Whenever a significant prize-giving event nears, one notices a demand for introducing additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and fill the spirits of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand stands as crucial above others. Here's the proposal: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
Organizing Gaming Categories
Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason movie academies avoid this approach. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.
Current Gaming Award Categories
Prominent interactive entertainment events offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications effectively encompass many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races.
- An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category during that awards season
- Another creative title was excluded in 2019
- A beloved organization game got ignored recently
- Just some brain-teasers scraped into small studio or handheld classifications
Importance of Logic Titles
Commonly they're modest productions, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with well-known building titles competing to become highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these are games without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
