by StiffNipples Wed May 29, 2013 6:13 am
Honestly, no disrespect meant to the creators, but I really hope shields like the Dragon Covenant one don't get picked for the game.
The design is very crisp and whoever made it is clearly talented, but it doesn't fit the design of Dark Souls. Even if there is a Dragon Covenant in DaS this shield still wouldn't fit, it would be like Solaire walking around with a shield of him praising the sun and holding a sunlight medal with the alter in the background. It just doesn't fit the universe.
There are many good designs, but I can't help but think that many people didn't design a shield that would mesh well into the universe of Darks Souls 2, but instead just took something popular from Dark Souls and (talentfully mind you) put them on a shield.
For example this or this is the type of shield that is not only very well designed, but would also fit into a fantasy world.
Whereas this is just a silhouette of Solaire with the Sunbros logo as the sun. It's not a shield that belongs in Dark Souls 2 imo, it's more a fanboi homage that I can see someone using as a tacky texture mod.
Similarly this or this are just bosses from DaS1, and while they're very skillfully designed (especially the S&O one) they would be really out of place in DaS2 or DaS1 for that matter.
IMO the Greatshields had the greatest amount of designs that could easily find their story and place in the Dark Souls universe, and I really hope at least one of these two makes it into the game, as I think they could easily have a really cool story to go with them.
The thing I think a lot of people seemed to miss is that one of the primary reasons shields have designs on them is that they are meant to announce who you represent, an indication of what side you're fighting for or who you are undertaking this pilgrimage for, along with protecting you. That's why you get Crest Shields (family crest, house crest, etc), or ones like the Baldur shield, along with things just to protect you like the Heater shield and Red and White or Leather shields.
Sorry for the rant, I'm not really too annoyed, and many people did such fine work, I just think it's a little unfortunate that this style of motif got voted into the top 30 when it's really not a good fit for the game while other shields that would have looked awesome in the game missed out.
EDIT: I do agree that the EU section was lacking compared to the other two. I think the Greatshields had the best designs, with the Crest Shields second (even though there aren't that many 'crests' in there) with the Round Shields bringing up the rear with (realistically) only a few designs that I would put into the game.
