Naughty Dog UI designer and illustrator Alexandria Neonakis joins us this week to share some stories about working on The Last of Us, her experiences in getting a visa to work in the United States, and the influence nostalgia has on her work.

There’s also a ton of pop culture talk in this episode, including some of our favorite films and games. And thanks John Sweeney for the Godfather shoutout!

** Up spoilers around 1:27:00 **

** Interstellar spoilers around 2:00:00 **

** Lost spoilers around 2:13:00 **

** Black Mirror spoilers around 2:19:00 **

GUEST LINKS:

Alex’s Website: http://alexneonakis.com/

Alex’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/beavs

Alex’s Tumblr: http://alexneonakis.tumblr.com/

Naughty Dog: http://www.naughtydog.com/

The Last of Us: http://www.thelastofus.playstation.com/

Grounded: The Making of The Last of Us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH5MgEbBOps

Jurassic Park: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/

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SHOW NOTES:

Bloodborne: http://amzn.to/1Q21aaG

Maciej’s ArtCafe: http://www.theartcafe.tv

Chipotlife: http://www.chipotlife.com

Jon McKellan’s episode: http://www.thecollectivepodcast.com/103

USCIS: http://www.uscis.gov/

Valve: http://www.valvesoftware.com

Nintendo Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9ssjqxSNcQ86iN6knh5mzmxYSHodtb3-

Katamari Damacy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katamari_Damacy

Eye Drawings: http://gizmodo.com/these-portraits-are-drawn-only-with-eye-tracking-softwa-1692328382

Folding@Home: https://folding.stanford.edu/

Mad Max: Fury Road: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392190/

The Art of Up: http://amzn.to/1Q2buzC

The Illusion of Life: http://amzn.to/1KJvgfH

Cory Loftis: http://coryloftis.tumblr.com/

Dieter Rams: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Rams

Patrick Nagel: http://www.patricknagel.com/

Lost: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411008/

“Some things work for some people – our brains are all so different, based on so many factors, that what works for one person is not guaranteed to work for everybody. I got really caught up in seeing other people’s rough sketches that looked so much better than mine, and it wasn’t until I just let that go that I accepted: ‘I’m different.’”

-Alexandria Neonakis

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employers.