Tetris Wouldn't Win at The Game Awards — An Additional Classification Might Solve This
As any prominent awards ceremony approaches, there’s always an outcry for the addition of new categories to recognize unsung work and satisfy the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.
My colleague has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize just as with other single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal is the most urgent and important of all. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. This explains why movie academies steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another creative title missed out during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title was overlooked in 2021
- Only a few brain-teasers managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're small games, however the design in brain-teasers carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles stand as the most-played games in the world and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games competing to become most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, while interacting with diverse game types.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the demanding boundary interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.