Each time a significant honors show draws close, one notices a demand to include of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal stands as crucial and significant. Here's the proposal: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why movie academies steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types successfully include numerous genres, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens outstanding logic titles released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- Another creative title missed out in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Well-known matching games count as most popular titles worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and engaging with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. You could fill five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the challenging frontier interactive creation, producing among the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
