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

As any prominent awards ceremony approaches, you'll find a demand for introducing fresh award types to acknowledge overlooked contributions and fill the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.

A fellow writer previously argued advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are board games, representing a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand is the most urgent and important of all. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of video games, which are so diverse they hardly constitute as a single art form.

For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.

Existing Game Classification System

The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these classifications actually cover numerous genres, and you can find room for numerous titles.

Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.

The Representation Problem

Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.

  • One classic puzzle game received no recognition completely during that awards season
  • Another creative title was excluded that year
  • Well-received sorting experience got ignored in 2021
  • Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into independent or mobile categories

Importance of Logic Titles

Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences globally and have been for many years.

The legendary block-stacking game rivals popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.

Restating the point, these are games that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay generations.

John Allen
John Allen

A seasoned technology journalist with over a decade of experience covering digital innovation and business strategies in the UK market.