Whenever a significant awards ceremony nears, there’s always an outcry for the addition of new categories to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, which is a passionate advocate's mission. 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 stands as crucial above others. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why movie academies don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, allowing placement for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another creative title missed out during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Just some logic titles scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent small games, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games rank among the most-played games worldwide and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, while interacting with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. One could readily select five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers operate at the hard edge interactive creation, producing among the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
