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

Rocket to the Top Gameplay

Rocket to the Top

July 26, 2024

Are you the best pilot in the galaxy? You'll need every bit of skill you learned at the academy, because this ship is tough to fly!

Simon's Lab 3 Gameplay

Simon's Lab 3

July 25, 2024

Simon says this lab will be harder to escape than the first two! Follow his very specific instructions to get to the exit. You may lose some controls along the way...

Aliens Moved the Pyramids Gameplay

Aliens Moved the Pyramids

July 22, 2024

We're not saying it was aliens... but it was aliens. Put on your tinfoil hats and help these extraterrestrials solve ancient puzzles.

Mind Shapes Gameplay

Mind Shapes

July 19, 2024

Take your time, but not too much time! Pick the correct shape in ten seconds or less and go for the high score!

Duck Duck Clicker Gameplay

Duck Duck Clicker

July 16, 2024

Yes, you can pet the duck. A lot. Keep petting them to unlock more drip for your feathered friend!

Collapstle Gameplay

Collapstle

July 11, 2024

This castle is crumbling... make haste to the exit! Defeat your enemies as you go further into the dungeons. Every step may be your last!

Dunk Digger Gameplay

Dunk Digger

July 9, 2024

Dig deep for a slam dunk! Burrow into the sand, grab all the stars, and hit nothing but net for glory.

Chrono Break Gameplay

Chrono Break

July 1, 2024

Play with time and grab the time shards! Complete puzzles to restore the time-space continuum.

Boxes Wizard Gameplay

Boxes Wizard

June 28, 2024

Solve puzzles with supreme box-swapping spells and gather the treasure! Avoid dangerous spikes and traps as you take all the gems and glory.

The Runic Conjecture

June 24, 2024

Decipher the language, crack the ancient code! Unlock mysterious doors and discover what secrets lay within the garden.