I took it as "Look at all this labour he's been doing. He must be getting paid". They can't fathom someone working on their dream for free.

Does the argument work both ways? If effort is the same as being paid for. Does that mean pirating a game is the same as buying it? After all it's basically the same effort these days.

Of course the argument doesn't fly, as you cant actually buy a game anymore, just a temporary license for an undisclosed amount of time.