Metamorphosis

Here are the stages I think many TRPG designers have passed through, or will pass through:

1. Play D&D or totally-not-D&D as a player
2. Play D&D or totally-not-D&D as GM
3. Experience the pain, try to "Fix D&D" (a time-honored tradition dating back to at least 1975 with Warlock)
4. Paradigm shift (you either have this or don't): realize it's possible to make a separate game than D&D
5. Obligatory fantasy heartbreaker
6. Obligatory trying to sell said fantasy heartbreaker under a vague idea of making money from your hobby
7. Get in touch with the indie TRPG community. Either get depressed by the utter failure of aforementioned enterprise, or get hooked on making progressively weirder games
8. ???
9. Don't profit