Building Mobile Games for Legacy Brands like the NBA, The New York Times, and Wordle

Building Mobile Games for Legacy Brands like the NBA, The New York Times, and Wordle

Author: Brave Software May 14, 2025 Duration: 31:58

Shafik Quoraishee, Senior Mobile/AI Game Developer at the New York Times, discusses the development process behind popular New York Times games such as Crosswords and Connections, along with what they learned about consumer behavior from the highly addictive and viral success of Wordle.

Key Takeaways: 

  • How to balance innovation with the legacy of traditional games

  • The importance of user engagement and testing in game development

  • The future potential of AI in creating immersive gaming experiences

Guest Bio:

Shafik Quoraishee who is a Senior Mobile/AI Game Developer at the New York Times. He works on popular games such as The New York Times Crosswords, Connections, Strands, and Wordle, and is deeply interested in the intersection of AI and accessibility. Previously Shafik was a Senior Android Engineer for the National Basketball Association, and a Senior Data Engineer at Business Insider.

Connect with Shafik:

 
 
 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

 


Hosted by Brave Software, The Brave Technologist is a series for anyone curious about the real human impact of our digital evolution. It moves past the surface-level buzzwords to ask how technologies like AI, machine learning, and Web3 actually affect everyday decisions, privacy, and the fabric of society. The conversations here are grounded and thoughtful, prioritizing the user's perspective in a landscape often dominated by abstract visions of disruption. You'll hear from builders, thinkers, and technologists who are shaping these tools, discussing not just what is possible, but what is responsible and meaningful. This podcast sits at the intersection of technology, business, and marketing, examining how these forces converge to shape our collective future. It’s for listeners who want to understand the "why" and "for whom" behind the code, offering a nuanced take that is often missing from tech commentary. Tune in for a deeper, more inclusive dialogue about the systems that are redesigning our world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Brave Technologist
Podcast Episodes
Is Digital Money Becoming a Surveillance Tool? [LIVE From AI Summit] [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:59
Chastity Murphy, former Senior Advisor at the U.S.Treasury and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, shares her experiences working on digital money legislation, including the Stable Act. She reflects…
Charles Hoskinson: Re-Architecting Money and Extending Human Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:55
Charles Hoskinson is a co-founder of Ethereum, and the CEO and Founder of Input | Output (the company behind the Cardano blockchain). In this episode he shares his journey into the world of cryptocurrencies and his early…
Zcash and the Fight for Privacy in the Digital Age [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:36
Arjun Khemani, memetic warlord at Zcash, shares his journey from questioning conventional thinking to becoming an advocate for rational optimism and privacy in the digital age. He discusses the importance of fighting for…
Live From Rare Evo: What's Stopping DeFi from Going Mainstream? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:43
Thorsten Jaeckel, Head of Product at 0x and Matcha, discusses the biggest hurdles facing DeFi adoption—including regulatory uncertainty, user experience challenges, security concerns, and the need for better education. D…
BrainChip: Bringing Brain-Inspired AI to Everyday Devices [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:35
Sean Hehir, CEO of BrainChip, discusses their innovative neuromorphic technology, which mimics the way the human brain processes information to enable smarter, more efficient edge computing. We explore the real-world imp…