Artematica Entertainment (1996)
Ligurian Development Studio Specializing in Point-and-Click Adventures and Italian Comic Licenses
Founded in 1996 in Chiavari, Liguria, by producer and designer Riccardo Cangini, Artematica Entertainment became Italy's principal specialist studio for point-and-click graphic adventures and interactive comic-book adaptations across the late 1990s and 2000s. Its multi-CD and DVD catalog spans Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri's Druuna: Morbus Gravis (2001), Sergio Bonelli Editore's Martin Mystère: Operation Dorian Gray (2004), Belief & Betrayal (2006), and Astorina's Diabolik: The Original Sin (2007).
Establishment in Chiavari and Transition to Multi-Disc 3D Comic Adaptations
Riccardo Cangini founded Artematica in 1996 in the coastal municipality of Chiavari, east of Genoa in Liguria, operating in close technical alignment with sister firm Prograph Research as the Italian development sector transitioned from 16-bit diskette production to multi-disc Windows PC CD-ROM publishing. Whereas Bologna's Simulmondo had adapted Italian comic properties (fumetti) into brief episodic kiosk adventures during the early 1990s, Artematica pursued full-length international retail productions combining pre-rendered backgrounds, polygonal 3D character models, cinematic cutscenes, and multi-language voice localization. In 2001, partnering with French publisher Microids, the studio released Druuna: Morbus Gravis across six CD-ROMs, translating Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri's adult science-fiction comic universe into a third-person 3D exploration adventure. Alongside co-producing the international release of Nayma Software's Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths (2002), Artematica consolidated an in-house 2.5D adventure pipeline pairing static high-resolution rendered environments with real-time 3D characters, dynamic lighting, and mouse-driven inventory puzzles.
Sergio Bonelli and Astorina Licenses, Original Mysteries, and Cross-Platform Output
Throughout the mid-to-late 2000s, Artematica systematically licensed flagship Italian comic and popular fiction properties while exporting them under localized titles across Europe and North America. Collaborating with Milanese comic publisher Sergio Bonelli Editore, the studio developed Martin Mystère: Operation Dorian Gray (2004, published in North America by The Adventure Company as Crime Stories: From the Files of Martin Mystère), adapting Alfred Castelli's paranormal investigator into a classic point-and-click mystery. Following the 3D prequel Tony Tough 2: A Rake's Progress (2006), Artematica created the original historical conspiracy adventure Belief & Betrayal (Jonathan Danter: Nel sangue di Giuda, 2006, published internationally by Lighthouse Interactive) and adapted Angela and Luciana Giussani's antihero comic into Diabolik: The Original Sin (2007–2009), expanding from Windows PC onto PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Wii, followed by Bonelli's Julia: Innocent Eyes and tabletop license Subbuteo before diversifying into mobile, serious games, and B2B interactive software.