artist's statement

You Don't Have To Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here is a game about visiting your favourite bar one last time before it closes down for good. It's set in a world of anthropomorphic animals whose lived experiences may or may not have anything to do with how queer and trans people are being treated In These Times.

I made this game to process feelings about third spaces I used to visit that don't exist anymore: at this point, there are several of them, across different cities, and they aren't just physical bars or cafes either, but also digital spaces (remember when the internet used to feel like a place?) and temporary spaces where our digital and physical lives would meet, like conferences and conventions. It's also about not being young anymore: I turn 40 this year, and I started my gender transition more than a decade ago. Sometime in the interim, all these younger, fresher faces started showing up; meanwhile, I've been steadily feeling more and more like an Old Person, gravitating towards all the other Old People I know and reminiscing about how things used to be, even though it doesn't feel all that long ago.

D. Squinkifer

Squinky is a trans and neurodivergent multidisciplinary artist who cofounded Soft Chaos, a Montreal-based worker cooperative game studio. When not designing and programming games and other interactive experiences, they enjoy playing the tuba, making weird crafts, and doting on their beloved cat.

last updated: Tue Oct 14 2025 14:21:37 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)