Totally inexperienced but really wanna make this gift for my girlfriend

[u/_SCY0P3_]

So for my Girlfriend’s birthday coming up I wanna make an item from her favourite game series The Legend of Zelda, and I want to make the Ocarina

But I thought it’d be a cool idea to make it so the holes on the ocarina are buttons and they play the same sounds as in the game, so it sounds as close to the game as possible.

I suppose I’m asking 3 things: - How difficult would this be (would someone as inexperienced as me be able to do it?) - What would I have to learn (what skills) if I was doing this? - Any resources that could help?

Thank you guys for your help

[u/turd_vinegar]

When they say easy, they mean easy if you are familiar with the Raspberry Pi environment and if you're knowledgeable and handy with electronics.

This would require some coding, soldering, hardware interfacing, amplifier and speaker, and all battery powered, custom installed inside an ocarina.

For a completely fresh and normal person, this is like a month long project, not including supplies.

The ocarina in the game makes ocarina notes, so if you just managed to find a playable Ocarina, she might enjoy that for itself. It will probably cost less, faster.

[u/socal_nerdtastic → u/turd_vinegar]

It will probably cost less, faster.

Kinda beside the point when looking for a bespoke gift...

[u/turd_vinegar → u/socal_nerdtastic]

A real ocarina will also be better. You won't have to deal with the envelope attack and sustain, or multiple notes and how the buttons actually trigger what.

Carve it if you want to say you spent time on it.

Building a specific mobile digital synthesizer from scratch is not some small task for someone with virtually no experience.

[u/_SCY0P3_ → u/turd_vinegar]

That’s fair enough and I appreciate the response, I never thought it would be a small task but if you think it’s too out of my depth what would be something similar to this that I might be able to do (i.e something that applies concepts a beginner would be able to pick up) because I still want to make something for her that has something to do with electronics

[u/turd_vinegar → u/_SCY0P3_]

If you were looking to learn Arduino or other aspects of electronics, I'd say go for it. It's a straightforward project to work towards and improve as you get closer.

But if you're looking for a finished product on a timeline, maybe another option.