Tetris Didn't Win at This Gaming Ceremony — An Additional Classification Could Fix That

Each time a major honors show nears, you'll find a clamor to include fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.

My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. The same goes for tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front just as with other dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification for why my demand stands as crucial and significant. This is the request: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.

Categorizing Game Types

Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an essential concession in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form.

For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.

Existing Game Classification System

The major gaming awards currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these classifications successfully include numerous genres, making space possible for most games within them.

Different situation exists for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.

The Representation Problem

There are dozens outstanding logic titles launched regularly without proper recognition in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races.

  • A renowned logic title got overlooked completely in 2014
  • Another imaginative release missed out that year
  • Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
  • Limited numbers of puzzle games managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories

Significance of Puzzle Games

Commonly they're compact experiences, but the art behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as the most-played games worldwide continuing this trend for many years.

The famous puzzle experience competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it also contends as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.

Proposal and Rationale

Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.

To emphasize again, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Don't make them wait decades.

Daniel Miller
Daniel Miller

A passionate gaming analyst and streamer, sharing insights on casino trends and strategies.