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

Jumpin Jac Dash gameplay

Jumpin' Jac Dash

May 12, 2022

You used to be a shiny new toy with all sorts of special skills. But now...you can't even jump. Find your missing parts and regain your powers!

Idle Toy Factories Gameplay

Idle Toy Factories

May 10, 2022

You have your own toy factory! How cool is that? Build and sell toys to earn a profit, then spend your earnings to build the best toy factory out there.

Lost in the Maze gameplay

Lost In The Maze

May 2, 2022

Only the most daring adventurers can explore the maze! Walk every inch of the maze to reveal it, but don't run into any enemies.

stratform gameplay

Stratform

April 25, 2022

Go retro in this bizarre cave adventure! You only have two buttons, Z and X. Prepare your movements ahead of time and escape from the treacherous cave.

City Blocks Gameplay

City Blocks

April 21, 2022

Build your city and watch it grow! Merge buildings to make the biggest city possible. How many buildings can you fit on your land?

Mini Coins gameplay

Mini Coins

April 12, 2022

You have one objective: Gather the coins as fast as you can! Hop and slide on the walls to grab all the coins without hitting the spikes.

are you human game running across the map

Are You Human?

March 31, 2022

This game is only for humans! You must be ready to prove yourself through a series of challenges that will push your brain to the limit.

Tethrees Gameplay

Tethrees

March 22, 2022

Drop the Tetris-style blocks to match 3 of the same color. Try to score as much as you can before they reach the top!

color hoops sorting the colors

Color Hoops

March 21, 2022

These hoops are out of order, it's time to sort them out! Organize the hoops by color. Can you finish all sixty levels?

stacking the shapes in pile shapes game

Pile Shapes

March 15, 2022

To build a tower you must start with a single brick! Grab your blocks and stack them up. Can you find the perfect place for every piece?