Whenever a major awards ceremony approaches, one notices a clamor for the addition additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and delight the hearts of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal stands as crucial above others. The demand is this: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that cinema institutions don’t do it. However, it represents a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types actually cover numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, intense tile-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely that year
- A different innovative game missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most engaged experiences globally continuing this trend for many years.
The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles claiming status as most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these are games lacking appropriate categories in important events. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.