As any significant awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a clamor to include additional classifications to acknowledge unsung work and delight the spirits of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. Equally deserving are board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification backing this proposal stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession for the industry of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Think about these this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles launched regularly lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything in 2014
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences globally and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the challenging frontier interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
