Here is some good background on how it all began. These articles have a wealth of info on how things got started in the game audio industry. These pioneers had little resources to work with and were forging a new path as they went. Many concepts ant techniques we take for granted today were hammered out in the beginning, Learn from those that came before.

A timeline of video game music
http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/vg_music/

The Rise and Fall of Game Audio
http://www.armchairarcade.com/aamain/content.php?article.48

Want to know who worked on your favorite game soundtrack?
Check out this wikipedia list of video game composers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_musicians