As any prominent awards ceremony approaches, there’s always a demand to include of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, which is a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification supporting my request remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works is not a science; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. Yet it remains a necessary evil in the world of gaming, which are so diverse they hardly constitute one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated for anything during that awards season
- Another creative title received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent small games, yet the craft of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most popular titles globally continuing this trend for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with well-known building titles competing to become highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. One could readily select a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge of video game design, producing among the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait 35 years.
