As any prominent awards ceremony nears, there’s always a clamor to include fresh award types to honor overlooked contributions and satisfy the spirits of followers with niche passions.
My colleague made the case supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. Here's the proposal: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing Game Types
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. But it is a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.
For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories effectively encompass many game types, and you can find room for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges in a particular game, intense tile-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers launched regularly without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated completely during that awards season
- Another imaginative release missed out during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
- 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 is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles count as the most-played games globally continuing this trend for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it also contends for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and engaging across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
Restating the point, these represent titles that otherwise have no home in important events. Logic title developers operate at the challenging frontier interactive creation, producing among most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
