Meet Ali Kellogg | Video Game Creator & Hobby Cat Masseuse

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ali Kellogg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ali, what makes you happy? Why?
When I pick food that I grew in my garden, and cook a really good meal out of it, and feed it to my loved ones, and they report back that it’s really good and “hitting the spot”.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have a lot of creative interests but professionally I am a video game and VR creator and producer. My whole life has sort of led me in unconventional ways to being the professional creative I am today.

I was a professional musician from the time I was 15 until I was in my mid twenties. I took the CHSPE when I finished 10th grade and dropped out of high school and started college when I was 16. I went to community college and worked a bunch of random jobs at bookshops and restaurants around LA while I was a student. I eventually realized I wanted to pursue my childhood fantasy of being an archaeologist. I went to UCLA and studied archaeology, eventually getting my BA and MA.

While in school, during excavations and surveying sites, archaeologists increasingly began to use technology like LiDAR cameras and 3D modelling software. That’s where I got my chops and learned the basics. It wasn’t until learning that is the same technology used to make video games. Growing up, I was obsessed with video games and spent a lot of my time – either by myself or with friends – playing them. In fact I think some of my best memories from my childhood are just my friends and I sitting around a TV taking turns playing a game.

That was my first time seeing that stuff as a creative tool and not just a scientific one. After finished my MA, I was starting to prepare applications for PhD programs and was working as a teacher teaching WWII history to teenagers, I loved teaching and working with kids but I found myself somehow more broke as a teacher than I did as a musician. While being a broke teacher playing games in my free time and wondering what I should do with my life, I realized video games are probably something really fun and interesting to make, and seemingly pays more than music or teaching.

I got a bunch of random gigs and contracts initially while adding to my tech CV and now I’m fortunate to have worked with some really incredible people all over the world and in different industries – gaming, XR, film, television, music and tech.

In the last few years, I’ve done a lot of corporate creative grunt work – I’ve made games with Meta, Disney, Warner Bros., worked on some awesome VR and 3D work with Icelandic singer Björk, worked on some really rad movies and made digital editorial work with some amazing technical artists and engineers from around the world.

In my spare time, I’m currently working on my own solo game title, learning Godot Engine and GDScript, working on a game jam with the awesome folks at Dev Pods, and even more quietly I still make my own music and music videos. Maybe I’ll release them someday.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m so bad at curating “a perfect day in LA” type lists because LA is massive and you cannot possibly see all of the amazing things here in one week.

I love Malibu and driving through Malibu Canyon/Topanga is one of the great joys of living here. A perfect Sunday to me would be driving through Malibu and Topanga Canyons, getting brunch at either Old Place or Cafe 27, then going to the Malibu Surfrider Pier. Go surfing at Surfrider (long board only though), then get lobster rolls at Malibu Farms. End the night driving through Malibu Canyon and going to Malibu Cafe for dinner, drive home with the windows rolled down and good music on).

The Huntington Gardens and Descanso Gardens are another go-to spot for me. I love Echo Mountain Trail and Eaton Falls in Altadena (closed for a few years due to the fires which destroyed the trail but I’m excited to hike it again someday).

I love going to literally any movie at Vidiots because it’s always a fun time and stirs a nice feeling of community. I grew up down the street from the original Vidiots and it was a staple of my childhood. I’m very lucky it reopened down the street from my adult home.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My dad. I somehow also followed his very specific career trajectory of musician-> go to school for a science -> work in tech. With that, he understood that a path to finding who you are is never a straight one, and every weird interest or hobby I had as a kid and young adult he encouraged me learn as much as possible, work hard and be kind to others.

Website: https://www.sistercalypso.com