Whenever a significant awards ceremony nears, there’s always a demand for introducing of new categories to honor underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification backing this proposal stands as crucial above others. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. But it is an unavoidable compromise in the world of video games, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles published annually that have no home in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category that year
- Another creative title received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
- Just some puzzle games barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games rank among the most-played games globally and have been for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
