Each time a prominent prize-giving event approaches, you'll find an outcry for the addition additional classifications to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. The same goes for strategy board titles, which is a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial above others. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession in the world of video games, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards presently include genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types actually cover many game types, making space possible for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated for anything that year
- Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
- Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games in the world and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories in important events. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge game development, developing some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Just like movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
