"So what's it like making video games?"

I get asked every now and again what it's like to make video games. I never really know how to answer that question. Mainly because I have no clue myself, even after 20 years. 

But over the years, I HAVE noticed a basic pattern. It's messy and sometimes chaotic, but in the end, it always seems to get done. 

(I could offer a lot of caveats here, about how the following is just a joke, and how the people I work with in no way resemble any of these characterizations...but where would the fun be in THAT?)