Shades of Doom Version 2.0

Set in the not too distant future., Shades of Doom is a revolutionary Window’s-based game for the visually impaired. It creates a virtual reality using sound as it’s medium. It features multi-dimensional multi-layered sound, immersing the gamer into a world of action and suspense. The game is self-voicing, and so no screen reader is required to play this game.

You are equipped with a medical kit, a few grenades, a gun, a knife, your fists, and a computer to analyze your surroundings, and you must make your way through the many levels of the top secret military research base and shut down the ill-fated experiment. You will use the sound of the wind in the passages and rooms, the echo of your footsteps, the sounds of nearby equipment, and optionally, the guidance from your environment analyzer computer, to make your way through this dark world. You will definitely want to collect better weapons, armour, and equipment to help you succeed in this mission. Find the clues to shut down the experiment as you make your way to the ninth and most dangerous area.

Features

Dynamic and realistic Multi-layered, 3D sound with up to 32 sounds playing simultaneously,
Use of Doppler for realistic movement sound,
syynthesized 3D effects for non-surround sound systems,
Real-time game play, that is, the game is not move based, and the game continues as in real life,
Full accessible help,
Optional joystick and mouse support,
Original music,
Many easy to remember one key commands,
Five difficulty levels from easy to very challenging,
Nine areas to explore, plus an aending level,
Ability to save, and later reload, up to 9 game snap shots,
Many types of weapons, monsters, armour, and other equipment and objects,
Ability to pick your own way to navigate, that is, wind sounds, step echoes, maps,
Ability to create Braille-ready maps,
Optionally, all major commands can be accessed through the menu,
Cheat codes are available, and
Much, much more.

What's New in Version 2

Changes have been made so that sounds again represent the direction of the monster or object. After a previous version of Windows was introduced, sounds did not well reflect the actual position of the monsters and objects. The sounds seemed to center when the monster or object was close to the player character.
Changes have been made to remove a few problems arising with the introduction of Windows 8.1,
The user data files are now kept in the user's documents folder instead of being kept under the program files folder. This removes quite a few problems when trying to locate where Windows saved these files, especially for those running versions of Windows starting with the Vista version. This change should also eliminate problems related to privileges.
You may now use the mouse to play Shades of Doom.
Most of the sounds have been improved.
The EVA has a new voice.
You can select EVA's voice choosing between the default built-in voice, your screen readers' voice, or MS-SAPI.
Cheat codes are included at no charge.
There was a major reworking of the engine.
Many small bugs have been fixed.

The Story

To hear the introduction to Shades of Doom produced by Kelly Sapergia, download or play the following MP3 file. Note that this recording was made before the current version of the game, and that some changes have been made since it was produced.

Shades of Doom Story

System Requirements

You will need:

A computer running Windows XP or later,
a Windows supported 16 bit stereo or surround sound card (headphones recommended for stereo systems),

Downloading Shades of Doom

Download Shades of Doom version 1.2 from the Download page. Select the Download link from the Navigation Bar located at the top of this page.