As any significant prize-giving event nears, there’s always a clamor for introducing additional classifications to acknowledge unsung work and satisfy the spirits of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification for why my demand remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies don’t do it. But it is an essential concession in the world of gaming, showing incredible range they hardly constitute one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards presently include classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types actually cover a lot of ground, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated completely during that awards season
- A different innovative game was excluded during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
- Just some brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games globally and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience challenges well-known building titles for the title of most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification in important events. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
