{"id":1784690,"date":"2026-02-21T16:49:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T13:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1784690"},"modified":"2026-02-21T16:49:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T13:49:53","slug":"balatro-creator-reflects-on-university-and-bad-grades-promising-hes-still-working-on-that-1-1-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1784690","title":{"rendered":"Balatro creator reflects on university and bad grades, promising he&#8217;s &#8220;still working&#8221; on that 1.1 update"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/balatro\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Balatro<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Balatro creator reflects on university and bad grades, promising he&#8217;s &#8220;still working&#8221; on that 1.1 update<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;Last night I stayed up until the early hours of the morning drawing pixel art, writing code, and listening to music in my quiet house.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/balatro1080-(1).png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The word Balatro in front of a psychedelic swirl. The second A is replaced by an ace of spades\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"balatro1080-(1).png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Playstack\/LocalThunk<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1533038852.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1533038852.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/vikki-blake\">Vikki Blake<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-02-21T16:49:53+00:00\">Feb. 21, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"7834ee6e-98c1-42c5-9a2c-42c86137c935\" data-name=\"Balatro\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Balatro\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Balatro\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Balatro\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Balatro\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Balatro\" title=\"Follow Balatro\"><br \/>\n  Follow Balatro<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Balatro developer LocalThunk has marked the second anniversary of his hit indie roguelike with a heartfelt blog post that ended: &#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m still working on 1.1.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Balatro was set to receive a 1.1 update last year, but its solo developer, LocalThunk, pushed it back <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/balatro-update-delayed-as-developer-preserves-hobbyist-approach-to-ensure-this-isnt-the-last-update-the-game-gets\">in order to preserve his &#8220;hobbyist&#8221; approach to game development<\/a>. Since release, he has been crunching alone on a balance patch and releasing a mobile port, before taking some time out and then beginning 1.1 work.<\/p>\n<p>Now, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/localthunk.com\/blog\/bad-grades\">blog post entitled Bad Grades<\/a>, LocalThunk talks about dropping out of his engineering degree \u2013 &#8220;the idea of spending the rest of my life doing something I didn&#8217;t care about was enough for me to throw in the towel&#8221; \u2013 and talked about approaching his academic advisor for help switching to a computer science degree instead (luckily for us).<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Balatro Mobile - Official Release Date Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h7ZHIxRe66Q?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/h7ZHIxRe66Q\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Balatro Mobile &#8211; Official Release Date Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Balatro Mobile &#8211; Official Release Date Trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=h7ZHIxRe66Q\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;The choice was simple. It was hardly a choice at all, really. I loved programming. I wasn\u2019t any good at it, nor was I aware of what may await me after graduation, but in the months since that Intro to Computer Science course I had created a few programs that convinced me this is the thing for me. I want to make things with code,&#8221; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The transition into Computer Science was a bit rough, seeing as I\u2019d already missed a couple of weeks of the semester with a full course load. I was not a good student, and to be honest I barely passed some of my required courses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But this new skill enabled him to make things \u2013 a &#8220;perlin noise terrain generator&#8221;, a grid-based heat dissipation simulation&#8221; \u2013 and a &#8220;more granular version of Risk, or a bite-sized version of a grand strategy game like Europa Universalis&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I worked on that game for over two years. It never had a name, it was never completed, and apart from showing it to a few friends and family, nobody knew it even existed,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But it was exactly what I wanted to make, and the feeling of absolute freedom I had while working on it is the reason why I kept game development as a hobby years later. That project was the template. I found the files for that project and played it for a couple [of] days recently; it was pretty fun.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>LocalThunk said he &#8220;thinks about that version of myself a lot now&#8221;, adding, &#8220;Even if I could warn myself, I&#8217;m not sure what I could have said to prepare for the insanity&#8221; of releasing Balatro.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With all the success, baggage, attention, heartache, fear, stress, and joy that I\u2019ve had since Balatro was created, at least that old version of myself is still there,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Last night I stayed up until the early hours of the morning drawing pixel art, writing code, and listening to music in my quiet house. Notebook of ideas open next to me, cup of decaf in hand.