Book part:

Von Drachen und Zellmutationen: Eine komparative Analyse der Repräsentationen von Krebserkrankungen am Beispiel von RE-MISSION und THAT DRAGON, CANCER

Cancer, a hyponym for serious contemporary diseases, concerns a growing number of patients each year since research has significantly improved and patients can be diagnosed early. While many cases seem to be preventable, it is one of the leading causes of death. In popular media, cancer is often emotionally represented and a sign of death. In medical terms, it might be understood on a cellular level without regarding external conditions. This article shows that both ways can be discussed in two disease models that help to set a discursive framework of cancer representation in digital games. Re-Mission (Realtime Associates, Inc. 2006) shows a scientific side of occurrence by guiding an avatar through the human body while treating cancer internally. The game perpetuates a biomedical interpretation. In contrast, THAT DRAGON, CANCER (Numinous Games 2016) examines a biopsychosocial attempt perspective. While both games are determined by their contexts of production, their representation of cancer can be read as staying close to their initial disease model.