Each time a significant awards ceremony nears, you'll find a demand for the addition fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and delight the passions of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. So would tabletop games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that cinema institutions don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies offer these classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types effectively encompass many game types, and you can find room for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles of one title, intense tile-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game missed out during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title got ignored recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often small games, yet the craft behind logic titles is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most popular titles worldwide continuing this trend for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience rivals famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it also contends for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier of video game design, developing some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait decades.
