What’s new in heaven and hell? Patrons of the Dark Roads & Golden Hells planar project and patrons of the Midgard campaign setting got news on project status and had a chance to define a part of the Mharoti Dragon Empire live and in person with lead designers Brandon Hodge and Wolfgang Baur on Saturday morning at Gen Con.

The new elements were pretty straightforward and encouraging:

Progress! Midgard is 80,000 words in manuscript form at this point, plus it has partial maps for two regions. Brandon and Wolfgang have both delivered text for patron review and editing, including the Seven Cities, the Wasted West, and (coming by the end of August) the Pantheon. (Read more beyond the jump!)

I arrived in Indy, bright eyed and excited for the unofficial first day of Gen Con. I zipped to Will Call, grabbed my badge, and checked out the awesome costumed folk already wandering the halls. Tickets in hand, I escaped into the air conditioning for a bit before the Meet and Greet. Sure, there are few scheduled events, but Wednesday is the day for finding old and new friends, plus for grabbing a cold drink and enjoying a good story while you look through the swag bag and review your catalog for interesting games.

Those of you wandering the halls of Gen Con in Indianopolis could very well have also had your favorite Open Design product signed by Wolfgang Baur on Friday. Our Chief was out and about at various booths, and he plans to be available for some more chatting and signing fun on Saturday. (We have photographic proof here for you of Friday’s session at the Paizo booth!) To learn more about where you can find Wolfgang, please take a look at our handy schedule.

This year at Gen Con, panelists Greg Stolze, Wolfgang Baur, Ryan Dancey, Stan!, Daniel Solis, Will Hindmarch, James Ernest, and Jeff Neil Bellinger gathered together with seminar attendees to discuss the best games EVER! (just as the seminar name says). Each panelist had a favorite or two, as did several of the attendees. The choices named ranged from board games to card games to computer games to roleplaying games. (More beyond the jump.)

So, you have a game or another fun project that you want to produce, but you don’t have all the means (read: funds) to do so. Or perhaps you want to involve those interested in your project in the process of creating it. You’re in luck! At Gen Con 2011, Greg Stolze, Daniel Solis, Gary Sarli, and Wolfgang Baur spoke about their experiences publishing games with patronage and Kickstarter. The key messages included the following (more after the jump):