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A hasty conjecture about the differences between novice and expert players.

From my limited experience, it seems that these two types of people play for different reasons in different ways.  Novices seem to take a relaxed approach, enjoying the game as entertainment.  Experts, on the other hand, play much more passionately.  While they doubtless take much enjoyment from the game, the speed, ease, and prestige with which the beat the game become extremely important as a way to indicate social standing among other experts. Since the goals of game play differ, so do the methods.  Novices are less worried with how quickly they beat the game (and may not even care about beating it at all) while experts attempt to conquer the game as quickly as possible.

Novice players are typically new to a game or system, so most of their time spent playing is centered on learning the game mechanics and exploration. They may or may not have a serious interest in the game, and they may choose to end the game prematurely if it does not amuse them right away.

Expert players, on the other hand, are well-versed in game mechanics and have extensive background knowledge in games. More than likely, they will be more devoted to finishing a game in comparison to novice players. They may also focus on skill and ability enhancement, rather than just aimlessly exploring the game space.

The differences between expert and novice players primarily is how “into” the game the player is. An expert player is one who is willing to learn about the story of the game or the lore while a novice could care less. Another difference is skill within the game. The expert player desires to find his niche in the game which shows how useful he is (either proving it to himself or the community) by putting his expertise into a certain aspect of the game. The novice player goes it alone without community and is unwilling to take the game seriously. The novice player plays for the simple fun of it while the expert player plays out of enjoyment of playing the game and continues to play because of this pure joy.

The difference between expert and novice game players is the level of expertise. An expert player is one who can play a game very well – without dying, without losing any given advantages, getting high scores, passing through levels, beating games, etc. A novice player is one who can play a game fairly well. Their level of playing is not as high as an expert player, but they do not die often, nor do they get high scores, they can pass through levels, but they might not be able to win a game in its entirety.

The reason why these two definitions can overlap is that each person might be better at a specific type of video game. For example, a person may be an expert at first-person shooter games, but may be a novice player in platform games. It can also be relative to other players. There is not a defining line between these two types of players, but there is a general thought about the differences.

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.

Novice game players are players with little experience either playing games in general or playing a specific game. Expert game players are players who have played a game enough to know details about the game and the best strategies to use while playing in order to beat or advance in the game. Expert game players will have spent more time with a game and are more serious about playing the game, whereas a novice player may only play occasionally.

I think that there are several differences between expert game players and novice game players. On a very basic level, I would say that expert game players are better at the games they play, have logged more hours playing, and get higher scores. They are also the players that are able to exploit loopholes, and take advantage of glitches or secret levels. Novice players are newer, less experienced, and not as likely to do as well in the games they play. However, I would also say that there a possibility of looking at the difference between experts and novices in terms of motivation for game play. I think that when I think of an expert game player, I think more about competition or doing it for a job, and less about enjoyment. When I think of novices, I think they are more invested in enjoying the game.

Well expert game players would be people who inherently know the framework of the game, can navigate within its constraints fluidly and predict what the game world will throw at them. They understand what is going on within their present space, and can apply that knowledge to give them a greater understanding of the game as a whole. Novice players simply move throughout the world with a limited scope of its elements, and often miss parts of it entirely. They do not understand many game mechanics, and must work at each and every step, where experts may flow through steps simultaneously.

The main difference between an expert game player and a novice game player is the amount of comprehension of a game.  A player is an expert if he/she has invested enough time in a game to have mastered all the basic “forms” or puzzles in the game and has a grasp of all he basic in game tools.  All games have rules and you are an expert if you understand and apply All of those rules to your gameplay.  There is no set time for this but gamers who have played a lot will grasp the basics of the game faster then less experienced gamers.

The differences between expert and novice game players:

Expert game players spend a vast amount of time playing video games during their recreation hours. They know secrets, cheats, and their way around different games even if they haven’t played them in a while. Novice game players are unsure of themselves. They don’t know exactly what they’re doing and they are more hesitant before they make a move in a game. They don’t spend as much recreation time actually playing games, their free time is spent doing other things. Video games may not be taken as seriously by novice players as they are with expert players. A novice player may only be playing the game for enjoyment but the expert player aims to win.