You Don’t Have to Go Home, But You Can’t Stay Here

You Don’t Have To Go Home, But You Can’t Stay Here is a game about returning to your favorite bar for one final visit before it shuts down forever. It takes place in a world of anthropomorphic animals whose stories may subtly reflect the realities that queer and trans people face today.

I created this game as a way to work through the feelings I have about the “third spaces” I used to frequent that no longer exist. There are quite a few of them now, spread across different cities. And they weren’t only physical places like bars or cafés, but also online communities (back when the internet actually felt like a place) and temporary spaces where online and offline life met—such as conventions and conferences.

It’s also about growing older. I’m turning 40 this year, and it’s been over ten years since I began my gender transition. Somewhere along the way, new, younger faces started appearing everywhere, and I gradually found myself feeling like one of the “older” people—drifting toward others my age and sharing memories of how things used to be, even if it hasn’t really been that long.