As any prominent prize-giving event draws close, you'll find an outcry for the addition additional classifications to honor underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of followers with niche passions.
My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. However, I must insist when I prioritize just as with other single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. But it is an essential concession in the world of gaming, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Leading game ceremonies currently feature award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Which classification works within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated in any category in 2014
- Another creative title missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Just some brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games count as the most-played games globally and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and engaging across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
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, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
