As any prominent awards ceremony approaches, one notices a clamor for introducing fresh award types to honor overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of enthusiasts with niche passions.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are tabletop games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification backing this proposal stands as crucial above others. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession for the industry of video games, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything that year
- Another creative title was excluded in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often modest productions, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles stand as the most-played games worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles for the title of best-selling game of all time; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers operate at the hard edge of video game design, producing among the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Just like movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay decades.
