Whenever a major awards ceremony nears, you'll find a clamor for introducing additional classifications to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. So would board games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification supporting my request remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies avoid this approach. But it is an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- A different innovative game received no nominations that year
- A beloved organization game was overlooked that year
- Just some logic titles managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences in the world and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience challenges well-known building titles competing to become best-selling game of all time; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these are games lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait generations.
