As any prominent honors show approaches, there’s always a clamor to include fresh award types to recognize unsung work and delight the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, this being someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is an unavoidable compromise in the world of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories successfully include many game types, and you can find room for numerous titles.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to put them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers launched regularly lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition completely in 2014
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as the most-played games in the world maintaining this status for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals popular creative games claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
Restating the point, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the hard edge game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Just like cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
