Tetris Wouldn't Win at This Gaming Ceremony — A New Category May Address This Issue

Whenever a significant awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a clamor for the addition additional classifications to acknowledge overlooked contributions and delight the hearts of followers with niche passions.

My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.

Categorizing Game Types

Classifying creative works isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason cinema institutions avoid this approach. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify as a single art form.

For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.

Present Award Structure

Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories actually cover a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.

Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Nowhere, that’s where.

Recognition Challenges

There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.

  • A renowned logic title received no recognition completely during that awards season
  • Another creative title missed out in 2019
  • A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
  • Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types

Significance of Puzzle Games

Frequently they represent compact experiences, yet the craft in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences in the world and have been for over a decade.

The famous puzzle experience competes with popular creative games for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with diverse game types.

The Solution and Justification

Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.

Restating the point, these represent titles without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators are working at the demanding boundary game development, creating some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.

Erin Rowe
Erin Rowe

A software engineer and tech writer passionate about AI ethics and open-source projects, with over a decade of industry experience.