HGUTL – my retro gaming wallpapers..

I’ve been a 3d artist for about 15 years & a gamer for 25. Recently i decided to mix the two & have been making wallpapers of gaming characters for the last month or so. I’ll be adding more on a regular basis as well..

The website can be found here..
How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com)

Constructive criticisms or requests are more than welcome.

That looks so amazing man! I really like the way you designed that picture.

I’m glad you like it. Requests are more than welcome if you want to see your favourite game wallpaperized..

My latest additions to my wallpaper portfolio.. Thanks to DragonIIDX for the Donkey Kong suggestion..

How Games Used To Look � Q Bert (http://hgutl.com/q-bert/)
How Games Used To Look � Street Fighter 2 (http://hgutl.com/street-fighter-2/)
How Games Used To Look � Donkey Kong Country (http://hgutl.com/donkey-kong-country/)

The Donkey Kong Country one looks amazing! The Street Fighter 2 one looks cool also. I’m using the Donkey Kong Country one as my wallpaper now. Thanks for taking my suggestion into consideration! + rep

No problem mate, more soon..

An ident for the website. Now i just need something to add it to!

HGUTL ident – YouTube (http://youtu.be/RCEMQXupemU)

No problem mate, more soon..

An ident for the website. Now i just need something to add it to!

HGUTL ident – YouTube (http://youtu.be/RCEMQXupemU)

I love the Donkey Kong arcade music in it! Could you add it to your website and make it play when the page first loads?

Wow, good man for getting the music. I thought it would be a while before anyone guessed that!

Adding a splash page with an animation on it is a good idea, but then i have a proper animation on route soon..

I recognized it right away. 😉

Once again, can’t wait to see them!

Also, forgot to mention I liked your facebook page too.

Cool wallpapers man. Perfect for my desktop. If you take requests, is it possible to make a wallpaper for Killer Instinct, Batman Arkham City and Batman Arkham Asylum?

Glad you like them. Requests are more than welcome, Killer Instinct is a great idea & goes on my list.

Sprite based games only though (for the moment).

Glad you like them. Requests are more than welcome, Killer Instinct is a great idea & goes on my list.

Sprite based games only though (for the moment).

Sprite games???

2d games..

I’ve never played Star Wars – Dark Forces since I’m a Nintendo boy, so I always played the SNES Star Wars games but the wallpaper looks fantastic as usual! I love the Death Star background in it!

I’ll be doing the SNes starwars games soon as they rocked. Glad you like them..

And then a couple more, 2 games out of the fishy trilogy & my first Star Wars wallpaper..

How Games Used To Look � James Pond – Underwater Agent (http://hgutl.com/james-pond-underwater-agent/)
How Games Used To Look � Robocod – James Pond 2 (http://hgutl.com/robocod-james-pond-2/)
How Games Used To Look � Star Wars – Dark Forces (http://hgutl.com/star-wars-dark-forces/)
How Games Used To Look � Bomberman – Panic Bomber (http://hgutl.com/bomberman-panic-bomber/)

Aw yeah! Can’t wait!

Your art is genius, man. 10/10 + 20 for originality.

Dude, Metroid Fusion!

Metroid Fusion!

This! I’m so focused on SNES stuff, I completely forgot about other 2D systems like the GBA. I really hate to give you a huge list again, but I’ll start small.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Partners In Time, Bowser’s Inside Story
Metroid: Zero Mission
Super Mario Land
Donkey Kong (arcade)
Space Invaders
Dig Dug
PAC-MAN

Half of them were on my list, now the other half are too..

Alright! Just curious, do you know what your next release is going to be?

I’m going to do one or two arcade machine games then i’m gonna do an old retro classic & really famous game as well..

Sounds intriguing… can’t wait to find out what they are!

I was sent a brilliant gif a few weeks ago & have made it into a proper animation. It can be seen here..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwMz9P4tWZ0

Now back to some more wallpapers..

You made that from 1 gif??? That’s amazing!

Glad you enjoyed it mate. I hope to do more animations soon, but i’m spread a little thinly over all the ideas i’m having..

A new batch of wallpapers fresh for your critique & perusal..

How Games Used To Look � Buggy Boy – Speed Buggy (http://hgutl.com/buggy-boy-speed-buggy/)
How Games Used To Look � Dig Dug (http://hgutl.com/dig-dug/)
How Games Used To Look � Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja (http://hgutl.com/bad-dudes-vs-dragon-ninja/)
How Games Used To Look � Super Metroid (http://hgutl.com/super-metroid/)

I spent quite a while on the Metroid wallpaper as i’m starting to move more towards integrating the sprites in a 3d world. There will be more of this sort of thing soon..

I’ve re-made the Bad Dudes wallpaper adding more characters. I’m going to be returning to more of my other older wallpapers soon too.

I think some of the older ones are a bit weak now, lacking variety, relevance or respect in their backgrounds.

p.s. any that you think are a bit weak. This is your chance to mention it..

The Super Metroid one looks awesome! Totally worth the extra time. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but I think the background on the Dig Dug wallpapers look a little too realistic for the sprites. There is a good character selection though. Just my opinion.

I know what you mean about Dig Dug, though i’m glad you like Metroid mate, i’m going to give all my images a similar treatment.

So i figure about half of my pictures need work. So from now on there will be some new & some (majorly) updated ones.

