Tetris Wouldn't Triumph at This Gaming Ceremony — Another Award Type May Address This Issue

As any prominent awards ceremony nears, one notices an outcry to include fresh award types to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of followers with niche passions.

My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward since similar to dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request remains most pressing and significant. This is the request: We need a category for puzzle games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions don’t do it. Yet it remains a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.

For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.

Present Award Structure

The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these award types actually cover numerous genres, making space possible accommodating various experiences.

Not so for brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles in a particular game, 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.

Recognition Challenges

There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.

  • An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked for anything in 2014
  • Another imaginative release was excluded during that ceremony
  • Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
  • Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications

Importance of Logic Titles

Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles count as the most-played games worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.

The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games for the title of most purchased experience; it also contends for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and engaging across multiple categories.

Proposal and Rationale

Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate five nominees engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.

Restating the point, these include experiences that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like film action specialists, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay generations.

Gregory Branch
Gregory Branch

A tech journalist and digital strategist passionate about exploring how emerging technologies shape society and business.