Whenever a major awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a demand for the addition of new categories to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. The same goes for tabletop games, this being someone's personal cause. However, I must insist when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and significant. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types successfully include numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers launched regularly lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated in any category during that awards season
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges well-known building titles claiming status as most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. You could fill five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these are games without proper classification in important events. Logic title developers function at the hard edge of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
