Picta Mori
A downloadable game for Windows
When first seemingly harmless achievement in technology turns into something sinister is not an unknown scenario to us. Picta Mori plays with the idea of what if AI image generator would start predicting people's deaths.
Picta Mori has an oppressive atmosphere, but there are no jump scares to catch you off guard.
Due to its short length (around 20+ minutes) there is no save/load function. Fast -mode can help go through different endings on multiple playthroughs.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious.
Content Warnings
Swearing, violence, death, gore, blood, abuse, stalking, compulsion, mental illness, stress and anxiety, physical illness, occasional flashing lights/loud sounds/screen shaking, alcoholism, car accident.
Main theme "Future's Past" composed by akole
This visual novel was made for Spooktober 4th Annual Visual Novel Jam.
Team Members
Story/Development/Graphics/Sound Design - Rastaanparta
Sound Design/Composer - akole
Visual novel plugins for RPG Maker MZ by: VisuStella
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Comments
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I just got one question... what is and where do I find the code to enter the damn apartment?! X'D
SPOILERS: I'm proud to say I got the butterfly cup in my very first playthrough. I choose to take that to mean I'd make a decent school therapist.
I didn't get the true end straight off the bat, though. Because I didn't want to break Emma's gift. So. Decent school therapist, damn poor survivalist.
SPOILERS:
I made the door sequence in a haste during the jam and the lock gives in to any sequence which makes a total of 20. It comes from 1973 which was the year Enter the Dragon hit the theaters. It was a placeholder at the time. I meant to go back to that part and think of something more clever, since now you can't figure it out before playing the game through once. Now it is just a game of chance which some people have solved by sheer luck.
Dude, now that you mention it, I was going to try 1973! It's the date mentioned in the talk with Lizzie, isn't it? Since it was the only four digit number I saw all playthrough, I wrote it down to try it later. But then I thought it made no sense that an inner joke between the main characters would have any bearings in the choice of numeric code for the whole apartment building... I wound up scrapping that choice and just guessed there was no way to get through the door.
Well, in any case, thanks for relieving me of that uncertainty. It was killing me XD
Whatever i say about this game it won't be enough.I loved the sounds,the plot,the atmosphere,this was so well done!It exceeded my expectations by far!Hope you make more games like that!
I loved this entry a lot! It’s so perfect aesthetically, the spin on the cursed media urban legend is so good, the sound design makes the whole thing so immersive and the story gets quite emotional in such a short length.
It reminded of Photopia because of the overall tone and of the somewhat disjointed storytelling.
Wuld you be able to include a walkthrough for all endings somewhere? I get the feeling that a lot of people (me included) only ever got one ending because it can be hard to backtrack and try new choices: since we can’t save, and since the skip function keeps skipping immediately after making a choice, it can be a bit daunting to do, even if the story is not that long overall.
I'm not the developer but allow me to answer. Take out the FAST option whenever there's a choice to avoid skipping over important text. Also, getting the different endings relies heavily on getting the butterfly mug from Emma. And getting that is tied to your very first interaction (push her only slightly to talk about how she feels about her dad's new girlfriend, comfort her, that sort of stuff).
Not sure if equally important but, also, choose Lizzy over dad, flirt heavily and choose telling the truth whenever the choice is available to you. There are two different endings that depend on whether you use the cup in the final act or you don't.
Happy endings hunt!
Thank you for taking the time to write out these tips! I’ll keep them in mind if I end up playing this VN again, I’d love to reach some of the better endings!
Picta Mori was an absolute thriller.
Between a heartwarming sapphic story, a truly terrifying chase sequence (how in the world did you capture that thrill in a visual novel?!), and the looming dread that hung throughout the story, it's difficult to pin down any single moment that shines the rest.It was undoubtedly a captivating story, with a truly unique and beautiful art style to boot. I'd definitely recommend people to give this one a go if they ever have the chance.
I only got one ending so far but omg, this game is so beautiful! I love all of it!
I didn't expect it to hit me as hard as it did, the relationships between the characters felt so natural. I'll keep playing and try to get a different ending, but keep up the good work, this game is amazing!!
This game is really well put together, the graphics, the masterful sound design, the really well developed characters in a very realistic and scary (in more than one way) scenario of the story, everything blends well together to make for an uneasy (in a good way) experience.
The story of the game, it's really great, gives me 2000s movie vibes, and that's something I love, there is a lot of angles to the main character predicaments and you always have something looming over your shoulder as you play, never knowing who to trust, truly magnificent.
This combined with the multiple choices we have to make, either in quick succession for an exiting gameplay or the slow more meaningful ones we have to think trough while fearing the worst case scenario really round up the experience.
Even dealing with serious topics this game is not pretentious or patronizing at all, and that's also something that is really hard to nail.
Keep the good work!
Thank you so much for your video playthrough and review! I appreciate your comments on the sound design! Cheers!
This was really awesome. It did scare me a couple times but I greatly enjoyed the experience. 10/10
My most humble thanks for the review and your video playthrough!
You're welcome, this game was extremely well done.
This was really cool! The style suits the story so well :3 and I loved the thoughtful use of SFX to create the sort of melancholy and foreboding atmosphere that ran throughout the game. I was genuinely surprised by the more emotional moments + the suspense was done brilliantly too! I'd happily sit and watch a full-length horror film following this story :D
I've only got one ending so far, so I haven't tried all the choices yet, and I won't put spoilers, but what happened at the end of the credits made me smile :3 That was a nice touch!
I'm flattered you mentioned the idea of a full-length film as that was my intention when I planned the pacing of the story. Thank you for your review!
Glad you watched the credits to the end!
What a powerful story! Kudos for being able to tell such a emotional story with compelling characters. It's got the perfect mix of tension and drama, and has really touching moments as well. This is definitely one I'll be thinking about for ages after.
Much appreciated!