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

Each time a prominent prize-giving event nears, there’s always an outcry for the addition additional classifications to recognize unsung work and fill the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.

Another commentator made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial and important of all. This is the request: We need an award type for logic-based games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions don’t do it. But it is a necessary evil for the industry of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them a single creative category.

To recognize the complete range of interactive entertainment excellence to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.

Present Award Structure

Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications effectively encompass numerous genres, making space possible for numerous titles.

This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.

Acknowledgment Issues

Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers released every year lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.

  • An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition completely that year
  • A different innovative game was excluded during that ceremony
  • Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment in 2021
  • Limited numbers of puzzle games managed to sneak into small studio or handheld classifications

Significance of Puzzle Games

Frequently they represent modest productions, however the design in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Well-known matching games rank among most engaged experiences globally and have been for an extended period.

The iconic tile-matching title rivals famous sandbox experiences for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging with diverse game types.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. It would be easy to populate five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.

To emphasize again, these include experiences that otherwise have no home in important events. Puzzle game makers function at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among the purest expressions of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay 35 years.

JR
The writer

Joseph Rose

Fintech analyst and crypto enthusiast with over a decade of experience in blockchain technology and digital asset markets.

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