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

As any prominent awards ceremony nears, one notices a demand for introducing additional classifications to recognize unsung work and fill the hearts of enthusiasts with niche passions.

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, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial above others. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.

The Genre Classification Challenge

Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains a necessary evil in the world of interactive entertainment, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.

For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.

Current Gaming Award Categories

The major gaming awards presently include award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories successfully include many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.

Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.

The Representation Problem

There are dozens excellent brain-teasers released every year that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.

  • One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated completely in 2014
  • A different innovative game missed out during that ceremony
  • A beloved organization game got ignored that year
  • Only a few brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types

Importance of Logic Titles

These are often compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.

The famous puzzle experience challenges famous sandbox experiences claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.

And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the hard edge game development, producing among the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay generations.

Matthew Monroe
Matthew Monroe

Elara Vance is a seasoned gambling analyst with over a decade of experience in online casinos, specializing in strategy development and game reviews.