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

2 Player Dino Run Gameplay

2-Player Dino Run

May 27, 2025

Stampede across the Jurassic era with a friend! Race with your friend and see who can survive the longest.

Viscous Ventures Gameplay

Viscous Ventures

May 20, 2025

Grow and shrink to reach the goal! Collect the ice cream to adjust your size so you can fit into the obstacles just right

Comball Gameplay

Comball

May 15, 2025

Merge balls, not fruits! Enjoy this fresh twist of 8 Ball Pool by merging pool balls to increase in size. Don't let the board overflow!

Kitchen Sorting Gameplay

Kitchen Sorting

May 13, 2025

You're cooking up a new dish! Sort the ingredients by type so they can all get into the pot to make a tasty dish.

Cars Merge Gameplay

Cars Merge

May 8, 2025

Round and round the track they go! Where they stop, no one knows! Every lap, they'll earn gold. Better cars earn more!

Duck Duck Clicker 3D Gameplay

Duck Duck Clicker 3D

May 1, 2025

Pet the duck in a new dimension! This special duck is in 3D and has more upgrades and clothes for you to get decked out in.

Apollo Gameplay

Apollo

April 28, 2025

You're freshly hatched and ready to explore! Wander around the forest and avoid dangerous obstacles as you learn to spread your wings.

Magnetic Pull Gameplay

Magnetic Pull

April 24, 2025

Use your magnetic powers to retrieve the key! Attract and repel the ball to grab the key and unlock the exit to escape.

Chain Color Sort Gameplay

Chain Color Sort

April 15, 2025

Connect the colorful chains! Link each chain to their color, just don't get them tangled up along the way!

Jelly Matches Gameplay

Jelly Matches

April 11, 2025

Match the pieces and collect the colors! Try to obtain the necessary colors needed without overfilling the grid.