As any prominent prize-giving event nears, you'll find a clamor to include additional classifications to acknowledge unsung work and delight the spirits of fans who have specialized interests.
My colleague previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. The same goes for board games, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of video games, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles of one title, intense tile-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game missed out during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game got ignored recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent small games, yet the craft of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games in the world continuing this trend for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience rivals famous sandbox experiences competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. One could readily select multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the challenging frontier of video game design, creating some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
