Tetris Didn't Triumph at The Game Awards — An Additional Classification May Address This Issue

As any major honors show nears, there’s always a demand for the addition fresh award types to acknowledge overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of fans with niche passions.

Another commentator made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. The same goes for strategy board titles, this being someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case supporting my request remains most pressing and significant. The demand is this: We need an award type for logic-based games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it’s very subjective, and it will always spark debates concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that cinema institutions avoid this approach. Yet it remains a necessary evil for the industry of gaming, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.

For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.

Present Award Structure

Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room for most games within them.

This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Think about these outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: structural challenges in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.

Acknowledgment Issues

There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match award groups including Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.

  • One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely during that awards season
  • Another creative title missed out that year
  • Popular arranging title received no acknowledgment in 2021
  • Just some brain-teasers managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories

Value of Brain-Teasers

Commonly they're compact experiences, yet the craft behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences globally and have been for over a decade.

The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.

Proposal and Rationale

Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.

And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators function at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.

Cynthia Jacobs
Cynthia Jacobs

Elena Hartwell is a sustainability advocate and environmental writer passionate about green living solutions.