As any major prize-giving event nears, there’s always a demand for the addition additional classifications to acknowledge overlooked contributions and fill the passions of fans with niche passions.
Another commentator has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, representing a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification backing this proposal is the most urgent and significant. This is the request: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. But it is a necessary evil in the world of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: structural challenges of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers launched regularly lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another creative title missed out that year
- A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment that year
- Just some logic titles scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent modest productions, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games worldwide and have been for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals well-known building titles competing to become highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
To emphasize again, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Just like movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
