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

Soccer Challenge

June 9, 2026

Score goals this summer! Every level presents a new scoring challenge. Can you step up and win?

Arrow Direction Gameplay

Arrow Direction

June 4, 2026

Don't get lost among the arrows! Click on them in the correct order to solve the puzzle.

World Puzzle Gameplay

World Puzzle

June 2, 2026

Piece together beautiful destinations! With a few swipes and slides, you'll cross oceans and continents in every puzzle.

Word Haven Gameplay

Word Haven

June 1, 2026

Connect the letters to fill the crossword! Form new words to fill out the grid and earn coins.

Flower Sort Gameplay

Flower Sort

May 26, 2026

Stop and sort the flowers! Watch petals fly from pot to pot in this grid-based gardening game.

Lows Adventures Gameplay

Low's Adventures

May 19, 2026

Here's the low down: collect all the coins! Run, jump and zip up ladders as you pick up all the loose change and nab the trophy.

Museum of Dots Gameplay

Museum of Dots

May 11, 2026

Spend a day at the museum in this multiplayer walking simulator. Appreciate all the art, and find all the dots while you're at it!

Hidden Antique Shop 3 Gameplay

Hidden Antique Shop 3

May 4, 2026

They say the third time's the charm. Who knows what you'll find in this shop of antiques? Don't run out of time to find them all!

Cakefoot

May 1, 2026

All you have to do is press one button to make the walking cake walk. The rest is timing and perseverance!

Two Dots Gameplay

Two Dots Remastered

April 16, 2026

The best shapes begin with just two dots. Draw lines and shapes to beat every level!