Video Game Scene Creator

Video Game Scene Creator

If you go into your favorite search engine and look for a video game scene creator, there's a good chance that one of your beloved 8-bit system video games will have an online creation tool. These online tools are usually pretty basic, but you can have a heck of a lot of fun with them.

More specifically, after dragging the elements of choice into where you want them to be, you can snag a screenshot and use the resulting image as a video game wallpaper for your computer. For Windows XP users, the easiest way to get a screenshot is to hit the "print screen" button on your keyboard. Then, open an image editing program (like PhotoShop or MS Paint) and "paste" the image. Edit as needed and save!

There are countless video game scene creator websites on the 'net, but here are a few to get you started.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic The Hedgehog is Sega's best-known mascot and for good reason! The speedy blue devil has a lot of personality and he's known to run circles around the competition. More recent Sonic games, like -- Sonic the Hedgehog for PS3 -- haven't been received very well by critics, so you'll want a background from his two-dimensional days anyways. Two of the best online Sonic scene creators can be found at:

• Dan-Dare.info
• Kongregate.com

The first appears to have many more options and choices than the latter. For Kongregate, the "canvas" is also substantially smaller and so we recommend the video game scene creator at Dan-Dare. What's particularly interesting is that there is a wide array of characters that you can use. There's Sonic, Golden Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and more! Let your imagination run wild, because all of the sprites can be used multiple times.

Super Mario Brothers

The single most recognizable video game character of all time is a pudgy Italian plumber named Mario. While he was featured in the classic Donkey Kong, most people were first introduced to our little friend in Super Mario Bros. for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Many sequels have been spawned since then and Mario doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.

As with Sonic, one of the best video game scene creators for Mario can be found at Dan-Dare.info:

• Dan-Dare.info

Countless characters and scene elements are available to you, including Yoshi, Bowser, Dry Bones, magic mushrooms, platforms, clouds, and so much more. You can even turn on some classic Mario music to entertain you while you are creating an original Mario video game scene.

Made from Lego

Not all video game scenes need to be created digitally! If you have a particularly creative spirit, you can experiment with different media. Some people enjoy painting or sketching, but one artist on Flickr has decided to recreate video game scenes using LEGO.

• skinnycoder on flickr.com

Among the scenes pictured are those from Duck Hunt, ExciteBike, and Bionic Commando, all from the original NES. Looks like he had a lot of fun (and a lot of time on his hands).

Custom Video Game Sprites

This isn't for the feint of heart, but anyone with a little more expertise can easily collect a variety of video game character sprites to create a custom video game scene of their own. This is a fair bit more challenging and will need some personalized work in an image-editing program, but it can ultimately result in some truly original and fantastic artwork.