Overview

That Dragon, Cancer is a video game created by Ryan and Amy Green, Josh Larson, and a small team called Numinous Games. The game is based on the Greens’ experience of raising their son Joel who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was given a short time to live and continued to survive four more years before succumbing to cancer in March 2014. The game revolves around a point and click adventure game using the medium’s interactivity and immersion to relate the highs and lows of the Greens’ struggle with cancer treatment.

Initially the game was developed to relate how parents relate to a child being very ill but with Joel’s death the game was reworked to incorporate and memorialize Joel. Alongside the game a documentary was made called Thank you for Playing that portrays the last few years of Joel’s life and development of the game. This game was made using Kickstarter funding in association with Ouya, a publishing and game console. The game was released on Windows and Mac OS X. The game was released January 12, 2016 on the day that would have been Joel’s seventh birthday.