NEXT LEVEL
By tackling serious subjects like having your child die of cancer, video games are expanding people’s idea of what the medium can accomplish,
The most talked-about indie game out there right now is an important game that people should absolutely play.
It’s also the furthest thing from fun that you could imagine.
That Dragon, Cancer is a just-released title that explores a family’s experience living with one of their sons who has a rare and terminal form of the disease.
It has the best depictions of parenthood, a marriage and a nuanced, mature exploration of faith that I have ever played through in a video game.
It is also emotional and heartbreaking, as you might expect.
Although far from perfect, as far as gaming — or likely better put, an interactive experience — goes, it is also something that could expand people’s idea of what the medium can accomplish.
Ryan and Amy Green are the couple at the centre of the game, and it was their experience with their 5-year-old son, Joel, that they decided to use as the inspiration for the project.
It started as a huge Kickstarter success, and the game is dripping with pathos, as one of the promises to backers was the ability to put a painting, image or message into the game to commemorate the people that they have lost to the disease.
Creating the game must have served as a form of therapy for the couple involved. There are many interesting mechanics in it, most notably how it switches perspectives in the many vignettes it explores. For instance, at one point you are in the parents’ role, but then you shift to Joel’s perspective.
The other truly standout aspect of this game is the sound design. In the opening moments you sit as Joel, who has since died, tosses bread crumbs to a duck at a lake. In the ambient sound you hear his younger brother asking his parents why Joel can’t talk and the parents gently explaining he develops slower than other kids.
There are phone messages from Ashley later on, explaining hospital visits or being exasperated due to a lack of progress from a treatment. Using the real voices of the family, it is clear that this is a real family unit and we are privy to their devastating journey.
It’s only a two-hour experience, but there is more real emotion packed into it than most epic gaming blockbusters.
It’s funny how gamers can play other titles with hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths, but the way that two people deal with their Christian faith and the death of a child, can truly be uncomfortable and illuminating.
If there is a knock on the game, it is in some of the gaming aspects. The gameplay is somewhat similar to point-and-click adventures, where you can walk, explore and interact with certain items in limited ways. Like many of these more artistic game experiences, there are times where it very much feels like a guided tour, with some sort of minor interactivity to flesh it out.
As well, there are some times — like a Mario Kart- inspired racing level in a hospital — that provide a moment of much-needed levity and remind that this is a game, but just feel tonally off.
That Dragon, Cancer is an unlikely triumph that helps expands the emotional capacity that games can hold, and for most gamers, is unlike anything else they have played before. That Dragon, Cancer is available for PCs, Mac and Ouya. Other games that tug at the heartstrings:
Gone Home: This is another exploring adventure game. You return to an empty home, and by exploring the house, you pick up and interact with the environment, piecing together the story of a fractured family that lived there. Available for PC, but coming soon to PS4
Her Story: This is a critically acclaimed 2015 game that is less emo- tional but more mysterious. It features a database of video clips of a woman — almost similar to an interactive movie — and the player has to piece together the story of a missing man, but all is not what it seems. It looks very old-school, but cutting edge at the same time. Available for PC and iOS
Depression Quest: This interactive game was created by Zoe Quinn, who became one of the main targets of the horrible Gamergate movement. It requires the player to manage their illness, life events, work and more. It has been highly praised by many people who suffer from the illness for giving a small example of what it is like. Available on PC
Papo & Yo: This game was created by Montreal’s Minority Media, and its 3D design is a step up from most of these smaller scale indie games. Directly inspired by the creator’s struggle dealing with an alcoholic father, it tells you the story of a young boy who in trying to escape from his volatile home life, enters a favela where he finds a monster and is required to solve environmental puzzles. Available for PS3, PC and Mac