As any significant prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a clamor for the addition of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of followers with niche passions.
A fellow writer made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would board games, representing someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. But it is an essential concession in the world of video games, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category during that awards season
- Another creative title missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent small games, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles in the world continuing this trend for over a decade.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators operate at the challenging frontier of video game design, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait generations.
