As any prominent prize-giving event nears, you'll find a demand for introducing fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of fans who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. The same goes for strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing and important of all. This is the request: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil in the world of video games, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere for their placement. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- A beloved organization game was overlooked in 2021
- Just some logic titles scraped into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're modest productions, yet the craft behind logic titles is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles count as most popular titles globally and have been for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it also contends for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the challenging frontier of video game design, creating some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay generations.
