Each time a prominent awards ceremony draws close, you'll find a clamor for the addition additional classifications to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the passions of fans with niche passions.
My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. So would tabletop games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is a necessary evil for the industry of video games, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Which classification works within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated in any category that year
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- Popular arranging title was overlooked in 2021
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers operate at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.