There is a wee bit of irony as to how video games evolved into sophisticated productions, with specially commissioned scores and album releases (although Dooley's music for SOCOM 3, as of this writing, remains unavailable on CD).

During the early years, video game creators lived under the large, dominant shadow of filmmakers. Dooley muses that it's as though they were quietly saying among themselves, "‘The film guys have all the money, they have all the good-looking people, they have all the power. We just make these little things that go blip-blip, like Combat,' and as they started to make money, they said, ‘Wait: we want those big things too. We want the big cinematic orchestral thing, too.'"

And as elements from big screen entertainment systems were being adopted as the standard for gaming, so too did the incorporation of layered Dolby 5.1 soundtracks, with dynamic sound effects, and music to power the home subwoofer.

"I think the video game industry understands now that they are really leading [parts of] the entertainment industry," continues Dooley, "and I also think they're trying to get those big themes and big talent, now that they have bigger money, and also create a bit of an emotional attachment to their games, just as films do. (Not that video games need to get more of a fan base; they seem to be doing quite well, and people are very passionate about their products.)"

Whether it's a commercial product or a personal indulgence, creativity brings forth a strange mix of dissatisfaction, melancholy, and the need to transcend the average.

"Most people who make art are not happy where they are," he theorizes. "For example, you work on a TV show, but don't think of it that way: make it feel like a film. Or, if people are on a video game, don't write it like a video game: write it like a film. And on a film, don't treat this like a film: treat it like a play.' It's kind of weird; rarely do you get something like, ‘This is a film, so score it like one.'"

Whether it's a coping mechanism or an earnest desire to boost the quality standard of a specific creative work for a commercial product, the final results must fulfill practical requirements, yet make it distinct from the competition. When core elements exceed those rudimentary standards, you ideally get an engrossing game with characters, an existing mythic past, and plenty of sophisticated sounds and visuals that support You as the star of your own Choose Your Own Adventure epic.

As an orchestrator, arranger, and composer, James Dooley's lighter side has recently been associated with several animated projects, including Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Madagascar, and the seasonal spin-off short, The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, released in 2005.

In 2006, the composer returned to the animation realm via the new DreamWorks short, First Flight, about a bird's attempts to get airborn; and the German animated feature Urmel aus dem Eis (to be released as Impy's Island to English language audiences), which deals with cute dinosaurs on an isolated tropical island.

Based on the children's books by Max Kruse, the feature film required cheerfully melodic material from Dooley. "I love these movies... where things are heavily thematic. When I first got the movie, I listened to all my James Newton Howard animation music; I was really trying to get my head around doing things with good themes. James' music is tuneful and meaningful, without being overtly cartoony. I was going to try and do my thing, but you're always kind of paying homage to someone else, as far as when you study to get better.

"So I went in and did all these really great pieces, and then a couple of them got thrown out – of my first 5 pieces, I think 2 got thrown out – because [they said they wanted] no music in the beginning. I thought, ‘What do mean, no music in the beginning of the film? Let's put song there.' So then I went and recorded songs, and it was tough, because we were just trying to find the tone of the movie, and once we got it, it was pretty smooth sailing.

"When the evil king is there, you play the evil king theme; and when the happy dinosaur gets rescued, play the rescue theme." But as he carefully points out, "the key to getting a movie like Impy to work is that you have to set up a couple of the themes to be misleading: they're on an island in the South Pacific, so I wrote an island theme which ends up becoming the rescue theme later on." While thematically cohesive to the score as a whole, a contextual change - perhaps not on a conscious level - can evoke surprise, and through specific variations, connect relationships, or add discreet subtext. "Those are the things that you really have to plan ahead before you just go in, and [not] just start writing tunes and putting them all over the place.

Dooley's score is currently being mastered for an August CD release. "I think there's some good writing in there," he says, "and it's a really great chance to flex your muscles and make things a bit sprightly and enthusiastic. When you're working with kids' music, of course you need your tender themes and your big broad themes. As far as my thematic material... I'm very proud of the score."