Kind of pretty much clickbait, since no real money was expended across bank accounts between two or more separate parties.
The author expounds on an appraisal of hypothetical money, if one imagine's that he paid himself all labor costs to perform the work.
He spent several months working on a video game that didn't do well, and made zero dollars.
Did I lose $6,000 dollars on a hypothetical bitcoin I never paid for in August, when the value dropped last week?
No, I left the $10,000 dollars in my bank account, and I still have $10,000, and/or whatever real goods or services I purchased with said money.