Whenever a prominent awards ceremony draws close, one notices a demand for the addition additional classifications to acknowledge unsung work and fill the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, representing someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request remains most pressing and important of all. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories actually cover many game types, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated for anything that year
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent small games, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it also contends for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait generations.
