Whenever a prominent prize-giving event nears, there’s always an outcry to include fresh award types to recognize unsung work and satisfy the spirits of fans dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. The same goes for tabletop games, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and typically spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. However, it represents a necessary evil for the industry of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types successfully include numerous genres, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked for anything that year
- A different innovative game was excluded during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
- Just some logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're small games, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences globally continuing this trend for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it also contends as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
