Whenever a major awards ceremony nears, one notices an outcry for introducing fresh award types to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of fans who have specialized interests.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal stands as crucial above others. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles of one title, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category that year
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent modest productions, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among the most-played games worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it also contends for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these include experiences that otherwise have no home in important events. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
