As any major honors show approaches, there’s always a clamor for the addition of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and satisfy the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, 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
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains a necessary evil within the realm of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass many game types, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to put them. Think about these recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition completely during that awards season
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- Popular arranging title was overlooked in 2021
- Just some brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most engaged experiences globally continuing this trend for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. You could fill five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers operate at the hard edge of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
