The Iconic Puzzle Game Didn't Succeed at The Game Awards — Another Award Type Might Solve This

Whenever a major honors show approaches, you'll find a demand for introducing additional classifications to honor unsung work and fill the hearts of fans with niche passions.

Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are board games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist if I try to elbow in front just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.

Categorizing Game Types

Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason movie academies don’t do it. But it is a necessary evil in the world of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify one unified medium.

For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.

Current Gaming Award Categories

The major gaming awards offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories successfully include numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.

This doesn't apply to puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.

Acknowledgment Issues

Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home at major award shows, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.

  • A renowned logic title received no recognition completely in 2014
  • Another imaginative release received no nominations that year
  • Well-received sorting experience got ignored recently
  • Just some brain-teasers managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories

Value of Brain-Teasers

These are often compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games stand as most engaged experiences in the world continuing this trend for an extended period.

The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.

To emphasize again, these represent titles without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the hard edge interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.

Scott Gonzalez
Scott Gonzalez

A seasoned media strategist with over 15 years in digital journalism and content creation across UK platforms.