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

Hexaria

July 13, 2020

Find colorful patterns of endless length! Go for a high score in three different game modes.

Cube Flip Screenshot

Cube Flip

July 2, 2020

There are no enemies, timers, or impossible jumps in this game, just cubes in space. Plan ahead, take all the time you need, and reach the exit safely.

Connect the Gems

June 26, 2020

Match enough gems of each color. Surround gems with your matches to create mega-gem power ups!

Escape Hatch Gameplay

Escape Hatch

June 25, 2020

You're free from your egg shell! Sneak past the chefs and escape before they turn you into a chicken nugget.

Block Toggle

June 19, 2020

You can control the platforms! Turn them on and off at the right time to reach the portal safely.

Beach Soccer

June 12, 2020

Hit the beach and show off your best soccer shots! Aim your kick to get all three stars and score.

Tiles In Between

June 11, 2020

You have the power to rearrange the world! Move platforms, jump over dangerous obstacles and reunite with the princess.

Blightborne

June 4, 2020

Only an ancient artifact can end the blight on your village's crops. Explore dungeons and battle monsters to find it!

Sticky Friends

May 22, 2020

Keep your friends close. Then keep their friends close. Keep going until you have a huge friend blob!

Super Rhino Turtle

May 21, 2020

What do you get when you combine a rhino and a turtle? Horns, a shell and a seriously unstoppable creature!