Tetris Couldn't Win at The Game Awards — Another Award Type May Address This Issue
As any major prize-giving event nears, there’s always a clamor for introducing additional classifications to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and fill the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.
Another commentator previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification backing this proposal stands as crucial and significant. Here's the proposal: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and typically start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why movie academies avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition during gaming ceremonies, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked completely that year
- A different innovative game was excluded in 2019
- A beloved organization game got ignored in 2021
- Just some logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
These are often compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most popular titles globally and have been for many years.
The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it also contends as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and engaging across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay generations.