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[Trash_Empire]

I have very low experience with developing audio for games. I have no clue where to start.
What kind of hardware do I need? Is it possible to do it without a Digital Keyboard synthesizer thing.
What is the best software? Open Source Please. I've tinkered with DAW's before but I do not know if that is the best way to go or if that is what I need.
Where to begin? What are the best Tutorials? Any Advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[medieval]

You're speaking in very general terms. Do you need help with designing sounds, or composing music? Even if you don't own any instruments or synthesizers, it's possible to create beautiful music. But DAWs can be confusing if you're inexperienced in composing/producing. An easy one to work with is pxtone. You'll have to experiment heavily to develop your composing skills. There are more professional DAWs out there with vastly greater capabilities, which you can try out once you gain some ground


TIP: Learn an instrument! It'll be a great advantage and will help you understand music better.

[Trash_Empire]

Thanks, i'll experiment with pxtone tonight to get a feel for the interface. I'm a one man team developing a game. The only experience I have is like 7 years of programming, but I kinda want a feel for all development parts so it's a learning experience. Since I am a one man team, I am talking about sfx and music. I have a good amount of experience with the guitar, but I am assuming that a good instrument to learn in this case is the piano. Do you recommend researching anything about music theory? Thanks again!

[Audiosprite]

Yep, the classic online resource for beginners is musictheory.net

[Bakuda]

+1 for musictheory.net.  That's an amazing resource for theory.  My suggestion would be to learn what you can about chord progression and then start dissecting your favorite songs.  A simple way to play piano is melody on the right hand and chords on the left.  Once you figure out how to tell the chord progression of a song you can play almost anything!  Another thing you can do is to a site like chordie and look up some songs there.  They'll give you the chords and, again, chords on the left hand melody on the right.

As for software, Garage Band on the mac is a GREAT way to start messing around with things.  On the windows side of things, I would suggest Studio One.  To be honest, I've never used it, so I can't speak from experience.  But, looking around at free DAW's it seems to offer more than most.  If anyone has tried Studio One feel free to comment, I'm curious.

Best of luck with your musical endeavors!

[Trash_Empire]

I'm thinking about getting a Digital keyboard to do a lot of this stuff, but I don't know which one to get. What do people usually get for that?

[Chip]

I suggest you to get a cheap MIDI keyboard that you could just plug and play around with your music software. For me, the best is to just play random chords and notes in one scale (you'll learn a lot from that music theory webpage) and after some practice I eventually get something to sound good.

It's just about playing and trying new things everyday, good luck!

[Ninja Dodo]

Don't know about music, but for sound effects (as a fellow newbie) I've found these really helpful:

http://www.soundingames.com/
http://www.gameaudiopodcast.com/
http://indiegameaudio.libsyn.com/

[Bakuda]

I'm thinking about getting a Digital keyboard to do a lot of this stuff, but I don't know which one to get. What do people usually get for that?

This is what I use.  I really would like to upgrade to a full 88 with weighted keys but this has always done me fine.  Been using it for 6 years and am very happy with it.

[Daniel Pellicer]

I would also recommend m-audio keyboard to start.

About music theory: its important but not totally necessary. There are lot of people out there that are geniuses without learning any theory at all. I would try putting random notes in the px-tone and then a second instrument with random notes that work good with the previous one. Then try reconfiguring everything so that it sounds ok. After that if you feel brave enough put some percussion. Let your intuition guide you!

You should go to theory only if you feel like it or if you need it.

[medieval]

Let your intuition guide you!

This is the most important thing. Have faith in it. Don't doubt yourself too much, because you'll improve with every try you give it.

[Trash_Empire]

Thanks for all the help! I'm having a bit of trouble with pxtone, is there like a good tutorial or manual for it somewhere?

[Bakuda]

Let your intuition guide you!

This is the most important thing. Have faith in it. Don't doubt yourself too much, because you'll improve with every try you give it.

Very true!

[medieval]

Here's a good tutorial for pxtone: http://www.cavestory.org/guides/buzinkai/

[Trash_Empire]

Thanks so much! The guide helped a bunch.