Lately, the single creator behind the popular game Balatro, one of the most acclaimed titles expected in 2024, shared insights into his development process in a blog post. In an article titled ‘The Chronicle of Balatro’, LocalThunk delved into the complete journey that led to the creation of Balatro, which was launched in February 2024 and received widespread acclaim upon release.
In this step-by-step guide, LocalThunk shares the initial beginnings of Balatro, originally known as ‘Joker Poker.’ Additionally, he offers an open look into the impact developing the game had on his psychological and physiological wellbeing, a side rarely considered by gamers.
‘My Sleep and my Heart are Getting Worse’
In The Balatro Timeline, LocalThunk retraces three years of development milestones, starting from December 2021, when the initial idea for what later became known as Balatro emerged. While working a full-time IT job, LocalThunk didn’t foresee the project becoming as successful as it has today.
Reading about the entire evolutionary path of this breathtaking development story is an absolute delight, and it skillfully portrays the immense influence such events can have on individual developers, particularly those working alone.
According to LocalThunk, the development of Balatro pushed both his mental and physical wellbeing to their limits. As the release date drew nearer and the buzz surrounding Balatro intensified rapidly, the strain on him increased significantly.
For instance, it was noted that in August 2023, just six months before the launch of Balatro:
This is when my sleep and heart started having issues.
From that point forward, both my physical and psychological well-being posed significant challenges until the project’s launch. The primary source of this strain was the stress associated with managing public expectations, athletes, and the intense pressure to complete all tasks prior to February 2024.
By October 2023, things were getting much worse for LocalThunk:
Due to recent issues, both my sleep quality and heart condition have been deteriorating. Nearly every other night, I find myself needing to sleep in an upright position on the couch as horizontal sleep gets frequently disrupted by my heartbeat.
At that moment, I naively believed that managing a visit to the doctor alongside my development and business tasks was beyond my capabilities. I was completely inundated by it all.
The timeline known as The Balatro Timeline outlines all steps involved, such as securing a publisher, legal representation, and contract negotiations. This narrative recounts the ups and downs of independent development, concluding triumphantly.
It was unveiled that LocalThunk amassed an impressive $600,000 within a few short hours on Steam, and on the game’s debut day, he took time off to toast his success with a bottle of champagne and some delicious burgers.
Nice.
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2025-03-08 16:49