As any significant honors show draws close, one notices a demand for introducing additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and delight the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. So would board games, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify one unified medium.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: structural challenges in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens excellent brain-teasers published annually that have no home at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated for anything that year
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, however the design of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games count as the most-played games globally and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it also contends for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and engaging with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these include experiences that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.
