We have some sad news to report: this is to be the last ever regular Retro column. Our usual correspondent, Shaun Bebbington, is unable to commit to a weekly column any more, owing to commitments in his day job. In fact, he's so snowed under, he asked if I could write this final instalment for him. Before I do that, though, I'd just like to thank him for his tireless efforts over the years - and for sharing with us his passion for all things retro. Shaun, you'll be missed by all at Micro Mart.

Now, on to the column itself. To be honest, I'm not really much of a retro gaming fan. That's not to say there aren't any old games that I like, because there are (Theme Hospital, Speedball II and Final Fantasy VII, to name a few), but I'm too keen on modern bells and whistles (in terms of gameplay) to enjoy Commodore 64 or Spectrum titles on a regular basis. One thing I do appreciate from the 8-bit age, however, is the artwork. Of course, the blocky sprites and backgrounds of these game was a result of technical limitations, rather than being a chosen aesthetic, but now they're viewed retrospectively as a bona fide form of art. People wear T-shirts rendered in 8-bit graphics. The Internet is awash with websites of artists showcasing their retro-style creations - and as well as brand new games being created for old machines, a lot of developers are choosing to make games for modern PCs that look like they were made thirty years ago.

It makes me whether whether in another ten years, we'll all be going crazy over graphics from the 90s and making games that have weird ragdoll people in them like the ones in Goldeneye (1997) on the N64. Well, you never know with nostalgia.

What I do know, though, is that right now the 8-bit look is big deal, so if you'd like to have a crack at producing your own retro masterpiece, then maybe take a look at make8bitart.com, a simple online paint program. Or if your artistic skills are limited, you can transform an existing non-8-bit image into something retro, and this tutorial should help: tinyurl.com/retro1341a

For now, though, let the web provide some inspiration, with this fine selection of artworks from 8bitdecals.com (which doesn't seem to credit the original artists, unfortunately). Which should serve as a good indication of what is possible in the world of sprites.