Creating Original Music for your Games

[hurstshifter]

Hey Everyone,

I've recently become interested in creating some original music for my games. Up til now, the only music/sounds I have implemented have been stock sound effects and non-original music. My only problem is that I just do not know where to get started. I have a list of questions that I think would be helpful to me as well as many others on this forum. If anyone could provide some good examples I would be happy to edit this post and paste in links to help anyone who checks this in the future. So here goes...

- What software do you use to to create/edit/capture your music? Is it open source? If not, cost? Quality?
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ - Audacity (FREE)
http://www.anvilstudio.com/ - Anvil Studio (FREE)
http://ardour.org/ - Ardour (FREE)
http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php - Guitar Pro
http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/ - Kristal (FREE)
http://www.cockos.com/reaper - Reaper
http://lmms.sourceforge.net/ - Linux Multimedia Studio (FREE)
http://milkytracker.org/ - MilkyTracker (FREE)

- What input devices do you utilize/recommend? Midi controllers? Full size electric keyboard? Software instruments?
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/KeyRig25.html - M-Audio KeyRig25

- What hardware to you use on your pc/mac to capture this? External device? PCI card?
http://www.presonus.com/products/Detail ... oductId=58 - Presonus Firestudio Mobile Firewire Interface
http://www.presonus.com/products/Detail ... roductId=5 - Presonus Firestudio Project Firewire Interface


If anyone can think of other important questions to ask, please let me know. If anyone is planning on answering one of the questions I think a good answer should be at least how long you have been using it, a link to the software/device, pros/cons, and your overall level of satisfaction. Hopefully we can get some good input here.

[Sanshin77]

I am really interested in this as well. I've tried doing some simple sound effects with software instruments in GarageBand(Levelup sound and other plings), but it seems like it's not that suited for creating longer tunes and songs with the software instruments.

I'm especially interested in how people make 8-bit music and what software offers a smooth and pain-free workflow when dealing with software instruments and multiple tracks.

[GroundUpEngine]

I use Audacity and Fruity Loops(sound effects and other junk) there pretty much free, easy to use and good quality. You can use input device like keyboard or drum kit in my case and record, edit and add stuff no problem

I'm especially interested in how people make 8-bit music and what software offers a smooth and pain-free workflow when dealing with software instruments and multiple tracks.

/agreed

[K-Bal]

The important question is what musical background do you have?

[Moosader]

Anvil Studio is also a free midi editing program, and there's Dr. Petter's Musagi, which is a mixer for making more old-school sounding stuffs.

[hurstshifter]

The important question is what musical background do you have?

I play both guitar and piano pretty well. Been playing guitar for about 8 years and piano about 3. I have a fair amount of knowledge of music theory as well. Although this topic is less about me and more about making music for games in general.

Anvil Studio is also a free midi editing program, and there's Dr. Petter's Musagi, which is a mixer for making more old-school sounding stuffs.

I will have to check these out.

[K-Bal]

Ardour is a great sequencer, good for recording and free but Linux only. I create MIDI stuff with Guitar Pro which is around 50€. A free alternative is TuxGuitar, but I don't really like it (yet). Reason is really good for creating very diverse stuff but also costs 300€.

[davidthefat]

Go get a sound proof room (or as sound proof as you can) and get high quality mics and cables... Crappy cables can make everything sound crappy with lots of static... I suggest getting a high quality CD burner, loading the music directly to digital file on the computer doesn't seem to cut it unless you have a great sound card

LMMS for those Linux users like me, great alternate to Fruity Loops

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/

[aamesxdavid]

It's pretty much my duty to respond to this.

- What software do you use to to create/edit/capture your music? Is it open source? If not, cost? Quality?

I use Cubase at work, so it's what I'm most familiar with. Probably too expensive just buying it by itself, I always get it with some audio interface (I have a couple of Presonus ones).

As far as free solutions:

MIDI:
I took a look at Anvil Studio, and it seems pretty solid. I would personally start there to get your compositions going.

Editing:
Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ - most trusted free audio editor for years.

Mixing:
KRISTAL: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index. ... n=download - you can use VST plugins with this (in realtime, unlike Audacity), and there are some nice free ones available.

