Whenever a major awards ceremony approaches, you'll find an outcry for introducing of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and delight the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand stands as crucial above others. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, intense tile-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly without proper recognition in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything in 2014
- Another creative title was excluded in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment that year
- Just some brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers function at the hard edge game development, developing some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
