Seminary Dropout 124: Amy & Ryan Green, Creators of ‘That Dragon, Cancer’ on the Death of Their Son, Grief, and Hope |

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Ryan and Amy Green’s son Joel was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer just after his first birthday. During Joel’s fight with cancer Ryan had an idea, to make a video game about the experience. Ryan made one scene of the video game and began taking it to video game expos to gain interest in a complete version. At this point Joel was still alive so it wasn’t very clear what the end of the game would be. During this time it became apparent that there was significant interest in the game and Ryan and Amy decided to use their savings to fund the creation of an entire game. In the time the game was being made Joel beat the odds for a time but eventually another tumor resurfaced and Joel’s cancer was declared terminal and he eventually did die from the disease. Joel and Amy finished the game which turned out to be a one of a kind memorial and celebration of their beloved son. bread_water