As any major honors show draws close, you'll find an outcry for the addition of new categories to recognize unsung work and satisfy the passions of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
A fellow writer made the case for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are board games, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these classifications actually cover numerous genres, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.
Acknowledgment Issues
Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers launched regularly lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, if they accidentally match classification types such as Mobile Game, 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 during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title was overlooked recently
- Only a few logic titles barely qualified for niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
Frequently they represent small games, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles in the world maintaining this status for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with well-known building titles claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.
Proposal and Rationale
Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait 35 years.
