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Tetris Wouldn't Win at The Game Awards — An Additional Classification May Address This Issue

As any significant prize-giving event nears, there’s always an outcry for introducing fresh award types to recognize unsung work and delight the hearts of fans who have specialized interests.

A fellow writer made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, representing someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal stands as crucial above others. The demand is this: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why movie academies steer clear of genre categories. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify a single creative category.

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

Current Gaming Award Categories

Leading game ceremonies presently include classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types effectively encompass many game types, making space possible for numerous titles.

Not so for brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Consider three of this year’s best games, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Where could they possibly go within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.

Recognition Challenges

There are dozens excellent brain-teasers published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.

  • An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category that year
  • Another creative title was excluded that year
  • Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
  • Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types

Significance of Puzzle Games

These are often small games, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most popular titles in the world continuing this trend for many years.

The legendary block-stacking game competes with well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it additionally competes as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave many worthy titles.

And to reiterate, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories in important events. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.

The writer

Andrea Jackson

A passionate astronomer and science communicator with over a decade of experience in astrophotography.

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