As any prominent prize-giving event nears, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and delight the hearts of fans with niche passions.
A fellow writer has already made for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing and significant. This is the request: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards offer these classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens outstanding logic titles launched regularly lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated in any category that year
- Another creative title missed out that year
- Popular arranging title was overlooked recently
- Only a few brain-teasers scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among the most-played games globally continuing this trend for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title challenges well-known building titles for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
Restating the point, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers function at the challenging frontier of video game design, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay generations.
