This plugin allows you to obtain the player’s Patreon information and make it available to UE4 projects. This is great for example giving your players in-game rewards or exclusive access to features.
Along with the Unreal client plugin, I’ve written web server code that talks with the Patreon OAuth and API services for maximum security. Relevant data such as OAuth access tokens is not stored in a database, but instead encrypted and encoded into a JWT (JSON web token) and downloaded by the user as a file, so no database or account stuff is required!
I’m planning to use this for my own game, as well as a game for a friend of mine. I’m still looking into options for redistributing this plugin.
There shouldnt be an issue on Patreon side i believe. You should be able to distribute your proprietary app that uses Patreon API.
However i cant say anything on the legalese in Unreal Engine space. You may want to check related boards for information and post a question in their forums. But i think they even have a marketplace for selling plugins…
And they posted a guideline on how to sell plugins.
Selling the client-side plugin is one of the options I am considering. However at this point I’m actually thinking about releasing both the UE4 plugin and server-side code for free.
As an alternative for monetization, I am thinking to offer the possibility to host the server code for the user. And of course a Patreon page is available for the user to support
I would say that you should develop your strategy depending on the best practices in Unreal ecosystem. However having a good monetization strategy that works would help maintain the plugin, so its best for both you and users.
I’m happy to announce that the Patreon Info plugin will become available soon on the Unreal Engine marketplace! The client will go on sale for a friendly price of 20$.
