Feature Summary

A Patreon button was added to the game to give players a consistent, accessible way to support development through donations.

Motivation 

The goal was to provide an in-game option for users who wish to donate. Unlike one-time tips, Patreon allows for ongoing support and better aligns with how I want to build sustainable development practices.

Implementation Challenges 

The main difficulties were graphical, not functional. The game uses a very low resolution (approximately 8×8 for icons), which made it hard to visually communicate the idea of a donation or tip.

I quite liked the heart icon, but I'm afraid that it's not very clear what clicking on this icon will do. I do end up using the heart sprite later though.

Design Iteration: 

I explored multiple icon variants, trying to suggest a donation or support mechanism within the resolution limits. After testing several visual styles, I settled on a custom-designed sprite based loosely on the Patreon logo. Due to the resolution constraints, some visual compromises were necessary. None of the official Patreon brand assets could be used directly—they were far too large and detailed for the pixel art style of the game.

An unused variant of the “donation” icon for the button.

Final Outcome 

The final button uses a simplified, pixel-optimized Patreon-like icon. It blends with the game's aesthetic while still being recognizable enough for players familiar with Patreon.

The final version