As any significant honors show draws close, one notices a clamor for introducing fresh award types to recognize unsung work and satisfy the passions of fans dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer has already made for a horror game category. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are tabletop games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification backing this proposal stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and typically spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies avoid this approach. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of video games, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these award types actually cover many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to put them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges of one title, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
There are dozens outstanding logic titles released every year that have no home in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game received no nominations that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked in 2021
- Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among the most-played games worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge game development, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
