smurfted
02-10-2013, 01:39 AM
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.

SoundWhirl
02-10-2013, 10:04 PM
That looks so amazing man! I really like the way you designed that picture.
smurfted
02-11-2013, 09:56 AM
I'm glad you like it. Requests are more than welcome if you want to see your favourite game wallpaperized..
smurfted
02-11-2013, 03:48 PM
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/)
-Dragon-
02-11-2013, 07:19 PM
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
smurfted
02-14-2013, 04:52 PM
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)
-Dragon-
02-14-2013, 05:44 PM
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?
smurfted
02-14-2013, 06:04 PM
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..
-Dragon-
02-14-2013, 06:14 PM
I recognized it right away. ;)
Once again, can't wait to see them!
Also, forgot to mention I liked your facebook page too.
phenomangel
02-16-2013, 01:01 AM
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?
smurfted
02-16-2013, 10:56 AM
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).
phenomangel
02-16-2013, 01:39 PM
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???
smurfted
02-16-2013, 02:05 PM
2d games..
-Dragon-
02-18-2013, 06:31 PM
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!
smurfted
02-20-2013, 01:11 AM
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/)
-Dragon-
02-20-2013, 02:17 AM
Aw yeah! Can't wait!
Darkshadowmark
02-21-2013, 02:00 AM
Your art is genius, man. 10/10 + 20 for originality.
Dude, Metroid Fusion!
-Dragon-
02-21-2013, 04:19 AM
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
smurfted
02-21-2013, 04:24 AM
Half of them were on my list, now the other half are too..
-Dragon-
02-21-2013, 04:32 AM
Alright! Just curious, do you know what your next release is going to be?
smurfted
02-21-2013, 09:02 PM
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..
-Dragon-
02-21-2013, 10:00 PM
Sounds intriguing... can't wait to find out what they are!
smurfted
02-24-2013, 02:23 PM
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..
-Dragon-
02-25-2013, 04:59 AM
You made that from 1 gif??? That's amazing!
smurfted
03-01-2013, 02:25 AM
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..
-Dragon-
03-01-2013, 02:50 AM
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.
smurfted
03-20-2013, 03:16 PM
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..
-Dragon-
04-06-2013, 09:46 PM
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.
smurfted
04-11-2013, 07:38 PM
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..
-Dragon-
04-11-2013, 07:48 PM
Wow! That's neat that you're doing these for a show. So is it an art show, or is it a contest?
smurfted
04-11-2013, 08:09 PM
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..
-Dragon-
04-11-2013, 08:17 PM
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!
-Dragon-
04-22-2013, 06:53 PM
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?
smurfted
04-22-2013, 10:49 PM
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..
smurfted
06-01-2013, 08:43 PM
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/)
flexter
07-25-2013, 01:31 AM
The Rampage one is great, good work!
smurfted
09-19-2013, 06:47 PM
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/)
smurfted
10-28-2013, 12:56 PM
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?
smurfted
10-30-2013, 09:54 PM
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?

-Dragon-
11-20-2013, 10:50 AM
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.
smurfted
11-20-2013, 11:19 AM
Good to see you again, and i agree on both the images..
smurfted
12-09-2013, 11:50 AM
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?
smurfted
03-29-2014, 08:27 PM
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?

smurfted
04-01-2014, 01:10 AM
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..

smurfted
04-02-2014, 10:23 AM
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/)
smurfted
04-06-2014, 02:50 AM
My latest piece..
Bonk ? BC Kid - How Games Used To Look (
http://hgutl.com/bonk-bc-kid/)
smurfted
04-09-2014, 02:35 PM
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/)
smurfted
04-14-2014, 09:57 PM
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/)
smurfted
10-08-2014, 08:44 AM
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..

alfastation
11-08-2014, 04:48 PM
nice
IllusionaryNeon
12-06-2014, 08:08 AM
That's pretty awesome. Keep up the great work!
smurfted
12-06-2014, 08:49 PM
Thank you, more coming soon..
smurfted
01-24-2015, 01:41 PM
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?

dougmeister
01-25-2015, 07:32 AM
Cool! Great work.
smurfted
06-29-2015, 02:16 PM
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..

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