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Tetris Didn't Win at The Game Awards — An Additional Classification Could Fix That

Whenever a prominent awards ceremony nears, one notices a clamor for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of followers dedicated to specific genres.

A fellow writer has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. The same goes for tabletop games, representing someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession for the industry of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.

To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.

Current Gaming Award Categories

Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.

Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to put them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.

The Representation Problem

Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles launched regularly lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested Indie races.

  • An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category that year
  • Another imaginative release was excluded in 2019
  • Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment that year
  • Just some puzzle games barely qualified for niche award types

Importance of Logic Titles

These are often compact experiences, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles count as most engaged experiences worldwide maintaining this status for many years.

The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.

Restating the point, these are games lacking appropriate categories in important events. Logic title developers operate at the demanding boundary game development, producing among the purest expressions of gaming itself. Just like movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.

JH
By

Jonathan Harris

Eleanor Thornton is a British writer and cultural critic, focusing on art, design, and innovation.

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