Ryan Green and Dan Visconti

Curing ideological cancers with video games

Share This Talk

TEDMED Talks are available, free to the world, thanks to our partners.

About Ryan Green

Digital artist and game developer Ryan Green unites creativity and technique to produce powerful gaming narratives. When his son Joel was battling terminal cancer until his death at age 4, Ryan used game design as a means to understand and explore the experience he was facing. His struggle resulted in “That Dragon, Cancer,” a videogame and memoir filled with meaningful interactive experiences that share his story. Previously, Ryan was a senior developer in the healthcare space, creating user-friendly interface for electronic health records at DaVita for Nephrology Physicians. He has also worked on various projects with Soma Games and Media Greenhouse. With his experience and passion, Ryan hopes to catalyze a gaming culture where relationships, narratives, and artistry are equally important as winning. 

Find out more

About Dan Visconti

TED Fellow, composer, and concert curator Dan Visconti creates concert experiences that reimagine the arts as a form of cultural and civic service. With a love of American vernacular musical traditions, Dan infuses his compositions with influences from jazz, rock, blues and beyond. Dan’s current music commissions include those for Opera Philadelphia, the Kronos Quartet, and the Walnut Creek-based California Symphony. He also serves as Director of Artistic Programming at Chicago’s Fifth House Ensemble, a concert organization that taps into the collaborative spirit of chamber music to forge partnerships with unexpected venues, artists of other disciplines, educational institutions, and underserved communities.  

Find out more

About This Talk

Digital artist and game developer Ryan Green is joined by TED Fellow, composer, and concert curator Dan Visconti, as they travel through the creation of a video game titled “That Dragon, Cancer.” Motivated by Ryan’s experience with a son battling terminal cancer, this video game pushes the boundaries of conventional gaming, and challenges us to rethink the importance of video games in our society.

Other Talks from TEDMED 2016