Whenever a major awards ceremony approaches, one notices a clamor to include fresh award types to honor unsung work and satisfy the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. So would board games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal is the most urgent and important of all. Here's the proposal: We need an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies currently feature award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types successfully include many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Think about these this year’s best games, each quite distinct: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition for anything during that awards season
- Another creative title missed out that year
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games rank among most popular titles in the world maintaining this status for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the demanding boundary interactive creation, producing among most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
