As any significant prize-giving event draws close, you'll find a demand to include of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and delight the spirits of followers with niche passions.
A fellow writer previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. So would tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification backing this proposal remains most pressing and important of all. Here's the proposal: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
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 steer clear of genre categories. But it is a necessary evil for the industry of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications successfully include many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Think about these outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges in a particular game, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Just some brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often small games, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles count as the most-played games in the world continuing this trend for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the hard edge interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
