Most of my work was on World of Warcraft. I wrote an early Django version of what is now WoWDB (http://www.wowdb.com/).
The work consisted mainly in reverse engineering WoW's file formats, protocols etc in order to understand, index and organize data, and to be able to produce "datamined" patch notes as soon as new game files were available.
I got to work with and learn from people a thousand times smarter than me, it was by far my favourite job and it's why I still do various Blizzard-related work today.
It also creates an interesting relationship with the game's developers. I think on that front, many studios could learn a lot about working with the people interested in the technical aspects of their game, rather than working against them. Most get it horribly wrong, few of them get it right at all - Riot is one of the few that do, I wish I enjoyed LoL. :)
For an interesting yet sad comparison, see Rockstar vs Avalanche - GTAx vs Just Cause 2 and 3. While the modding future of JC3 is precarious due to Denuvo DRM (blame Square Enix), JC2 is pretty much the gold standard.
Studios that get too large for their own sake and get completely disconnected from their userbase. They no longer see the players, the fun or even the game - they just see the numbers. Business guys thinking a video game company can be run like a bank.
The devs get blamed for it, too; as if they had anything to do with it. These decisions are made high above them.
The work consisted mainly in reverse engineering WoW's file formats, protocols etc in order to understand, index and organize data, and to be able to produce "datamined" patch notes as soon as new game files were available.
I got to work with and learn from people a thousand times smarter than me, it was by far my favourite job and it's why I still do various Blizzard-related work today.
It also creates an interesting relationship with the game's developers. I think on that front, many studios could learn a lot about working with the people interested in the technical aspects of their game, rather than working against them. Most get it horribly wrong, few of them get it right at all - Riot is one of the few that do, I wish I enjoyed LoL. :)