Each time a significant prize-giving event nears, there’s always an outcry for the addition fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the spirits of fans who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. The same goes for tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. Here's the proposal: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, intense tile-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens outstanding logic titles published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another creative title was excluded that year
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're modest productions, however the design of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles in the world maintaining this status for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals popular creative games claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles that otherwise have no home in important events. Brain-teaser creators operate at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait decades.
