I would categorize novice game players as players who have not spent any significant lengths of time playing video games. They are not familiar with typical game nuances, controls, sequences, or events. They do not intuitively know which buttons to press, how combos work, etc. They probably watch cut scenes (even if only because they don’t know how to skip them). 😉
Expert game players, on the other hand, have spent significant time playing video games. They have a much stronger intuitive sense of how games and controls work. They probably skip cut scenes, knowing what the scene will tell them. They are familiar with typical game sequences, have learned to master combos, etc.