Is Playing a game same as Game testing?(part1)

Game testing is not what most people assume it to be. Yes, I said ASSUME. It's pity that people judge with whatever limited knowledge they have. I feel sorry for them, because every one has freedom to form their own opinions.

Few examples

1.I play free games on my mobile to pass my time

2.We are a group of friends who play for fun during breaks

3.I play to test my gaming skills

4.I earn money by playing gambling games

5.I am a professional online gamer

What do you call all these people in the above examples

Gamers?

Users?

Game testers?

Isn't there a difference in playing a game and testing a game?

Yes there is, this is what interests me and I will elaborate on this interesting aspect.

It is very natural to assume that playing is testing and testing is playing, but I would like to point out while playing do you really care about anything other than winning the game or reaching next level?

Every game's intention is to attract a user and make them involved in the game so that user gets addicted and keeps coming back. and a user's skill improves as he plays more and more and achieves new levels.

Now how is a game tester different from a user who plays a game

A tester needs be in control before he has the task of testing a game. there could be a tendency to get involved in a game. BUT here is the difference between a game tester and a game user

A game tester wears different hats to test the game to find bugs, these hats can be

F-hat - Functionality

U-hat - Usability

C-hat - Compatibility

UI-hat - User interface(graphics, colors, effects, animations)

E-hat - Entertainment(enjoyment, challenging)

A game user wears only one hat

E-hat - Entertainment

The hats concept I have used from the famous author Edward de bono's classic - "Six Hats" for thinking skills, this helps us in testing different aspects of a game. 

When I say games, there are different categories of games and the user experience is also different. will continue this in next post...stay tuned