Skip to content
Daily Trail Pulse

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

Whenever a prominent prize-giving event draws close, one notices a demand for the addition of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and delight the hearts of followers with niche passions.

Another commentator has already made supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: There should be an award type for logic-based games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; it’s very subjective, and inevitably generate discussions resulting in unclear classifications. There’s a reason cinema institutions don’t do it. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.

To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to receive proper recognition, classification by type becomes crucial.

Current Gaming Award Categories

Leading game ceremonies presently include award types recognizing Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room for most games within them.

Not so for logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Think about these recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Where could they possibly go between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.

Recognition Challenges

Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested independent game categories.

  • One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely in 2014
  • Another creative title was excluded in 2019
  • Popular arranging title got ignored recently
  • Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for niche award types

Significance of Puzzle Games

Commonly they're modest productions, yet the craft in brain-teasers is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles count as most popular titles worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.

The iconic tile-matching title rivals popular creative games for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and engaging across multiple categories.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude so many good games out.

To emphasize again, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Brain-teaser creators operate at the demanding boundary of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay decades.

About the author

Eric Baird

An avid hiker and outdoor writer sharing trail experiences and sustainable adventure tips.

Daily Trail Pulse

Type to search articles.