Whenever a significant prize-giving event approaches, there’s always a demand for introducing additional classifications to honor unsung work and fill the hearts of followers with niche passions.
My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: We need an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. But it is a necessary evil within the realm of video games, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely during that awards season
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- Popular arranging title was overlooked recently
- Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often modest productions, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles count as most popular titles in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The famous puzzle experience challenges popular creative games competing to become best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
Restating the point, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the challenging frontier interactive creation, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
