As any prominent prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a clamor for the addition fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. So would tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, which are so diverse they hardly constitute a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass many game types, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles in a particular game, intense tile-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition completely in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored that year
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals popular creative games claiming status as most purchased experience; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these include experiences that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers function at the hard edge game development, producing among the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Just like movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
