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Tetris Didn't Succeed at The Game Awards — Another Award Type May Address This Issue

Each time a major awards ceremony nears, you'll find an outcry to include fresh award types to honor overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.

A fellow writer has already made supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, representing someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize just as with other blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession in the world of video games, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.

To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.

Existing Game Classification System

Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.

This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere.

The Representation Problem

Many instances occur outstanding logic titles launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.

  • An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category during that awards season
  • Another creative title missed out that year
  • A beloved organization game was overlooked in 2021
  • Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories

Value of Brain-Teasers

Commonly they're small games, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most engaged experiences worldwide continuing this trend for many years.

The legendary block-stacking game competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.

Proposal and Rationale

Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. You could fill multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.

To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.

By

Matthew Smith

A cultural anthropologist and writer passionate about documenting cross-border narratives and fostering international dialogue.

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