Each time a prominent honors show draws close, one notices a clamor for the addition of new categories to honor underappreciated efforts and fill the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.
A fellow writer has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, this being someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward since similar to single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.
Current Gaming Award Categories
The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, allowing placement for most games within them.
Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Think about these this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, intense tile-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
The Representation Problem
Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly without proper recognition at major award shows, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
- One classic puzzle game received no recognition for anything during that awards season
- A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
- A beloved organization game got ignored that year
- Limited numbers of logic titles managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications
Value of Brain-Teasers
Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for many years.
The legendary block-stacking game competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging with diverse game types.
The Solution and Justification
Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. You could fill a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.
Restating the point, these are games lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators are working at the challenging frontier game development, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.
