Each time a prominent honors show draws close, you'll find an outcry to include additional classifications to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of video games, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications successfully include many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated in any category in 2014
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
- Limited numbers of puzzle games scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles globally and have been for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with well-known building titles claiming status as most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and engaging across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the challenging frontier interactive creation, producing among most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
