As any major prize-giving event draws close, there’s always a demand for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, representing a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial above others. This is the request: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies offer these classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Think about these outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers launched regularly without proper recognition at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything that year
- Another creative title missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Only a few puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're small games, yet the craft in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games rank among most engaged experiences globally and have been for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges well-known building titles competing to become highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories in important events. Logic title developers operate at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
