As any significant prize-giving event nears, there’s always an outcry for the addition of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. The same goes for board games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and typically spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that cinema institutions don’t do it. However, it represents an essential concession for the industry of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Think about these this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few puzzle games scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art behind logic titles is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games globally continuing this trend for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with well-known building titles competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. You could fill a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the demanding boundary of video game design, developing some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
