I know most people probably tried to say "I am a game designer" out loud while emphasizing certain words from the phrase... but really, don't do it when you live with other people, it just makes things awkward for you!
The point of that phrase is to make yourself believe anyone has what it takes to start doing game design, and that is true, because personally it is natural for me to create games, simply to have fun. Creating games does not always mean creating a fully working computer game with high end graphics, it all starts from making a set of rule-sets that you can play along in order to have fun, whether you're alone or with someone else.
There is a surprisingly long list of skills which are important for us game designers as mentioned in Jesse Schell (2008) In The Beginning There Is The Game Designer in The Art Of Game Design A Book Of Lenses. This shows clearly that there is always room for improvement if we wished to get better at it, by acquiring both technical skills as well as social skills.
The emphasis in this chapter however, was on the most important skill: Listening. This is a skill we all have to learn, and it isn't as easy as it sounds. As designers we are proud of our creations and we want to show it off, but it is our nature to defend it when anyone says anything negative about it.
I experienced this in rob's game making sessions actually, where someone gave some negative feedback about my game which I didn't agree with, and so I tried to argue why it isn't bad when what I really should have done is to LISTEN to the player's opinion and think how I can make the game better based on those opinions. While it does sound easy, it is a really hard thing to do.
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