Pixel Battle

Pixel Battle is a real-time, blockchain-powered pixel art battleground where players compete to control a shared canvas, earn rewards, and support charities with every pixel placed.

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Pixel Battle: Gamifying Charitable Giving with Collaborative Art & Blockchain

Inspiration

We were inspired by past efforts to raise funds for disaster relief, particularly during the LA wildfires. Wanting to create a fun and engaging way to encourage donations, we reimagined the collaborative pixel art trend (https://www.reddit.com/r/place/) from 2022-2023 into a gamified experience that directly supports charitable causes.

What It Does

Pixel Battle is a gamified, blockchain-powered donation platform where users contribute to a massive, collaborative pixel art canvas—all while donating to charity.

How It Works

  • Donate to Place Pixels – Every donation lets you place pixels on the shared canvas. The more you donate, the more pixels you can place, allowing you to create detailed images, logos, or messages.
  • Real-Time Pixel Battles – Because the canvas is public and constantly changing, users compete and collaborate to design the artwork. Some might work together to form large designs, while others may battle to take over space.
  • Hourly NFT Rewards for Top Donors – At the end of every hour, the person who donated the most during that timeframe receives a unique, minted NFT. This NFT is a snapshot of the canvas at that exact moment in time, capturing the evolving artwork as a historical artifact of the battle. These NFTs serve as digital collectibles and may offer exclusive perks, prizes, or auction opportunities in the future.
  • Blockchain Transparency – All transactions happen on Solana, ensuring low fees, high speed, and 100% transparency. Every dollar donated is tracked and goes directly to the partnered charity.
  • Vote for Charities with Your Donations – Donations don’t just contribute to the artwork—they also act as votes for which charity will receive the next round of funding. At the end of each donation cycle, the charity with the most votes (donations) will receive the funds. This ensures that the most supported causes get prioritized while keeping the process community-driven and democratic.
  • Referral System for Viral Growth – Users can generate referral links (powered by ViralLoop) to invite friends and earn special in-game perks when others donate through their link.

Why It’s Unique

  • Every Dollar Goes to Charity – Unlike many fundraising platforms, we take no cut. 100% of funds are transferred directly to the charity via smart contracts.
  • Gamified Philanthropy – Instead of simply donating, users actively engage in a fun, interactive experience while making an impact.
  • Exclusive NFT Rewards for Top Donors – Only the highest donor within each 1-hour timeframe receives an NFT, which preserves a visual record of the canvas at that moment, making it a unique and collectible piece of history.
  • Donors Have a Say in Where the Money Goes – Instead of a predetermined charity, donations double as votes, allowing the community to decide which organization receives funding next.

By turning charitable giving into an interactive and viral event, Pixel Battle makes fundraising more exciting, more rewarding, and more effective than ever before.

Challenges We Ran Into

  • Live Pixel Data Syncing: Ensuring smooth, real-time updates across all users was tricky.
  • Solana Learning Curve: None of us had built on Solana before, so we had to quickly get up to speed on smart contracts and NFT minting.

Accomplishments We're Proud Of

  • We built a functional blockchain application in a single weekend, despite having little to no prior experience with Solana. (One of us barely knew what blockchain was at the start of this project! 😂)
  • We successfully implemented a real-time pixel battle system that updates across users instantly.
  • We created a gamified donation model that makes fundraising more engaging and interactive.

What's Next for Pixel Battle

  • More Pixel Art Features: Higher donation tiers unlocking special abilities (e.g., erase the board for $10,000, unlock premium colors, add stickers, etc.).
  • Viral Growth: Expanding referral incentives and collaborating with influencers to drive engagement.
  • Charity Partnerships: Direct smart contract integration with nonprofits, allowing funds to be automatically transferred to verified organizations.

Pixel Battle is just getting started—we can’t wait to see how it evolves! 🚀🎨

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