Pao Salcedo
Game Curator

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
Stuck In The Sewers
March 16, 2021Learn the secret routes in the sewer! Scurry through pipes to grab all the coins you can find!
Small Islands
March 15, 2021What do you do when you're stuck on an island? Grab some wood, build a bridge, and find a way out!
Pullfrog
March 2, 2021Play Tetris with your tongue. Make full lines and level up, just don't get smashed by the pieces!
Shelled Shinobi
February 16, 2021Who says turtles are supposed to be slow? Hop in your shell, pick up speed and slide!
Rontate
February 8, 2021Take a walk up the wall and change the power of gravity! Rotate around the walls and ceiling and jump into the finish.
Tower Tops
February 1, 2021Your city is under attack! Climb the ladders, grab the keys, and hurry to the top of the tower.
Color Filler
January 29, 2021Every block has a perfect hole. Push them all to their destination, then find the perfect hole for yourself.
Me and My Launcher
January 21, 2021Grab your launcher and get ready to fly! Blow up the spinners and run to the exit as fast as you can.
Greedy Mimic
January 14, 2021There's something off about these villagers... Whack them with your tongue to reveal their true nature!
Tiny Fragments
January 11, 2021Sometimes to solve a problem you need to approach it from the other side! Shuffle the world to snag the golden fruit.