Introducing MinnMax Spotlight - Inside Panic: Gaming’s Boldest Company

Hey everybody, Ben Hanson here. Back when I was Game Informer's video producer, I went on over 80 game studio visits and was always amazed at how insightful they were. Being in the studio and getting to know the developers left me humbled by the amount of thought and effort going into every game or piece of hardware we enjoy. A 15-minute video interview in a sterile room never captured the magic and energy of the full studio visit.

Today we're launching MinnMax Spotlight, a new format/series where we'll be visiting game studios and capturing and sharing as much of the experience as possible for all of you.

For our first studio profile, Kelsey Lewin and I visited Panic out in Portland, Oregon. Panic has been around since 1997 and has been creating Mac software for much of that time. They eventually got into game publishing with games like Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game, and even more boldly they created their own handheld called the Playdate. We had a blast learning about the studio and the challenges of the Playdate, so we hope you enjoy the video. It's a little raw, it's a little loose, we want it to feel like you're there. The goal is to share the full journey with you, so the video ALSO includes Kelsey and I exploring the Portland Retro Gaming Expo, getting dinner with Twitch/Fire Escape Cast's Mary Kish, the MinnMax community meetup, and exploring some beautiful nature stuff outside of Portland. We should note, Panic paid for our travel but this was not a sponsored video. We're going to keep experimenting with the MinnMax Spotlight format moving forward though, so stay tuned on that front. There isn't a strict release cadence for this series, but we'd love to do a couple every year.

Any help sharing MinnMax Spotlight online is appreciated. The more attention it gets, the more opportunities open up in the future for the format - https://youtu.be/ZSZcJH0ewKw

Above: Arco, the tactical-RPG you could be playing right now if you join the Backstage Pass tier.

If you join the $10 Backstage Pass tier here on Patreon, you unlock the extended version of the MinnMax Spotlight that clocks in at 8.5 hours! If you really want to dive deep and learn about a wild company like Panic, this is your chance. Plus! If you upgrade to get the extended version before Friday, October 18th we'll DM you on Patreon with a Steam code for a great game Panic published this year called Arco. We gushed about it on The MinnMax Show a bit ago, and the Steam reviews have it at Overwhelmingly Positive. At the Backstage Pass tier you'll also get the extended versions of Ben's first trip to Disneyland, Summer Game Fest 2024, Leo's Dome-King Cabbage documentary, shopping with Sarah, and a ton more.

A huge thank you to everybody who came out to MinnMax's community meetup in Portland, Oregon! This outlet exists because of all of your support, so thanks for giving us the opportunity to create MinnMax Spotlight!