Each time a prominent honors show approaches, you'll find an outcry for introducing additional classifications to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of followers with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. So would tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that movie academies steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass many game types, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely during that awards season
- A different innovative game missed out in 2019
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment recently
- Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games worldwide maintaining this status for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges famous sandbox experiences claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, developing some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