In the case of the updated ones i have left the old versions on site. So you can judge for yourself if i’ve made them better or worse..

How Games Used To Look � Cool Spot (http://hgutl.com/cool-spot/)
How Games Used To Look � Sonic the Hedgehog (http://hgutl.com/sonic-the-hedgehog/)
How Games Used To Look � Rampage (http://hgutl.com/rampage/)
How Games Used To Look � Terminator Mega CD (http://hgutl.com/terminator-mega-cd/)

More coming soon..

I really like both versions of Rampage. I think I like the new one a little more since it looks more accurate to the game since there aren’t that many buildings and have water if that makes any sense.

Just saw your post, glad you like them.

I’m presently having to re-do most of my wallpapers to 4000 pixels wide so they can be printed for a show.

Not easy going as i have 60 published game wallpapers already!

On the up side i’m getting another chance to tweak all my works..

Wow! That’s neat that you’re doing these for a show. So is it an art show, or is it a contest?

I was contacted by a shop that restores & sells retro games. They want to do a show in a local gallery as a publicity stunt for the shop, as well as an excuse to get drunk i expect..

All the same its a great excuse for me to polish up my works & see them all in print..

It’s a perfect scenario to show off your art. I hope it goes well. If you plan on taking pictures, I would like to see them!

This is unrelated to your work, but I’m going to be going to a Design and Graphic Technology course at college in the fall and I hope to get a degree in it and maybe be as good as you someday. So would you happen to have any advice for someone just starting out?

It’s a huge area your moving into. Find stuff you like and work out why you like it.. You can PM me if you like mate..

Been moving a little slowly recently. Still moving though, here are my newest additions..

How Games Used To Look � Soccer Brawl (http://hgutl.com/soccer-brawl/)
How Games Used To Look � P.O.W ? Prisoners of War (http://hgutl.com/p-o-w-prisoners-of-war/)
How Games Used To Look � Duck Hunt (http://hgutl.com/duck-hunt/)
How Games Used To Look � Rainbow Islands (http://hgutl.com/rainbow-islands/)

The Rampage one is great, good work!

So i’ve been away for a while, but i’ve got more to show..

I have made a whole new site so show off my works. I made it easier to find your favourite games by using the first letter as well..

How Games Used To Look | The Home of Retro Gaming Artwork (http://www.hgutl.com)

I have made a few new ones as well..

Double Dragon – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/double-dragon/)
Outrun – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/outrun/)

I’ve decided to get a little more dynamic with the poses & choices of sprites. Bigger sprites but less of them. Here you can see the old & the new.

Punisher – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/punisher/)

Which do you think is better?

For Halloween i have come re-done Splatterhouse. This not only was a great game but i think it about summed up what halloween should be like.

I was also a great excuse to test out my new 3d volumetric light setup. Now my sprites can not only be dynamically lit by their surroundings but i can also add misty light effects.

I’m not sure which of these to go for so i’m going to put it to the vote, A,B or C?

I’ve decided to get a little more dynamic with the poses & choices of sprites. Bigger sprites but less of them. Here you can see the old & the new.

Punisher – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/punisher/)

Which do you think is better?

They both look cool, but I think the top one is a little better, mainly cause it’s more different than your usual style if that makes sense.

For Halloween i have come re-done Splatterhouse. This not only was a great game but i think it about summed up what halloween should be like.

I was also a great excuse to test out my new 3d volumetric light setup. Now my sprites can not only be dynamically lit by their surroundings but i can also add misty light effects.

I’m not sure which of these to go for so i’m going to put it to the vote, A,B or C?

This one. C

Sorry. I haven’t been too active on this site recently, but I’m back now.

Good to see you again, and i agree on both the images..

I had a new idea i thought i’d test out here. Taking a shot from a film, clean it up & then replace the characters with the retro game versions of themselves..

the original plate..

What do you think to this one?

I know i haven’t posted any of my artwork for a while, but i thought i’d return with a big one, the most famous of plumbers no less..

Different though as i’m testing out a whole new style here too. As such i’d love to hear what you think?

Here is my second in the series im working on, this time the fastest hedgehog in the world.

Sonic the Hedgehog – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/sonic-the-hedgehog/)

Next up is an Amiga classic..

So my first Amiga based wallpaper for a while, like many games i’ve been meaning to get round to him for a while & here he is. Continuing my series on going right..

Turrican – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/turrican/)

My latest piece..

Bonk ? BC Kid – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/bonk-bc-kid/)

And my new one. For all those people out there with a masochistic feeling towards candles i give you..

Castle Vania – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/castle-vania/)

An a new piece of work is unleashed on my site. Just going for classics here, what do you think?

Mega Man – How Games Used To Look (http://hgutl.com/mega-man/)

It has been a while. So i’d love to hear what you think..

I have come back to this game as i thought it deserved it. I haven’t made so many C64 wallpapers & Barbarian (or Death Sword) is so iconic.

I’m back in the mood for real pixels & i’m going big. There are a couple of other games that fit in with this arena backdrop as well so i might try them too..

nice

That’s pretty awesome. Keep up the great work!

Thank you, more coming soon..

So i have finally gotten round to doing a new logo. It’s still a WIP so feel free to give it a good kicking..

What do you think?

Cool! Great work.

Its been a while since i’ve done one of these. Got a special request for this one, & thought it would be rude not to oblige..