Columbus, OH – That Dragon, Cancer is a “video game memoir” created by two parents, Ryan and Amy Green, about their terminally ill son, Joel. Players have limited control as they encounter situations in the game, creating an experience of helplessness and despair that is meant to mirror the way Ryan and Amy felt. The game has recently received a lot of attention, due in part to a New York Times profile and popular gamers publishing YouTube videos of themselves playing it with millions of views.
We’ve seen video games as a medium for escape, for education, and more recently for empathy building. In the case of That Dragon, Cancer it’s all three as well as a beautiful expression of art. Health experiences are often documented in the form of a novel or a film, but video games are proving to be a powerful medium for health storytelling that offers the reader/watcher/player an interactive and visceral experience.
Watch the video game trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlKCJlhJwxU
