As any major awards ceremony approaches, one notices a clamor for introducing fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of fans who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of video games, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything that year
- A different innovative game received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored that year
- Just some puzzle games scraped into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games worldwide continuing this trend for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. You could fill five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave 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 challenging frontier interactive creation, creating some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Comparable to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
