As any prominent awards ceremony approaches, you'll find an outcry to include of new categories to recognize overlooked contributions and satisfy the spirits of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague made the case for a horror game category. It would be amazing. The same goes for tabletop games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing above others. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies offer these award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to put them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category that year
- Another imaginative release missed out during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Just some puzzle games scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Commonly they're modest productions, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences worldwide continuing this trend for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. You could fill a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
To emphasize again, these are games that otherwise have no home in important events. Brain-teaser creators are working at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait 35 years.
