🚀 go-pugleaf

>2. What are the chances of getting hired at these companies?

	Not very good in some instances. I can't speak for most
companies, but i can speak for one or two.

>3. What is the standard background of most game programmers (i.e. Do you
>     need a computer science degree? Do you need an art background?
>     Are the big name programmers today the same people that started out
>     programming commercial Atari games?)

	Let me see, depends on what you want to do. Writers often have
to be published. Certain companies here hire interns, but only for art.
As for programmers, don't have to know much. You can either be a 
tech designer (required - friendlieness, see below) and get advanced,
where they don't really care if you know a language, they claim
they can teach you C++ in two weeks. Or you can actually apply, which 
requires very little techy knowledge.
	To do so, you have to fit in (at least around here), which
means being the type of person that already works there. That means
willing to work long hours, very enthusiastic, strange looking,
friendly, and clickish with no life. At least down here in the broiler
state. I heard a very unsubstantiated rumor that with sierra it's more
corporate,cubicle programmers.
	Previous people i've known who got hired were all english majors.
They could give a damn about programming ability or degrees (i think they
kinda prefer non-degreed, in which case english comes close).
	Oh yeah, like to work for way-below market wages. Way below.
(like designer, bottom of the stack, $6/hr if you worked only 40
hours, in reality something below minimum wage).


>4. Do you need to have a shareware game to get looked at?
	
	It's helped at least one person with SSI.

>6. Do I have a hope in hell of getting into the video game industry?

	Maybe if you're lucky and know people (kinda big requirement
here), but once you got there you might not be able to live off it,
at least not that AND pay for or ever see a family.