Each time a significant awards ceremony approaches, there’s always a clamor for the addition fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing and important of all. Here's the proposal: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these award types successfully include numerous genres, making space possible for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Think about these this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Which classification works within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release was excluded that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
- Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games rank among the most-played games globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home in important events. Logic title developers function at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay generations.
