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Tale of terminal illness That Dragon, Cancer funded
Joel Green, the 5-year-old boy who inspired the game That Dragon, Cancer may have passed, lost to the illness that plagued him, but his tale will be told on PC, Mac and Ouya thanks to the financial support of backers on Kickstarter. Developer and father Ryan Green and his team not only reached their goal of $85,000, but pushed beyond it in the campaign's final days, eventually closing this week with $104,491 raised. This means that every backer of That Dragon, Cancer on Kickstarter will receive a high-resolution, digital copy of the poster that hangs in the nursery of the Green family's young daughter, Zoe. The poster features Joel's fingerprints representing leaves on trees, and a text balloon that reads, "Thank you for giving me life." You can see the poster in full after the break. Joystiq's Jess Conditt recently interviewed Green about the game's progress and how it's changed since its initial vision, and a documentary called Thank You For Playing, due in 2015, will also help share the story of how Joel's short life made such a big impact.
That Dragon, Cancer dad, devs push on after tragedy
That Dragon, Cancer tells the real-life story of Joel Green, a young boy fighting terminal cancer, placed in a low-poly, point-and-click world. There are no puzzles in the game, only daily activities haunted by an unseen monster silently shaping the lives of Joel and his family. Joel's father, Ryan Green, is developing the game alongside Josh Larson and a handful of contributors. That Dragon, Cancer includes personal notes and stories from the Green family, describing their pain, joy, hope and despair as the story progresses and Joel's health continues to decline. In March, after battling cancer for four years, Joel died at the age of 5. The game must go on. Ryan Green, Josh Larson and the That Dragon, Cancer team are pushing forward with development, gathering funding from investors and today launching a Kickstarter campaign seeking $85,000 to help finish the game. That Dragon, Cancer has the financial support of Indie Fund – up to $50,000 – if it needs it and if the campaign is successful. This all means the game is delayed from its 2014 launch window, but when it does launch, it will do so on Ouya and Steam (PC and Mac) simultaneously. It was previously designed as an Ouya exclusive, but the micro-console maker is allowing a side-by-side PC premiere as a show of support for the developers, who wish to get That Dragon, Cancer in front of as many people as possible.
The child that inspired That Dragon Cancer, Joel Green, dies at age 5
Joel Green, the 5-year-old son of developer Ryan Green and the inspiration for the emotional adventure game, That Dragon, Cancer, died this morning after battling terminal cancer for four years. Ryan shared the news on the That Dragon, Cancer blog with the above photo. That Dragon, Cancer chronicles the intense emotional journey of Ryan and his family as they deal with Joel's diagnosis. It incorporates poetry, somber music and voiceovers in a point-and-click format, with low-poly, pastel, 3D graphics. It's a powerful game that asks players to pause and reflect on the fragility of life and love. That Dragon, Cancer is due out on Ouya this year, with other platforms to follow. We spoke with Ryan at the IndieCade booth at E3 last year, and asked how he ended up turning his pain into a game. "I don't know what else I'd do," he said. "I'm a creative and that's what I want to do, and that's how I process things. My wife and I, we've made a short film and we wrote a book; I'm a video game developer by trade, and so that seemed like a natural fit. There's something special about video games that you don't find in other media. I want people to love my son the way I love my son, and to love my son you have to meet my son. A video game gives the opportunity to meet my son and meet our family, and kind of walk with us in our shoes, but from a safe place." Now, Joel is in a safe place of his own. Our deepest sympathies to the Green family at this time. [Image: Ryan Green]
