I did the temp testing thing for a week once, more as a way to get a free preview of a game I was going to buy anyway. Never seen people compete so hard for an $8/hour job. For my part, I was like thanks for the gas money but really, can we call this gratis, cause I don’t want to complicate my taxes? It’s like public school teachers, I guess.

Not if the individual is apart of the collective. If said individual thinks he is the best wouldn’t he feel the team he is apart of is the best?

Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy. Often, I hear someone talk about how they are good, but the rest of their team …

What I’m trying to get at is that the sum total is greater than the individual.

A dose of over-ego will narrow your viewpoint and that is the death of recognizing the good ideas from other people, no matter their source. At that point you’d automatically limit yourself, and thus, counteract the whole intention of trying to grow as a game designer. Confidence is different and not a bad thing, but a good designer is an exquisite problem solver and many problems require compromise or fusions of ideas.

A good practice to get prepared for game design is to try a few trials. Game design is about producing on demand. Anyone can have a good idea for a quest when they spend a month mulling it over. But do some time experiments to see how good of a quest you can come up with in an hour including all the steps and dialogue. Or see how many different spells and abilities you can think of in 15 minutes. Set boundaries for yourself then try it again. Review it the next day and see where you think things could improve. These kind of thought experiments under constraints can sometimes help hone the problem solving abilities that you’ll need as a designer.

Just like a writer, or a painter, or a musician, good game design is a discipline and you can practice. A game designer can never shut that part of their brain off. They are always analyzing, devising new mechanics, thinking about what they can draw out of the movie they just watched to apply it to some game. Once you start thinking in that mode then it gets easier and easier until the connections in a game and relationships between mechanics and content become second nature.

I know what skills I have. I do my job to the best of my ability, I work hard, and I’m willing to work hard (stay late, take on extra projects, etc.). Management notices.

Not to mention that sometimes, those who think they are the best are arrogant, and violate the first law of humanity:

Law 1: Don't be a a-hole

Once again, management notices. Sometimes it’s not about just being the best. It’s about who works well with the team.