Introducing MinnMax Spotlight - Inside Panic: Gaming’s Boldest Company (And The Extended Version)

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

Because you support MinnMax at the Backstage Pass tier, here's a link to the extended version of the first MinnMax Spotlight - which clocks in at 8.5 hours! It's all timestamped for your convenience. We also have links below for other extended versions of recent videos. Enjoy the full Portland experience! https://youtu.be/TXUQngfLtaA

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!

_____________________________________________

Here links to all of our other extended versions of videos, in case you wanted to get caught up on any thanks to your Backstage Pass tier membership. THANK YOU!

Panic in Portland (8.5 hours) - https://youtu.be/TXUQngfLtaA

Sick Stunts in Spider-Man 2 (1.5 hours) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC7OsmtqQYM

The Best Of MinnMax July-September 2024 (2.5 hours) https://youtu.be/nHcVps1jDSw

Sarah Takes Ben Shopping - Extended Version (2 hours) - https://youtu.be/DqoaFtarrYw

The Grand Canyon Extended Travelogue (1 hour) - https://youtu.be/AsCfMTmGnc4

The Unedited Astro Bot Rapid-Fire Interview (1 hour) - https://youtu.be/G1_li9Ld7Zw

The Extended Chicago/Rebirth Concert Travelogue (2 hours) - https://youtu.be/WXiRgmjCZB0

Unedited Game Informer Reunion Episode (5 hours) - https://youtube.com/live/P6C2IjxmVfA
Game Informer Office Footage (2 hours) - https://youtu.be/3JQdsCjXD1g

Disneyland Tour With Mike Minotti (4 hours) - https://youtu.be/MKo2C8B1HAU

The Best Of MinnMax April-June 2024 (3 hours) - https://youtu.be/T2u6ufFn_aA

Summer Game Fest 2024 Travelogue Extended (7 hours) https://youtu.be/cBT3J27e84o

Leo’s Dome-King Cabbage Documentary - Extended Cut (5 hours) -  https://youtu.be/yfS4chU21E0

The Best Of MinnMax Jan-March 2024 (2 hours) - https://youtu.be/ZbMA5xOzz4Y
The Extended GDC 2024 Travelogue (3.5 hours) - https://youtu.be/pfJ10m35tRA

The Best Of MinnMax 2023 (5 hours) - https://youtu.be/gugi4I4kn-4

2023's The Two Tens Post-Show "Pissy Zone" - https://bit.ly/3RohPZa

PAX & Nintendo Live Extended Travelogue (4 hours) - https://youtu.be/KBQZm4l4rWY

Alternate intro for I Want Candy with Dan Ryckert and Leo (6 minutes) - https://youtu.be/83P21FwZYkQ

Summer Game Fest 2023 Travelogue Extended (10 hours) - https://youtu.be/SUC1EWuP77g

Summer Games Done Quick Extended Tour (1 hour) - https://youtu.be/Z5JFk7mRpak

The Extended GDC 2023 Travelogue (1.75 hours) - https://youtu.be/ImmzLXQtxSo

2022's The Two Tens Post-Show "Pissy Zone" - https://youtu.be/Fw2mByK6n2o?t=10256

The Extended Minneapolis/Trek To Shrek Travelogue (3.75 hours) - https://youtu.be/c7DJQHa93rI

One Piece/San Diego Extended Travelogue (.5 hours) - https://youtu.be/yqK_4fQ-3Lo

Janet Garcia and Bruce the cat (1 hour) - https://youtu.be/Z0ROVAfT6Js

Leo Vader’s cats (11 minutes) - https://youtu.be/qy2tUB4LLB8

The Best Of MinnMax 2022 (4.45 hours) - https://youtu.be/Bk1UsmU0oSk

Wade Wojcik's Game Informer Studio tutorial (45 minutes) - https://youtu.be/M5y2Zc7xVIY

Mussel Documentary - Extended Version - https://youtu.be/yFae76jhtGU