As any prominent awards ceremony draws close, one notices a clamor for the addition fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Think about these recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles in a particular game, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated completely that year
- Another creative title received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often compact experiences, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Well-known matching games stand as most engaged experiences globally continuing this trend for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these represent titles without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
