fill multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, developing some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
