Each time a major awards ceremony draws close, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. So would strategy board titles, this being a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why movie academies avoid this approach. Yet it remains a necessary evil in the world of gaming, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated for anything that year
- Another creative title was excluded that year
- Popular arranging title got ignored recently
- Only a few puzzle games managed to sneak into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience challenges well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary game development, creating some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait generations.
