I would have bolded “Excellent team player with very strong work ethic and a collaborative/cooperative attitude”.
…and if I were feeling overly cynical, “Significant contributions to at least 1 AAA shipped game”.
Fail those two, the others aren’t going to matter.
And I agree with you. But you have to agree with the “passionate about gaming” part too don’t you? I can say the exact same thing about that point as well. If I was not passionate about the project I was working on, then how else would I be able to “deliever” the finished project? I was just pointing out the phrases relavent to the arguement. Care to make another comment or are we finally done here?
“…and if I were feeling overly cynical, “Significant contributions to at least 1 AAA shipped game”.”
Again, what’s you’re point? I’m not saying I’m going to reply to this job post, I admit I have never made contributions of any sort to a AAA shipped game, but if there was such a person I’m sure he/she would also be passionate about games don’t you think?
Lemmonado:
Best reply ever! 
Nope.
You want someone who’s passionate about the source material they’re supposed to be inspired by, be it weapons, vehicles, terrain or anatomy. You want someone who’s passionate about art and design outside of the world of gaming, and who actively explores the beauty of nature. Because the reality you’re creating isn’t based on other games. Even in a sequel, you’re trying to bring the look closer to “reality” (real or stylized); further from its predecessor.
A passion for gaming is imperative in level design, and in any part of the programming pipeline. In modeling? It’s beyond irrelevant (unless you want your game to be a cheap knock-off of someone else’s).
I understand why Id Software wrote that in their description. They themselves are inspired to push harder by what other people are doing, and want the rest of the team to be on that same page.
I think that’s a crutch. I think it’s a narrow view, and I think it hurts the overall product.
By being a professional?
At the risk of repeating myself, you need to be passionate about your involvement in the project; not the project itself.
Imagine for a moment that you’re working on a crappy game. It’s a licensed title, no one expects it to be good, and it isn’t. But it’s your foot in the door, and you need the experience. Are you going to let the quality of your work reflect that you don’t like the project?
Or from the other direction…
We’ve got a number of artists on ZBrush Central who don’t care at all about gaming, but whom you’d be foolish to turn down if they wanted to work with you.
Or burnt out on 'em. Either way. 
There’s a statistical correlation, definitely. But I don’t think there should be, or that this is implied in the requirement. They’re asking for proof that you’ve got what it takes to work the long hours, deal with the pressure, and come back the next day. They need to know you’re not going to flake out on them.
…and just to tie this post all together, they need to know you’re not going to flake out on them even if you passionately hate the game you’re working on.
Really? Despite all of ID’s sucesses? You’re obviously not one of their audiences so what would you know?
By being a professional?
At the risk of repeating myself, you need to be passionate about your involvement in the project; not the project itself.
Imagine for a moment that you’re working on a crappy game. It’s a licensed title, no one expects it to be good, and it isn’t. But it’s your foot in the door, and you need the experience. Are you going to let the quality of your work reflect that you don’t like the project?
Or from the other direction…
We’ve got a number of artists on ZBrush Central who don’t care at all about gaming, but whom you’d be foolish to turn down if they wanted to work with you.Or burnt out on 'em. Either way.
There’s a statistical correlation, definitely. But I don’t think there should be, or that this is implied in the requirement. They’re asking for proof that you’ve got what it takes to work the long hours, deal with the pressure, and come back the next day. They need to know you’re not going to flake out on them.
…and just to tie this post all together, they need to know you’re not going to flake out on them even if you passionately hate the game you’re working on.
I have no problem with artists who have no experience in gaming whatsoever. I have a problem with you being so narrow minded about games as being a form of art no different from movies or music being a form of art. You sound like some elitist artsy fartsy jerk who’s disgusted by the thought of “icky” games being art. Like it has no place in the world of 3D CGI art. I totally agree that every artist should look to reality for inspiration and strive for originality. Hell, my inspiration from the real world comes from modern and upcoming military technology. I don’t mean that being inspired by something you’re supposed to rip off things that inspire you. All am saying is, if you have an artist whose not passionate about movies, games, books, or music, what the hell kind of artist is he/she? Can you understand what I’m saying here?
You seem to be so worked up on the whole image of “professionalism” that it’s like art should be treated as some soulless boring office job. No creativity or love for what you do whatsoever. Would you listen to music by a musician who knows nothing about music of the past or has not learned anything about past musicians? If a Character artist for a game knows nothing about how games work, how is that artist supposed to know how many polygons his models should have to be optimized to work for the game engine? If that artist has no passion for games than how is he/she supposed to make something original if he/she never experienced what’s been done before?
Absolutely.
You’re obviously not one of their audiences so what would you know?
You’re obviously not interested in my thoughts, so why did you ask for them?
I have a problem with you being so narrow minded about games as being a form of art no different from movies or music being a form of art.
I don’t understand a word of that statement. Are you saying I’m narrow minded because I believe games are no different from other artforms? Or that I’m narrow minded because I believe they are different?
Both statements are ridiculous; I just don’t know which I’m responding to.
You sound like some elitist artsy fartsy jerk who’s disgusted by the thought of “icky” games being art. Like it has no place in the world of 3D CGI art.
I’m not. Why do you think that?
And what makes you think those types give any credence to 3D CGI art in the first place?
All am saying is, if you have an artist whose not passionate about movies, games, books, or music, what the hell kind of artist is he/she?
I haven’t described such an artist. You have to be passionate about what you’re doing - we just disagree about what that’s constrained to.
You seem to be so worked up on the whole image of “professionalism” that it’s like art should be treated as some soulless boring office job. No creativity or love for what you do whatsoever.
Not at all. Why do you believe there’s no room for creativity or love for what you do in a professional environment?
Seriously, look into that. It’s an issue.
Would you listen to music by a musician who knows nothing about music of the past or has not learned anything about past musicians?
I don’t listen to the radio, no. Despite the successes of everyone on it.
If a Character artist for a game knows nothing about how games work, how is that artist supposed to know how many polygons his models should have to be optimized to work for the game engine?
Several answers spring to mind:
A) knowing how games work and being a gamer are two different things.
B) a producer will tell them how many polygons should have to be be optimized to work in the game engine.
C) the entry-level job they pay their dues in will be as a production artist, which will verse them pretty effectively in those requirements.
D) if they’ve been brought in on the strength of their vision, it’s not really a factor. That’s why you have production artists.
It’s a lot easier to train an artist to be technical than it is to train a technician to be creative…
If that artist has no passion for games than how is he/she supposed to make something original if he/she never experienced what’s been done before?
That artist isn’t making a game. They’re making worlds, vehicles, characters, etc. They’re telling stories, conveying emotions. They’re creating art.
I didn’t say they have to be influenced by reality. I said they have to immerse in the larger thing that particular game is striving to convey. Movies. Novels. Cartoons. History. Biology. Drama. The larger thing one game tries to deliver should never be the experience of playing a different game, because you’ll always fall short of it. Aim higher.
Why don’t you guys private message each other? I could careless about this argued topic. It is counter productive and you should be doing artwork instead of griping. I thought this was for news about an update.
I’m just fending off attacks at this point. Private messages are for people who want the conversation.