S.H.A.D.E.s of Manhattan
Well, before you read this, you should know that I created the storyline and characters 
in High School (I'm almost 23 now), so the massive similarities it bares to the basic 
premise of Heroes were not a problem then, because Heroes didn't exist yet.

Anyway, the story is that a small pharmaceutical company called Maddicorp 
(located in Manhattan) is taken over by the late owner's son, Moses Maddigan, who allows 
the company to succumb to outside pressure and begin to develop biological weapons, allowing 
the company to grow financially and become a world-wide super power in the industry. An 
illegal experiment is conducted deep in the bowels of the Maddicorp complex, called "S.H.A.D.E." 
(Synthetic Heightening of Attributes and Dynamics Experiment), in which a team of geneticists 
worked hand in hand with another team of scientists to create a synthetic gene that could be 
manually spliced into a living human's DNA. The gene causes the subject to develop special 
abilities, unique to each person depending on their existing genetic structure. All of the 
subjects were either volunteers who were at rock bottom in their lives, or people taken from 
prisons, asylums, or off the streets that would not be missed.

- Moses Maddigan concept art


So the experiment is going well until one subject, Kane Kelly, who has unfortunately managed to 
remain conscious during his 2-year incubation in a liquid-filled stasis chamber, basically is 
driven insane. The liquid in the stasis chambers, which usually had been emptied, filtered, and 
refilled by machine periodically, needed to be sanitized manually due to a programming error. 
Kelly saw his chance during this and broke out of his chamber using his new-found abilities 
(he could manifest a nigh-invulnerable and super strong ethereal being that was bonded to his body), 
killing nearly every scientist involved in the project. He awoke every other subject and opened their 
chambers before leaving, allowing them to slowly regain consciousness and escape.

The game takes place a few years after this. Moses Maddigan now has a team of mercenaries dubbed "The 
Collection Agency," who search for and capture the subjects. Snow and Sabotage are the main protagonists.

- Sabotage and Snow concept art


I will be releasing updated versions of every character soon (with in-depth bios, EX Moves, and other tweaks), 
along with two more unreleased characters (The Specialist and Vesper).

SHADES 2 Download Note: Shades of Manhattan 2 first public beta


SHADES 2 Patch Note: Fixed various problems with original download


SHADES 1.5 Download Site Note: Shades of Manhattan 1.5 comes as an installer

 

SHADES 1.0 Download