Two words: FLStudio (formerly Fruity Loops). Mac or Win (though more plugins are available for Windows). I've been using it for years and it's simply one of the best softsynth/samplers in existence. It'll even take VSTi and DXi plugins, function as a MIDI instrument, utilize MIDI keyboards, and has a wide variety of stuff available for it. Everything I've written in the last 10 years has been with FLStudio. It's a bit daunting at first but once you get into it and learn everything it's capable of you can really get your groove on in a big way. Even comes in a variety of "sizes" to suit your budget -- but if you're serious about music, consider investing in the Signature Bundle. It's worth every penny. There are some cool optional plugins/synths you can grab too but it can add up. Start with the bundle first and work up from there. But do yourself a favour and don't write another rhythm game unless you've got a truly different, genre-expanding idea for it. It's a fairly narrow market and it's already pretty saturated.
I wasn't thinking rhythm game, per se. I think I've already had enough experience entering an oversaturated genre Either way, I've used that before but didn't know it had made it to mac. Good deal, might jump on that, thanks for the heads up. EDIT: ok, never mind. It's not for mac still.
Wanted to say thanks for everyone's input - we just launched our first game into the App Store as well, and it's tough to break through.
Actually, scratch that. I was browsing the latest plugins (haven't checked in ages) and saw some for Mac so assumed FLStudio had finally crossed over, but evidently I was mistaken. Damn. Looks like Reason is still the closest thing you can get to it on a Mac. (Of course, you could always run FLStudio in Parallels or Boot Camp)
Well looked at the lite version. It's true that it is not new enough. Looking forward to your next game.
Confused as to what the game's about? Or something else? The good news is that since there are so many apps and so many developers, there's definitely a lot of resources and material to look through to try and determine the best practice for your app; of course, what's on paper and what actually happens can be completely different, but it's definitely helpful to start off.
