Each time a major awards ceremony approaches, there’s always an outcry to include of new categories to honor overlooked contributions and satisfy the passions of followers dedicated to specific genres.
Another commentator previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. The same goes for tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist when I prioritize since similar to single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand remains most pressing above others. This is the request: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
Categorizing Game Types
Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. But it is a necessary evil in the world of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories successfully include a lot of ground, and you can find room for most games within them.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works 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, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category in 2014
- A different innovative game was excluded that year
- Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment recently
- Limited numbers of logic titles managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games stand as most engaged experiences in the world continuing this trend for an extended period.
The famous puzzle experience rivals popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences that otherwise have no home in important events. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.
