Whenever a major prize-giving event approaches, there’s always an outcry for introducing additional classifications to acknowledge unsung work and delight the hearts of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents a necessary evil in the world of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Just some puzzle games scraped into niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often small games, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among the most-played games globally continuing this trend for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience rivals popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these include experiences without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait decades.
