As any significant awards ceremony approaches, you'll find a clamor for the addition additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. So would board games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent above others. The demand is this: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions don’t do it. But it is an essential concession for the industry of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.
To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.
The Representation Problem
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested Indie races.
- A renowned logic title got overlooked completely in 2014
- Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
- Popular arranging title got ignored recently
- Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types
Value of Brain-Teasers
These are often compact experiences, but the art behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games stand as most popular titles in the world continuing this trend for an extended period.
The legendary block-stacking game rivals popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.
Recommendation and Reasoning
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary game development, creating some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait 35 years.
