Whenever a major prize-giving event draws close, there’s always an outcry to include additional classifications to recognize underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, this being a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to put them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated for anything in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out during that ceremony
- A beloved organization game was overlooked in 2021
- Limited numbers of puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Significance of Puzzle Games
Frequently they represent small games, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among the most-played games globally and have been for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, while interacting with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these are games that otherwise have no home in important events. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
