Whenever a major prize-giving event draws close, one notices a clamor for introducing of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and delight the passions of followers who have specialized interests.
My colleague made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. Here's the proposal: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Classifying creative works isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise in the world of gaming, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.
Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely during that awards season
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- Just some brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games stand as most engaged experiences in the world continuing this trend for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait 35 years.
