As any prominent awards ceremony nears, one notices a clamor for the addition fresh award types to recognize unsung work and fill the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. So would strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal remains most pressing and important of all. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types actually cover numerous genres, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked in 2021
- Just some logic titles scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most engaged experiences in the world and have been for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers operate at the challenging frontier game development, developing some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Just like film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay decades.
