Tetris Wouldn't Win at The Game Awards — Another Award Type Could Fix That

Whenever a prominent awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a clamor for introducing additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of followers with niche passions.

My colleague has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.

Categorizing Game Types

Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. However, it represents an essential concession for the industry of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify a single creative category.

For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.

Existing Game Classification System

Leading game ceremonies offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these award types effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.

Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.

Acknowledgment Issues

Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers published annually lacking appropriate categories during gaming ceremonies, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive Indie races.

• A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated completely in 2014
• Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
• A beloved organization game got ignored recently
• Limited numbers of brain-teasers scraped into niche award types

Value of Brain-Teasers

Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Well-known matching games stand as the most-played games globally maintaining this status for many years.

The famous puzzle experience competes with well-known building titles competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.

The Solution and Justification

Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.

To emphasize again, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the hard edge interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay generations.