Whenever a major honors show approaches, one notices a demand for the addition of new categories to recognize overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would strategy board titles, which is a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize just as with other single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications successfully include numerous genres, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens outstanding logic titles published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything that year
- Another imaginative release received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often small games, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as most popular titles in the world maintaining this status for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges popular creative games claiming status as most purchased experience; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these are games that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait 35 years.
