I worked as a software engineer in several other industries before joining game studios. Games as projects are great combinations of technology, working with people in a wide range of disciplines (game design, artists, sound design...) can be fun and educational (or really irritating if they're Steve Jobs wannabes that just expect everyone else to fulfill their creative vision) and I like working on things that turn into products a lot of people use. But it doesn't pay as well as other software jobs, the industry in general is very immature and unprofessional and you have to watch out you don't get screwed over, and while I've had crunch on other jobs, it's just gratuitous in games. I've had a much more enjoyable time working on game jobs on a freelance basis and dabbling with my own projects.