As any major prize-giving event approaches, one notices an outcry for introducing fresh award types to recognize overlooked contributions and delight the passions of enthusiasts with niche passions.
My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand is the most urgent and significant. Here's the proposal: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil for the industry of video games, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles from a specific release, intense tile-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur outstanding logic titles launched regularly that have no home during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated in any category during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
- Only a few puzzle games scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent small games, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences globally maintaining this status for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier game development, producing among essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay 35 years.
