Bluebird Studios and Ann Arbor SPARK
Michigan Game Development Conference 2025
March 28-30, 2025
In-Person @ Ann Arbor, MI
Remote Online via Discord
Conference FAQs
Herein lies the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Page for the
Bluebird Studios and Ann Arbor SPARK
Michigan Game Development Conference 2025.
About the FAQs:
All answers on this page are current as to the conference’s details and on whatever topics the questions cover.
The FAQs may change leading up to the event and even during the event at the discretion of the conference organizers.
If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to reach out to paul@bluebirdstudios.org.
Frequently Asked Questions: Main Details
Who is hosting the Michigan Game Development Conference 2025?
Bluebird Studios, LLC (Michigan) and Ann Arbor SPARK are the main conference organizers along with WolverineSoft.
This conference is physically hosted by WolverineSoft at the University of Michigan.
When is the Michigan Game Development Conference 2025 event taking place?
This conference is taking place on March 28-30, 2025 from Friday 4pm EDT- Sunday 8pm EDT.
Where is the Michigan Game Development Conference 2025 event taking place?
This conference may be attended in-person and/or remotely.
In-person the event will kickoff at Ann Arbor SPARK. After the kickoff the event will be at a University of Michigan building room.
Remotely the event will take place on Discord. Registrants will get an access link to the Discord before the event starts.
For current location updates please check out the Agenda linked here.
Frequently Asked Questions: In-Person Experience
Where does the conference start?
The conference starts at Ann Arbor SPARK @ 4pm EDT on Friday March 28, 2025.
Where is the main development building site?
The exact building is TBD, yet the main development location will be at a University of Michigan building hosted by WolverineSoft.
This response will be updated when it is confirmed, it will almost certainly take place at 1 of these 3 University of Michigan buildings:
Central Campus Classroom Building (CCCB), Bob and Betty Beyster Building (BBB), James and Anne Duderstadt Center (Duderstadt)
Where will the Esports tournament and workshops be?
The Esports tournament will either be in a separate room from the main development room or in a specific area in the main room.
The workshops will either be in separate rooms from the main development room or in specific areas in the main room.
For current location updates please check out the Agenda linked here.
Where will the end-of-event Showcase be on Sunday evening?
The end-of-event showcase is currently TBD, yet will soon be confirmed.
It is likely to occur either at the main development site, at the Ann Arbor District Library, or at another University of Michigan building.
For current location updates please check out the Agenda linked here.
What type of food and accommodations will be provided for in-person and hybrid participants?
The food will range from pizza to snacks and other more specific foods from Ann Arbor, MI as a classic college event.
Beverages will include water, pop (soda), and other typical non-alcoholic drinks.
Food will be provided for in-person and hybrid attendees as they attend from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions: Remote Experience
Where does the conference start for remote attendees?
The conference starts with a live video stream on this conference’s official Discord server @ 4pm EDT on Friday March 28, 2025.
Remote participants may attend this from 4pm EDT - 5pm EDT, and then the next stream for them will take place at 6pm EDT.
Where do I go to join this conference’s Discord server?
The conference’s Discord server is shared to registrants that state they are attending Remote or Hybrid after they register.
Additionally, for all in-person attendees the Discord server link will be shared near the beginning of the event and in announcements.
Can I still attend the Esports tournament and workshops even as a remote participant?
The Esports tournament will take place in-person.
While remote attendees will not be able to compete, they can watch the tournament via Discord live stream.
Workshops vary based on whoever is leading the workshops, all our workshops are encouraged to be livestreamed to Discord.
Can I still attend the end-of-event Showcase on Sunday evening as a remote participant?
Yes, remote participants are also encouraged to go to this, as it will be live streamed via Discord and should be a cool experience!
Remote participants will have access to game files so they can play/see the work from other participants as they built games.
As a remote participant do I still get food and other in-person requisites at the event?
While remote participants who build a game prototype are eligible for the Showcase prizes, they do not get free food during the event. Only Hybrid and In-person attendees will get free food/etc. as they attend in-person.
Frequently Asked Questions: Collaboration and Sponsorship
Where do I go to confirm interest in being a collaborator or sponsor?
The sponsor interest form is on this website. The Sponsorship Interest Form is linked here.
Additionally, you can email Paul directly at paul@bluebirdstudios.org if you have a request beyond the interest form.
What is the difference between a collaborator and a sponsor?
In summary collaborators simply help get the word out, while sponsors fulfill the requirements on the
About Sponsorship Tiers Google Doc linked here.
It should be noted Michigan Ecosystem Sponsors have an exception; for example, if at least 1 student/team participates from a university sponsor, then that university has fulfilled its sponsorship requirements.
What kinds of collaborators and sponsors are there?
The Conference Sponsorship Tier List is linked on our Sponsorship Interest form page.
The About Sponsorship Tiers Google Doc is also linked here.
A collaborator is a group that coordinated with Bluebird Studios to help get the word out about this event.
The sponsor tiers are student clubs (Bronze), ecosystem supporters (Silver), corporations (Gold), featured corporations (Platinum), universities/colleges/state organizations (Michigan Ecosystem, which umbrellas the student clubs logos in their university systems).
Frequently Asked Questions: Additional Details
Where do I go if I have any other questions about the conference?
You can email the conference director Paul at paul@bluebirdstudios.org with any questions you may have concerning this conference.
If you notice anything not working or not clear on the website please feel free to reach out to Paul so that is updated!
What other details should I as a potential participant know about this conference?
This conference is mainly a building competition with many cool side activities, workshops, and even an Esports tournament.
When you register you do not need to go to everything!
It may seem overwhelming compared to a typical game jam, yet the overall experience should be fun and result in some cool memories/portfolio projects.
Additionally, this event will likely have a few guest speakers, a game jam theme, and some designated judges for the end-of-event showcase who will judge on which game(s) accomplished the theme the best.
If you made it this far as a hint, the game jam theme will have something to do about a game that makes real world impact.
What other details should I as a potential sponsor know about this conference?
We have top engineering talent in art, animation, audio, coding, design, engineering, and more at this event from all over Michigan.
While this conference is a bit smaller than what it will likely be in future years, we have talent registering from the U.P. in Michigan to the Michigan capital at Lansing to the metro Ann Arbor/Detroit area and more.
This first year is a good year to start meeting top engineering talent and participating in an exciting long-term ecosystem opportunity.
The Sponsorship Interest Form is linked here.