Three questions...

1. Do I have to know everything about games in order to get into this field?

2. Is self teaching programming and design a good idea or am I better off getting a degree in programming or design?

1. No. YOu don't have to know "everything." But you do need to be up to date with games. Read this forum's FAQs.

2. You need to self-teach yourself a fair amount. You need a degree, but it doesn't really matter what the degree is in, if you're going for design. For programmer jobs most companies in North America expect to see a Computer Science degree, but there are other ways into the industry besides programming. Read the FAQs.

I read that you can get a job involving some kind of programming without a degree but how difficult will it be without one?

Forty-seven,

I read that you can get a job involving some kind of programming without a degree but how difficult will it be without one?

Forty-seven,

That was a bad answer, because it was a bad question. How should someone measure "difficulty"? It's highly recommended to get the degree, if you want a programming job. It'll be "quite" difficult to get a programming job without one, unless you happen to build an awesome portfolio and apply to a company that's totally pro-self-teaching (anti-degree). Such companies exist, but don't ask for a list, because nobody has one. Have you read those FAQs yet?