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Tetris Wouldn't Triumph at The Game Awards — A New Category May Address This Issue

Each time a significant honors show approaches, one notices a clamor for introducing fresh award types to recognize unsung work and delight the hearts of fans with niche passions.

Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would strategy board titles, which is a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front just as with other blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: There should be an award type for logic-based games.

The Genre Classification Challenge

Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that cinema institutions don’t do it. However, it represents an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute one unified medium.

To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, genre categories are essential.

Current Gaming Award Categories

The major gaming awards presently include classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, making space possible for most games within them.

This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.

The Representation Problem

Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.

  • One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely that year
  • Another imaginative release was excluded that year
  • Popular arranging title got ignored in 2021
  • Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into small studio or handheld classifications

Importance of Logic Titles

These are often small games, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences worldwide maintaining this status for an extended period.

The iconic tile-matching title rivals famous sandbox experiences claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.

And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories in important events. Logic title developers function at the hard edge game development, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay decades.

The writer

Gary Lopez

A visionary digital artist and creative director with over a decade of experience in blending aesthetics with functionality.

Solar Blackjack Studio

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