Dear enthusiasts of magic and the occult,
About four years ago, around this time, I began writing a gamebook titled 49 Chiavi, a work filled with elements I deeply love. The Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance; the mindset of those people, so eager for the fantastical and the miraculous, yet so fearful of evil and eternal damnation; magic, as it was studied and practiced during that period, based on astrology and philosophical currents like Hermeticism and Neoplatonism; films such as The Name of the Rose and lesser-known ones like L’Arcano Incantatore; medieval bestiaries with their endless array of real and imaginary creatures; and graphic adventure games, a passion of mine since childhood.
All of this has magically blended into 49 Chiavi, which, thanks to the publisher Aristea, was published in Italy in 2022, quickly becoming a highly successful gamebook, praised by both critics and readers alike.
The excitement sparked by the gamebook convinced me to embark on a new adventure. Two years ago, again around this time, 49 Keys was born—an adaptation of the gamebook, developed with the goal of making the game experience even more immediate and immersive, enhanced with graphics, music, and sound effects.
I had the pleasure of working with artists I deeply admire, such as Veronica Wu (graphics), Fabio Porfidia (illustrations), Francesco Libralon (music), and Andrea Romani (SFX). I was fortunate to have found an exceptional publisher in 2P Games, who believed in 49 Keys, supporting it and bringing it to audiences worldwide.
The result of these two years of work is now available in your library. Follow the protagonist, a Dominican friar constantly torn between his desire to follow his beloved Master's path to occult knowledge and his fear of abandoning the certainties of faith. Feel his unease as his unresolved traumas and unconfessed desires manifest as terrifying emissaries of evil. Marvel as you discover a higher reality beyond our own, a reality that cannot be perceived through the senses but only imagined—not examined rationally, but only intuited.
Turn down the lights, light a candle, and open the manuscript. Let the initiation journey begin!
Michele Buonanno