As any major honors show nears, there’s always an outcry for the addition of new categories to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the passions of followers who have specialized interests.
Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist for pushing forward since similar to blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial above others. This is the request: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise in the world of gaming, which are so diverse they hardly constitute a single creative category.
For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Present Award Structure
Leading game ceremonies offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these six categories actually cover many game types, allowing placement accommodating various experiences.
This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.
Recognition Challenges
There are dozens outstanding logic titles launched regularly without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging independent game categories.
- A renowned logic title received no recognition in any category in 2014
- Another imaginative release missed out that year
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked in 2021
- Just some brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types
Importance of Logic Titles
These are often small games, yet the craft in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for many years.
The iconic tile-matching title rivals well-known building titles claiming status as most purchased experience; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging across multiple categories.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait decades.
