Each time a prominent honors show approaches, you'll find a demand for the addition additional classifications to acknowledge unsung work and delight the passions of enthusiasts with niche passions.
A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification backing this proposal stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories successfully include many game types, and you can find room for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated completely in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences in the world continuing this trend for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers operate at the hard edge game development, producing among most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.