Local Thunk Avoids Roguelikes in Balatro Development, Except Slay the Spire

Balatro developer Local Thunk has shared an in-depth look at the game's development journey on his personal blog, revealing a unique approach to game creation. In a surprising admission, Local Thunk disclosed that he refrained from playing any roguelike games during Balatro's development, with a single exception: Slay the Spire. This self-imposed rule began in December 2021, as he sought to explore roguelike and deckbuilder design independently, driven by the joy of discovery rather than commercial success.

Local Thunk emphasized that his decision to avoid other games was not about creating a better game but about preserving the fun of reinventing the wheel. He wanted to make mistakes and explore new ideas without the influence of established designs. However, his resolve wavered a year and a half later when he played Slay the Spire, which he described as an exceptional game. His initial intent was to study its controller implementation, but he found himself captivated by its design.

The blog post also offers fascinating tidbits about the game's development process. Initially, the project folder was simply named "CardGame," and the working title was "Joker Poker." Local Thunk shared insights into scrapped features, such as a system where players could upgrade cards in a pseudo-shop, a separate currency for rerolls, and a 'golden seal' mechanic for cards.

An amusing anecdote explains how Balatro ended up with 150 Jokers due to a miscommunication with the publisher, Playstack. Originally intending to have 120 Jokers, a subsequent meeting led to the number being bumped up to 150, which Local Thunk deemed a better fit for the game.

Lastly, Local Thunk revealed the origin of his developer name. Inspired by a humorous exchange with his partner about variable naming in programming, "Local Thunk" was born from combining the Lua programming keyword 'local' with his partner's playful suggestion of 'thunk'.

For those interested in the full story behind Balatro, Local Thunk's blog provides a wealth of information. IGN has praised Balatro, awarding it a 9/10 and describing it as a "deck-builder of endlessly satisfying proportions" that can captivate players for hours on end.