One of the reddest flags in the game industry is hearing that an experienced professional didn’t get a gig because he didn’t demonstrate any “passion” during the interview. There’s only two situations in which this is okay. Don’t worry, I’ll get to them. Eventually.
Here’s the deal for everyone who was born yesterday: “Passion” in a job description is almost always code for “the hours are long and we’re not planning to pay you enough to live on, so if you’re not starry eyed with the wonder of finally making it into the industry, you’ll burn out in two months.”