Things that have always helped me in job interviews, in no particular order:
* Be yourself. The interviewer/s wants to get a good idea of who you are as a person, as well as a worker.
*Always go into the interview with a positive attitude, and not just in what you say - look your interviewer in the eyes, if there is more than one look at all of them in turn when you are talking. Sit up straight in your seat, leaning forward slightly - this denotes that you are interested in the conversation that is taking place. Be ready for tough questions, have a number of answers ready. Be concise and to the point, but also be ready to expand on any given point you make.
*Read up on the company, and play its products before hand. Interviewers like to know/find out that you know who they are and what they do, it shows that you are familiar with the terrain and aren't a total newb. I've seen people go into an interview not knowing the company they were interviewing at, or not having played the game they were interviewing for. This just about 100% kills your chances of getting the job, no matter how talented you are or how much experience you have.
*Don't take things personally. In any situation where you are interviewed by more than one person, chances are one of them will be the designated 'bad cop', whose job is to put you on the spot, ask the hard questions, and see how you react under pressure. Be ready for this, take it in stride, and don't get flustered.
*When answering questions, explain your reasoning. This shows the interviewer that you aren't just reading answers out of a script in your head, or spouting out what they want to hear. Much like with high school math, how you get to an answer is almost as important as the answer itself.
*Similarly, if you are asked a question you have a hard time answering, ask for context. In many aspects of game development, the correct answer changes with the situation the question is asked in. A design decision will be different in pre-production than it will be with a live game.
*In the case that you are unable to answer a question, because of lack of experience in a field or whatever, be honest and say that you don't have much experience, then give what you think is a good answer, explaining what your reasoning for it is. There are questions that have no 'right' answer, only 'better' or 'worse' answers. Explaining what leads you to answer as you did helps the interviewer see your thought processes, and whether they align themselves with how the company works.
Ok, I might have rambled a little too long here, but even if you do get the job, don't stop working on The Archer
