Tetris Couldn't Win at This Gaming Ceremony — An Additional Classification Could Fix That
Whenever a significant honors show approaches, there’s always a clamor to include of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and fill the passions of fans with niche passions.
A fellow writer previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing and important of all. The demand is this: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards presently include classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types actually cover numerous genres, making space possible accommodating various experiences.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Recognition Challenges
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked for anything during that awards season
- A different innovative game missed out that year
- Popular arranging title got ignored that year
- Just some brain-teasers scraped into niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often modest productions, but the art of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games stand as most popular titles globally and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience challenges well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. One could readily select five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait 35 years.