- What input devices do you utilize/recommend? Midi controllers? Full size electric keyboard? Software instruments?

I generally don't use MIDI controllers. Unless it's something that you need done really quickly and you feel comfortable performing it, you're better off just composing it in the software, and tweaking it as you go. It's really a matter of personal preference, but if you are going for a controller, my best advice would be to go basic. You don't need a full-size, and you don't need tons of knobs/settings. Get something you're comfortable playing, is convenient to your work station, and maybe even has a few patches you like. This is the one I use at work: http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOKEYRIG25 - also, it comes with Ableton Live Lite, which would be more than sufficient for your purposes. DAWs are 90% personal preference; whichever one you learn first/learn the most of is the one you think is the best.

- What hardware to you use on your pc/mac to capture this? External device? PCI card?

Well, this is for recording analog sounds, which is where things get expensive, because there's a much bigger difference between good and bad hardware, and no free solutions. If you're not looking to do serious audio work, I simply wouldn't go this route - MIDI is much cleaner, easier, cheaper, and more adaptable. But being an audio snob, I can't just dismiss it because of that, so here's my personal list:

PCI Card:
http://reviews.cnet.com/sound-cards/cre ... 58407.html
Don't even think they make this anymore, and it's a damn shame. There must be some kind of equivalent, but I've yet to see it. What makes this great is the front panel with 1/4-in, RCA, and MIDI inputs (and of course surround sound output). I've even directly plugged an electric guitar into the mic input and run it through an amp simulator, and it sounded pretty damn good.

External Interfaces:
I pretty much love everything Presonus. I have http://www.zzounds.com/item--PRSFSMOBILE and http://www.zzounds.com/item--PRSFSPROJECT
Get some decent mics, and you've got some awesome sound.

Portable:
Combining the microphone and interface into one. Here's the one I have: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ ... 5Qod62kycg
You can use it as an interface to record directly to your computer, or have it separate to record anywhere you want, and transfer the files over afterward. And this particular one allows for 2 external microphone inputs, and you can record with all 4 microphones at once.

Okay, I'm starting to sound like an extraordinarily long-winded commercial, so I'll stop there. But if there are any questions, let me know. Obviously, I could go on about this stuff for days.

[hurstshifter]

Fantastic post aamesxdavid. Lots of great information there.

[screwtape]

For audio recording/MIDI sequencing, I'd recommend Cockos Reaper.
http://www.cockos.com/reaper
It ain't open source, but there's a 30-day trial, and a non-commercial licence costs $60.
It's obviously not as versatile as stuff like ProTools, but it is pretty damn cheap.
It has support for most plugins, and comes bundled with loads. You can code your own effects too, but I can't tell what language it uses.
Good luck!

[thejahooli]

I know this topic is about music, but what do you use for making your own sound effects.

[aamesxdavid]

I know this topic is about music, but what do you use for making your own sound effects.

You can start with a synthesizer to get different things, if you really know how to use them. But most of the time, it's about recording sounds and manipulating them to make different things. Sound design is all about taking simple sounds like a door closing, and making them something completely different. In a recent meeting at work, we took donkey sounds, and make a laser gun sound from it. A donkey with laser eyes is now our DLC mascot.

Sound design can really only be self-taught, for the most part. Record a simple sound, and start using pitch adjustments, reversing, and reverbs, and see what you get. If you have any specific questions, I'd be glad to help of course.

[aamesxdavid]

For audio recording/MIDI sequencing, I'd recommend Cockos Reaper.
http://www.cockos.com/reaper

Haha, this was made for Rock Band. I only started using it recently, and it's actually pretty nice. For the price (aside from the free-ness of KRISTAL), it's probably the best. I'm not too fond of the way MIDI is entered personally, but that's just from using Cubase for so long I suppose. And hey, if you have an XNA account, you can author Rock Band Network tracks (and please do, because I'm too lazy to ).

[nardi11011]

For audio recording/MIDI sequencing, I'd recommend Cockos Reaper.
http://www.cockos.com/reaper

Haha, this was made for Rock Band.

You mean, as in "it's perfect for Rock Band"? Because it certainly wasn't made for Rock Band, it's been around for years. It's also a great program and my DAW of choice.