As any major prize-giving event nears, you'll find a clamor for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of fans with niche passions.
My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would board games, representing someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial above others. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents an essential concession within the realm of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Which classification works within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers launched regularly without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely during that awards season
- Another creative title was excluded during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles in the world continuing this trend for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators operate at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait generations.