Balatro developer Local Thunk has shared an in-depth account of the game's development journey on his personal blog, revealing a fascinating approach to game creation. Throughout the development of Balatro, Local Thunk consciously avoided playing roguelike games, with one notable exception. As of December 2021, he decided not to play any more roguelike games, emphasizing that this choice was not about creating a superior game but rather about the joy of exploration and innovation in game design. He expressed a desire to make mistakes and reinvent the wheel rather than borrow established designs, which he believed would detract from the fun of game development.

However, in a surprising twist about a year and a half later, Local Thunk broke his own rule by downloading and playing Slay the Spire. His reaction was immediate and strong: "Holy shit, now **that** is a game." Initially, he intended to study how Slay the Spire managed controller inputs for a card game, but he found himself captivated by the game. He expressed relief at having avoided playing it earlier, fearing that it might have influenced his design too heavily.

Local Thunk's blog post offers a wealth of insights into the development process. For instance, the project folder for Balatro was originally named "CardGame" and remained unchanged throughout development. The game's working title was "Joker Poker" for a significant portion of its creation. He also shared details about several scrapped features, including a system where upgrades were only possible through a pseudo-shop for cards, a separate currency for rerolls, and a 'golden seal' mechanism for cards.

An amusing anecdote in the blog explains how Balatro ended up with 150 Jokers. It was the result of a miscommunication with the publisher, Playstack. Initially, Local Thunk mentioned having 120 Jokers, but due to a misunderstanding, the number was interpreted as 150. Deciding that 150 was a better number, he added an extra 30 Jokers to the game.

The origin of the developer's name, Local Thunk, also has an interesting backstory. It stemmed from a humorous exchange with his partner, who was learning to code in R. She jokingly suggested naming variables "thunk," which Local Thunk found hilarious. The name "Local Thunk" emerged from the way variables are declared in Lua, combining "local" with "thunk."

For those interested in the full story of Balatro's development, Local Thunk's blog is a must-read. At IGN, we've given Balatro a glowing review, awarding it a 9/10 and describing it as "A deck-builder of endlessly satisfying proportions, it's the sort of fun that threatens to derail whole weekend plans as you stay awake far too late staring into the eyes of a jester tempting you in for just one more run."