As any major prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a demand for introducing of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand stands as crucial above others. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and typically generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why movie academies steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these classifications successfully include a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Consider three of recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers launched regularly without proper recognition at major award shows, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked completely in 2014
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most popular titles in the world and have been for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become best-selling game of all time; it also contends as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge game development, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait generations.
