As any significant prize-giving event nears, you'll find a demand for introducing of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would board games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: We need an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that cinema institutions avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types actually cover a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category that year
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- A beloved organization game was overlooked recently
- Just some puzzle games barely qualified for independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, yet the craft of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences in the world and have been for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these are games that otherwise have no home in important events. Puzzle game makers are working at the challenging frontier game development, producing among essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.
