As any significant honors show nears, there’s always a clamor for the addition fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these classifications successfully include numerous genres, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game was excluded in 2019
- A beloved organization game was overlooked that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're small games, but the art of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games worldwide continuing this trend for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait decades.
