59 votes

The Balatro timeline

6 comments

  1. [3]
    phoenixrises
    Link
    Tagging @EsteeBestee since they were the ones that got me into this game, but I figure this is a really interesting way to see what's going on in the developer's brains from game conception to...

    Tagging @EsteeBestee since they were the ones that got me into this game, but I figure this is a really interesting way to see what's going on in the developer's brains from game conception to release.

    10 votes
    1. [2]
      EsteeBestee
      Link Parent
      I read it this morning and it was a good read! It's pretty heartwarming to see the timeline of how this game went from a for fun project for the dev and seeing the wishlist number grow and grow...

      I read it this morning and it was a good read! It's pretty heartwarming to see the timeline of how this game went from a for fun project for the dev and seeing the wishlist number grow and grow and grow and then explode! It's one of my favorite game development stories and to me really represents games as an art form. You don't need to have a hundred or a thousand people in a building working 40 hours a week each for 3 years to build a game millions enjoy, you can be just typing away in your spare time by yourself and create something that's special to many people.

      Of course many examples like this already existed, of small or solo developers making it big, but I'm just so happy that gaming as a whole has so much room for small studios and solo efforts that can end up being just as big and just as popular as AAA games!

      14 votes
      1. audiodude
        Link Parent
        Oh if it were only 3 years...

        Oh if it were only 3 years...

        3 votes
  2. Inanimate
    Link
    This was a great read, thank you for sharing. Lots of great insights, both about the development of the game, the philosophy behind it, and the very personal story of its developer.

    This was a great read, thank you for sharing. Lots of great insights, both about the development of the game, the philosophy behind it, and the very personal story of its developer.

    4 votes
  3. DFGdanger
    Link
    Does this mean you got to play 50 rounds total across any number of runs? I assume he means 8/10 rather than the /100 weight of the other scores haha. Have a little more self-confidence dude! ;)...

    I created a demo version of the game that only lasted 50 rounds

    Does this mean you got to play 50 rounds total across any number of runs?

    More ratings pour in, and by the time the day is done we are sitting above 90 on both Metacritic and OpenCritic. I wasn’t even thinking that this was a possibility, but it sure did build a ton of hype for launch day. I don’t think I would have rated Balatro higher than an 8 and I made the damn thing.

    I assume he means 8/10 rather than the /100 weight of the other scores haha. Have a little more self-confidence dude! ;)

    My partner was learning to code in R at the time, and she asked me “How do you name your variables?” I went on some rant about casing, using descriptive words, underscores, etc. She waits until I am finished and says “I like to call mine thunk”. I thought that was just about the funniest thing I had ever heard.

    The way variables are declared in Lua is (sometimes) with the local keyword, thus local thunk was born!

    This is the deep lore I was looking for.

    Not gonna quote the whole sections about physical and mental health but that sounds really scary and I'm glad he made it and hope he's doing OK now.

    2 votes
  4. mattsayar
    Link
    In a similar vein, I really enjoyed reading from the creator of Ballionaire about his timeline for making the game (crunching solo in the basement for a year).

    In a similar vein, I really enjoyed reading from the creator of Ballionaire about his timeline for making the game (crunching solo in the basement for a year).

    2 votes