As any prominent honors show nears, one notices a clamor for introducing fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. So would tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal is the most urgent and significant. This is the request: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why cinema institutions avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored that year
- Limited numbers of puzzle games scraped into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often modest productions, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as the most-played games globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. You could fill five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories in important events. Brain-teaser creators operate at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
