The leaden colors of a rainy morning are the same as the video game (it's called "Idili") that, together with a group of friends and collaborators, he created a couple of years ago with the idea of telling the archaeological sites, myths and legends of Sardinia in the most engaging way.

Known everywhere

Gazing at the Is Paras nuraghe, a monument in Isili whose promotion is discussed at every UNESCO conference on the island, Stefano Piras sighs. "We're well-known among industry insiders and video game enthusiasts; we've received positive reviews from specialized journals and accolades at trade fairs," he says. "But" (unfortunately, there's always a but in stories like this), "for the Region, and for organizations that might be interested in young businesses, we're invisible." Owner of Megalith Interactive Studios ("Sole proprietorship, zero budget"), 35, with a degree in electronic music from the Cagliari Conservatory and a master's degree in video game music from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, Stefano Piras is one of those young Sardinians who would love to stay with all their might in their hometown, but given the difficulties, are forced to join the army of brains and labor fleeing. "My friends and I would like to stay, to create our own business here, a real business. And instead..." And yet, so far, the company's headquarters is still his parents' bedroom, and the only money in the bank is the time he and his team are dedicating to developing the game.

It's not a spell

It must all be the fault of a spell cast by Filonzana, who wanders between the Is Paras nuraghe and the domus de janas of Tana de Mrexani, the hunchbacked old woman of the Ottana Carnival who unravels and cuts the thread of life at will, a disturbing character who prowls within the history and traps of the survival horror set in the Nuragic and pre-Nuragic landscapes of Isili. He smiles bitterly. "It's been like this so far, but we still want to hope that things will change. We need funds to grow the business, to better develop the product, to support marketing, to be able to pay salaries and participate in trade fairs."