I'm sure it is different for each team member, but for myself, having been in & out of the games industry since '82, it is all about creating mini-realities, mixing math + physics + illusion to simulate life. I started teaching myself how to code in '77 because I knew computers would be able to run simulations, and I'd just learned about this new thing called 3d graphics. Having been a fan of animation, I knew they'd come together. And they did. And I was there, one of the original researchers of 3D graphics and animation. And it was a blast that lasts to this day. I'm sure my presence has influenced the industry, even of few know my name. Its a piss poor career with shitty psychological working conditions nearly the entire 3+ decades I've been trapped in it. I'm glad I was there and would do it all over again, maybe with a few punches in the face to the appropriate coworkers at the right times during my 2nd go.