Hi, I'm an indie iPhone game writer/developer and for my next game I'd like to have a go at creating my own sound effects (recorded by using various props). Does anyone have any suggestions of the sort of equipment I should invest in? A few people have suggested the zoom h2. I'm also interested in a rode m3 condenser mic and blue microphones icicle (to interface directly with my MacBook pro) what are your opinions? Thanks chris

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I'm an indie iPhone game writer/developer and for my next game I'd like to have a go at creating my own sound effects (recorded by using various props).

Cool! Just a quick question: are you wanting to do this because you're interested in audio development or to keep down development costs in general? Or both?

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Does anyone have any suggestions of the sort of equipment I should invest in?

How much do you want to spend? :) Seriously there is a very wide of options for you that work on multiple platforms but the question comes down to budget, needs (aka goals) and learning curve.

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A few people have suggested the zoom h2. I'm also interested in a rode m3 condenser mic and blue microphones icicle (to interface directly with my MacBook pro)

That sounds good but what I don't see is any software tools where you can edit and produce the sounds. Logic is a very good program that does both MIDI and audio work and comes with a slew of plug-ins. I'd recommend that since you're already on a Mac. The pro version sells for $500 and then lighter version is around $120-150 I believe.

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what are your opinions?

I think it is really cool that you want to design the audio for your own game. If you're solely doing this to keep down costs however, consider hiring a young(er) sound designer who may already have the gear and knowledge. This could speed up development time and help you network.

Thanks,

Nathan

Hi Nathan,

thanks for your detailed reply. In response to your questions...

I'm doing this because i'm interested in audio development (in fact i'm interested in all elements of the game life-cycle. In terms of budget, its relatively flexible although obviously i'd like to keep it as low as possible. I'd like to get the hardware within £200. (so pretty low).

In terms of software I was thinking of either Audacity or Wave Editor (http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/waveeditor/). Logic Express is £160 in the UK ($250).

Do you think that the combination of a condenser microphone such as the Rode M3, a usb interface like the icicle, and some wave editing software is a good combination?

thanks again

Chris