Ryan Green's touching 'That Dragon, Cancer' planned for January 2016 release

“That Dragon, Cancer,” a low-poly adventure game created by Ryan Green, first appeared in E3 in 2013 and after dedicating these years in development, Green has announced the release for his game. “That Dragon, Cancer” is slated for a January 2016 release.

That Dragon, Cancer is a touching story of Joel, a 5-year-old who underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery for tumors while fighting with cancer. As reported by Engadget, this young son of Ryan and Amy eventually passed away in March 2014. The game depicts the experiences of the couple raising their child who fought terminal cancer for three years.

After Joel's death, his father, Ryan, chose to develop “That Dragon, Cancer” and pioneered what Engadget called "interactive poetry." He, along with Joel’s mother Amy and programmer Josh Larson, brought the game to Kickstarter to raise funds for the game. The target fund for the game was set to $85,000 (approx. AU $1,18,000) and the campaign raised $104,000 (approx. AU $1,44,000) to help the three to complete their work.

Joel loved pancakes and his father Ryan Green wants everyone to enjoy pancakes at the day of launch. “That Dragon, Cancer” will hit Windows PC and Mac platforms via Steam as well as the Razer Cortex Storefront for Ouya and Forge TV. Gamers can pre-order “That Dragon, Cancer” from the official website and they can also sign up to host a pancake party on the launch date.

The object of “That Dragon, Cancer” game is completely different from the conventional games that ask players to solve problems. “That Dragon, Cancer” asks each player to be present in each moment. The game isn't about showing what happened to Joel's family. Instead, it is about Joel.

The emotional adventure game, “That Dragon, Cancer” hit major milestones including a spot at IndieCade's E3 booth. Tribeca Film Festival hosted a special screening for a documentary “Thank You For Playing” made about the development of “That Dragon, Cancer.”