Each time a significant awards ceremony draws close, one notices a demand to include fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer previously argued supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. So would board games, representing someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of video games, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies offer these award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- Another imaginative release was excluded that year
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment recently
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games count as the most-played games globally continuing this trend for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles competing to become highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers operate at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
