As any prominent honors show nears, there’s always a clamor to include additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of followers with niche passions.
A fellow writer has already made for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would tabletop games, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains a necessary evil for the industry of gaming, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories successfully include numerous genres, allowing placement for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Think about these recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: structural challenges from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition in any category that year
- A different innovative game received no nominations during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game was overlooked that year
- Just some puzzle games barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often modest productions, but the art in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games stand as most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
Restating the point, these are games that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
