Pao Salcedo

Game Curator

Pao standing over a skillet full of bistek tagalog

Favorite Coolmath Games: Powercut, 8 Ball Pool
 

Pao is an advertising copywriter turned game producer. A graduate of the NYU Game Center's Game Design MFA program, he has over 9 years of experience playing, testing, and curating games in an academic or professional setting.

As a Senior Game Producer at Coolmath Games, Pao has created comprehensive game design documents for experienced external developers and translated them into launched games, such as Rock Paper Scissors, Pirate Battle: Ships Ahoy, and Tag.

He has licensed over 100 games and counting for CoolmathGames.com (including Tiny Fishing, Slice Master, and Duck Duck Clicker) and the Coolmath Games mobile app.

Before Coolmath Games, Pao worked at Computer Lunch, developers of the hit mobile games Cell to Singularity and Mama Hawk. He researched historical tidbits for Cell to Singularity and wrote write-ups for limited-time events. He also wrote in-game text and copy for Mama Hawk, and store descriptions for the App Store and Play Store.

Prior to that he was briefly a playtester for one of the most successful tabletop RPG Kickstarters ever.

In a previous life, he was a creative copywriter in multinational ad agencies in the Philippines.

Outside the hallowed, equation-filled halls of Coolmath Games, he is playing old JRPGs, trying to catch up to the latest One Piece volume, and experimenting with his lola's adobong manok recipe. 

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • COOLMATH GAMES | Senior Game Producer
    2019 – Present
  • COMPUTER LUNCH | Game Researcher
    Apr – Jun 2019, Sep 2022
  • KICKSTARTER RPG | Game Tester
    Apr 2019
  • COMPUTER LUNCH | Game Design and Copywriting
    Jun – Aug 2017
  • LEO BURNETT GROUP MANILA | Creative Team Head
    May 2014-May 2016
  • TBWA\SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO | Copywriter
    June 2010 – April 2014

 

EDUCATION

  • NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, USA, MFA Game Design
  • ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY, PHILIPPINES, BS Business Management
  • ÉCOLE SUPÉRIEURE DE COMMERCE, PAU, FRANCE, Int’l Management Program

 

CONFERENCES ATTENDED

  • Game Developers Conference 2023
  • Indiecade 2017, 2018
  • PlayNYC 2018, 2021
  • Waffle Games 2018

Games Reviewed By Pao Salcedo

One Way Gameplay

One Way

July 14, 2023

You're a blue data point trying to escape a digital dungeon. The administrators have banned downward movement... Can you outsmart them?

Handshakes Gameplay

Handshakes

July 13, 2023

Go out of your way to shake hands! Move through winding halls and dangerous doors to find your friend. Try not to lose your hand while you're at it...

Yarn Untangle Gameplay

Yarn Untangle

June 27, 2023

These threads are all tangled, it's a cat-astrophe! Untangle the yarn and make sure each thread turns pink so it doesn't overlap.

Slide Fit Gameplay

Slide Fit

June 23, 2023

Every node has its block! Swap the blocks until they match the correct colored node. Don't get a mental block while moving the blocks!

Oxxo Gameplay

OXXO

June 22, 2023

In this relaxing puzzle game, no shape should stand alone. Slide matching shapes until all of them are connected!

Notebook Jam Gameplay

Notebook Jam

June 19, 2023

This puzzle is a real page-turner! Flip through the pages and grab the green envelope and all the paperclips.

Maze Dog Gameplay

Maze Dog

June 13, 2023

Your flying friends are missing! Bark, dig, and explore to find them all and return them to their nests. Don't forget to eat all the snacks!

Lode Gameplay

Lode

June 12, 2023

Gravity works differently in this cave... With the power of your shiny gem, alter gravity and climb through the underground to escape!

Marcus Osnail Gameplay

Marcus O'Snail

May 23, 2023

Marcus is not your ordinary snail... He can flip his world all around! Help Marcus O'Snail get to the exit as quickly (or slowly) as possible.

Bounce and Block Gameplay

Bounce and Block

May 19, 2023

Pew pew pew! It's time to bounce the balls into the goal! Can you find the right combination of bounces to hit the target?