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Then, right at the end as a postscript, he added: &#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m still working on 1.1.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/balatro-wins-formal-appeal-to-reclassify-poker-game-as-pegi-12\">shaky start with ratings boards<\/a>, Balatro has gone on to find phenomenal success. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/100-completing-balatro-has-developer-better-equipped-to-design-the-next-big-update\">LocalThunk has 100 percent completed his own game<\/a>, which has &#8220;equipped&#8221; him to better design the next update.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Balatro developer LocalThunk has marked the second anniversary of his hit indie roguelike with a heartfelt blog post that ended: &#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m still working on 1.1.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Balatro was set to receive a 1.1 update last year, but its solo developer, LocalThunk, pushed it back <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/balatro-update-delayed-as-developer-preserves-hobbyist-approach-to-ensure-this-isnt-the-last-update-the-game-gets\">in order to preserve his &#8220;hobbyist&#8221; approach to game development<\/a>. Since release, he has been crunching alone on a balance patch and releasing a mobile port, before taking some time out and then beginning 1.1 work.<\/p>\n<p>Now, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/localthunk.com\/blog\/bad-grades\">blog post entitled Bad Grades<\/a>, LocalThunk talks about dropping out of his engineering degree \u2013 &#8220;the idea of spending the rest of my life doing something I didn&#8217;t care about was enough for me to throw in the towel&#8221; \u2013 and talked about approaching his academic advisor for help switching to a computer science degree instead (luckily for us).<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Balatro Mobile - Official Release Date Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h7ZHIxRe66Q?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/h7ZHIxRe66Q\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Balatro Mobile &#8211; Official Release Date Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Balatro Mobile &#8211; Official Release Date Trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=h7ZHIxRe66Q\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;The choice was simple. It was hardly a choice at all, really. I loved programming. I wasn\u2019t any good at it, nor was I aware of what may await me after graduation, but in the months since that Intro to Computer Science course I had created a few programs that convinced me this is the thing for me. I want to make things with code,&#8221; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The transition into Computer Science was a bit rough, seeing as I\u2019d already missed a couple of weeks of the semester with a full course load. I was not a good student, and to be honest I barely passed some of my required courses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But this new skill enabled him to make things \u2013 a &#8220;perlin noise terrain generator&#8221;, a grid-based heat dissipation simulation&#8221; \u2013 and a &#8220;more granular version of Risk, or a bite-sized version of a grand strategy game like Europa Universalis&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I worked on that game for over two years. It never had a name, it was never completed, and apart from showing it to a few friends and family, nobody knew it even existed,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But it was exactly what I wanted to make, and the feeling of absolute freedom I had while working on it is the reason why I kept game development as a hobby years later. That project was the template. I found the files for that project and played it for a couple [of] days recently; it was pretty fun.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>LocalThunk said he &#8220;thinks about that version of myself a lot now&#8221;, adding, &#8220;Even if I could warn myself, I&#8217;m not sure what I could have said to prepare for the insanity&#8221; of releasing Balatro.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With all the success, baggage, attention, heartache, fear, stress, and joy that I\u2019ve had since Balatro was created, at least that old version of myself is still there,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Last night I stayed up until the early hours of the morning drawing pixel art, writing code, and listening to music in my quiet house. Notebook of ideas open next to me, cup of decaf in hand.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Then, right at the end as a postscript, he added: &#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m still working on 1.1.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/balatro-wins-formal-appeal-to-reclassify-poker-game-as-pegi-12\">shaky start with ratings boards<\/a>, Balatro has gone on to find phenomenal success. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/100-completing-balatro-has-developer-better-equipped-to-design-the-next-big-update\">LocalThunk has 100 percent completed his own game<\/a>, which has &#8220;equipped&#8221; him to better design the next update.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Balatro Balatro creator reflects on university and bad grades, promising he&#8217;s &#8220;still working&#8221; on that 1.1 update &#8220;Last night I stayed up until the early hours of the morning drawing pixel art, writing code, and listening to music in my quiet house.&#8221; Image credit: Playstack\/LocalThunk News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Feb. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1784690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1784690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784690\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1784690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1784690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1784690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}